Review of Improper Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Basic Assistance Payments in New York State for July 1 Through December 31, 2005

From July 1 through December 31, 2005, the State agency made some Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) basic assistance payments that did not meet Federal and State requirements and did not adequately document all eligibility and payment determinations.  Based on the sample results, we estimated that the overall TANF improper payment rate was 28.5 percent of the Federal dollars expended and 46 percent of the number of payments made for basic assistance during the 6-month audit period.  In addition, the State agency inaccurately reported basic assistance expenditures to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), primarily by reporting expenditures for items that did not meet the definition of basic assistance. 

We recommended that the State agency (1) use the results of this review to help ensure compliance with Federal and State TANF requirements, (2) consider conducting quality control reviews of TANF basic assistance eligibility and payment processes, (3) determine the current eligibility of all recipients identified in this review as improperly enrolled in the TANF program and ensure that further assistance is denied for those who remain ineligible, (4) recalculate assistance budgets for all recipients identified in this review as having received improperly calculated payments, and (5) ensure that TANF basic assistance expenditures are accurately reported on its quarterly reports to ACF.  In its comments on the draft report, the State agency did not specifically address the recommendations.