Report 2016-128 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2016-128: In‑Home Supportive Services: The State Could Do More to Help Providers Avoid Future Payment Delays (Release Date: March 2017)

Recommendation #10 To: Social Services, Department of

To enable it to track whether EDD is meeting its contractual time frame for printing and mailing timesheets, Social Services should either modify its current agreement or require in the renewal of its agreement a method for tracking the time required to print and mail timesheets. Social Services should also perform monthly reviews of the activities performed by EDD and SCO to ensure compliance with the time frames for each agreement. Additionally, Social Services should implement a process to regularly test EDD and SCO processes to ensure that they are within the required time frames.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2020

This recommendation is resolved with the implementation of the federal Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) mandate, paper timesheets will no longer be used, instead providers will be required to use the Electronic Services Portal (ESP) or Telephone Timesheet System to submit their timesheets electronically. Therefore, EDD will no longer print timesheets once EVV is fully implemented in December 2020. As of October 2020, 96 percent of providers are enrolled in ESP and will be at 100 percent by December 2020. CDSS will continue to monitor SCO's processing timeframes to ensure payments are made within established timeframes.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Resolved

This recommendation is resolved because Social Services has implemented electronic timesheets, which eliminates the need for EDD to print paper timesheets. Additionally, Social Services now relies on its CMIPS II contractor to monitor SCO's compliance with time frames for processing paychecks and electronic funds transfer notices.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

With the implementation of the federal Electronic Visit Verification mandate, paper timesheets will no longer be used, instead providers will be required to use the Electronic Services Portal or Telephone Timesheet System to submit their timesheets electronically. EDD will no longer print timesheets once EVV is fully implemented in December 2020.

Currently, SCO does not have a way to provide any additional reporting regarding IHSS warrants, as the IHSS warrants are combined with all the warrants that SCO produces every day. The SCO is already required to provide a warrant number and issue date for every payment record they receive. The CMIPS vendor reconciles the daily files received from SCO to ensure the number of records returned on the payment file from SCO is the same number that were sent on the payment file, and that all returned records have a warrant number and issue date. CDSS has requested that the CMIPS vendor send an alert to CDSS if there is a discrepancy with the SCO return file and there are missing warrant numbers as this is an indicator that a warrant was not produced for a specific timesheet. Additionally, CDSS Accounting reconciles and approves daily transmittals which identify the warrants processed and sent to SCO for processing.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

We stand by our recommendation despite Social Services indicating it will fully implement electronic timesheets in December 2020. As of November 2019, IHSS providers continue to use paper timesheets with the option to use electronic timesheets. Until it requires the exclusive use of electronic timesheets, Social Services should take steps to ensure that EDD is meeting its contractual time frame for printing and mailing timesheets. Social Services also informed us of the information made available to it from the SCO, but did not address how it would regularly test SCO's processes to ensure that paychecks are issued within the required time frames.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2018

SCO cannot provide any additional data regarding IHSS warrants. The CMIPS vendor reconciles the daily files received from SCO to ensure the number of records returned on the payment file from SCO is the same number that was sent on the payment file, and that all returned records have a warrant number and issue date. CDSS has requested that the CMIPS vendor send an alert to CDSS if there is a discrepancy with the SCO return file and if there are missing warrant numbers, as this is an indicator that a warrant was not produced for a specific timesheet. CDSS will then contact SCO to resolve the discrepancy and determine why a warrant was not generated.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

Although it did not mention EDD in its response, Social Services subsequently informed us that it has a current contract amendment being negotiated with EDD that would add requirements pertaining to the tracking of timesheets.

1-Year Agency Response

CDSS is currently working with the Employment Development Department (EDD) to establish the reporting necessary to confirm timesheets mailed. This requires additional information to be provided from the presort vendor, which may come at an additional cost to the CDSS. Once this solution has been completed and approved by both parties, the CDSS/EDD contract will be updated to reflect this new process, which may require additional funds.

Currently, SCO does not have a way to provide any additional reporting regarding IHSS warrants, as the IHSS warrants are combined with all the warrants that SCO produces every day. The SCO is already required to provide a warrant number and issue date for every payment record they receive. The CMIPS vendor reconciles the daily files received from SCO to ensure the number of records returned on the payment file from SCO is the same number that were sent on the payment file, and that all returned records have a warrant number and issue date. Additionally, CDSS Accounting reconciles and approves daily transmittals which identify the warrants processed and sent to SCO for processing.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

Although Social Services informed us of the information made available to it from SCO, it did not address how it would regularly test SCO's processes to ensure that paychecks are issued within the required time frames.

6-Month Agency Response

CDSS is currently working on the detail design requirements with the Employment Development Department (EDD) to establish the reporting necessary to confirm timesheets mailed. Once this solution has been completed and approved by both parties, the CDSS/EDD contract will be amended to reflect the new report.

CDSS is working with the State Controller's Office (SCO) to complete the detail design on the confirmation from SCO that warrants were processed and mailed. Upon the final approval of the design, the CDSS/SCO contract will be amended.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

CDSS is currently working on the detail design requirements with EDD to establish the reporting necessary to confirm timesheets mailed. Once this solution has been completed and approved by both parties, the CDSS/EDD contract will be amended to reflect the new report.

CDSS is working with the SCO to complete the detail design on the confirmation from SCO that warrants were processed and mailed. Upon the final approval of the design, the CDSS/SCO contract will be amended.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2016-128

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.