Case Study: State of Missouri Department of Social Services

State of Missouri, Department of Social Services

Preparation for periodic review of the State of Missouri 's Title IV-E foster care eligibility process by the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

The periodic ACF review serves to validate the accuracy of a state's claim for reimbursement on
behalf of eligible children placed in eligible homes and institutions.

The State of Missouri sought to develop an organized, comprehensive system for organizing case files
and court documents that would:

• Prepare the State for this and future ACF audits;
• Expedite access to Title IV-E records;
• Ensure federal and state funds.
  

PCG Human Services™ developed Missouri-specific tools and processes designed to best serve the needs of the State. In order to assist Missouri with its audit preparation, PCG Human Services conducted a review which included:

• Review of the State's policies and procedures for determining eligibility for Title IV-E;
• Review of the State's current organization and document retrieval and maintenance process;
  
• Development of a State-specific check-list for necessary documentation to be included in a
  IV-E Eligibility file;
  
• Development of a database to contain necessary information that would be used to assist in the document retrieval process;
  
• Preliminary review of a sample of cases drawn from the potential audit pool;
  
• Targeted further sampling of offices or specific workers based on the results of the review of the first sample;
  
• Retrieval of necessary documents to complete the requirements of the IV-E eligibility file;
  
• Retrieval of documentation contained in State data systems;
  
• Paper and electronic organizational system to access information on each case;
  
• Assistance the federal audit.
  

The State of Missouri successfully passed its ACF Title IV-E review.