Education Stabilization Fund

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Program level Payment Integrity results

Sponsoring agency: Department of Education

View on Federal Program Inventory

PROGRAM METRICS

$49,281 M

in FY 2022 outlays, with a

87.9%

payment accuracy rate

PROGRAM METRICS

$79,714 M

in FY 2023 outlays, with a

100.0%

payment accuracy rate

PROGRAM METRICS

$64,651 M

in FY 2024 outlays, with a

100.0%

payment accuracy rate

PROGRAM METRICS

$55,570 M

in FY 2025 outlays, with a

100.0%

payment accuracy rate

  • Improper payment estimates over time
    View as:

    Chart toggle amounts:
    Proper payments
    Overpayment
    Underpayment
    Technically improper
    Unknown

Payment Integrity results

  • FY 2022 improper payment estimates

    Chart legend and breakdown

    Payment accuracy rate

    Improper payment rate

    Unknown payment rate


    Sampling & estimation methodology details

    Sampling timeframe:

    10/2020 - 09/2021


    Confidence interval:

    95% to <100%


    Margin of error:

    +/-10.72

Overpayments

The Department identified $4.80 in improper payments due to rounding errors. Small amounts such as these are usually not an efficient use of resources to recover improper payment that total under five dollars.
Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments within the agency's control $0 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment does not exist $0.0 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of an inability to access the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of a failure to access data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M

Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments outside the agency's control $0 M

Underpayments

Underpayment root cause Underpayment amount
Amount of underpayments $0 M

Technically improper payments

The Department identified two improper payments totaling approximately $10K in unallowable costs.
The amount of improper payments that were paid to the right recipient for the correct amount but were considered technically improper because of failure to follow statute or regulation $15.04 M

Additional information

$15.04 M

Unknown Payment Details

The Department's unknown payments were attributed to not receiving documentation prior to the conclusion of the study and/or not receiving sufficient documentation to support the payment as being proper or improper.

The amount of payments that could either be proper or improper but the agency is unable to determine whether they were proper or improper as a result of insufficient or lack of documentation is $5,941.38 M


Cause of insufficient or lack of documentation & why the documentation is needed for determination of payment type
Payment cause Amount Description of the documentation that was not provided and explanation of why the program is unable to conclude whether the payment is proper or improper without that documentation

Evaluation of corrective actions

The Education Stabilization Fund program concluded its first year of reporting in FY 2022. While the baseline for the program has not been established and the tolerable rate has not been identified, the program has taken steps to address the unknown payments identified at the conclusion of the study. For each unknown payment sample in the study, the responsible program office will provide a written determination whether the payment was proper or improper. The program offices will communicate to their subprogram grantees regarding obtaining and/or providing supporting documentation to the Department, as part of its efforts to comply with PIIA. Messaging to grantees will include establishing expectations by providing grantees with background on PIIA, the anticipated timeline, the importance of being attentive and responsive to the payment integrity team’s communications and requests, and the type of documentation requested under the Fiscal Year 2023 methodology to substantiate sampled payments.

Future payment integrity outlook

Education Stabilization Fund has NOT established a baseline.

Out-Year improper payment and unknown payment projections and target
Current year +1 estimated future outlays $79,713.91 M
Current year +1 estimated future improper payment and unknown payment rate 0 %

The program's current year improper payment and unknown payment rate of 12.09 % may or may not be the tolerable rate. The agency has not yet determined the tolerable rate for this program.

A baseline for a program is not considered established until the conclusion of a 24-month reporting period. The Education Stabilization Fund program concluded its first year of reporting in FY 2022.

A baseline for a program is not considered established until the conclusion of a 24-month reporting period. The Education Stabilization Fund program concluded its first year of reporting in FY 2022. While the tolerable rate for the Education Stabilization Fund program has not been identified, the program has the internal controls, human capital, information systems and other infrastructure to reduce improper payments and unknown payments.

A baseline for a program is not considered established until the conclusion of a 24-month reporting period. The Education Stabilization Fund program concluded its first year of reporting in FY 2022.

Additional programmatic information

  • FY 2023 improper payment estimates

    Chart legend and breakdown

    Payment accuracy rate

    Improper payment rate

    Unknown payment rate


    Sampling & estimation methodology details

    Sampling timeframe:

    10/2021 - 09/2022


    Confidence interval:

    95% to <100%


    Margin of error:

    +/-5.0

  • Actions taken & planned to mitigate improper payments

    Mitigation strategy Description of the corrective action Completion date Status
    Training
    The Department has worked internally to address accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.
    The corrective action was not fully completed this reporting period
    Not Completed

Overpayments

Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments within the agency's control $0 M

The overpayments encountered are outside of agency control due to the fact that the direct recipients of funds (State Education Agency's or SEAs) acted as a pass-through entity to their sub-grantees, who were the ultimate recipients. As such, the Department processed the relevant payments to the SEA based on their internal controls and payment review process. Furthermore, these overpayments were due to rounding errors in most instances. Additionally, in certain cases where the Department did make the direct payment to the end user, the documentation submitted was seemingly sufficient except for minor rounding errors. The small amounts involved would not usually justify expending additional resources or time to have Department staff reperform the calculations.
Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments outside the agency's control $0 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment does not exist $0.0 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of an inability to access the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of a failure to access data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.14 M

Overpayment type Eligibility element/information needed Eligibility amount
Overpayments Outside Agency Control Financial $0.14 M

Underpayments

Underpayment root cause Underpayment amount
Amount of underpayments $0 M
The amount of underpayments that occurred because the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment does not exist $0.0 M
The amount of underpayments that occurred because of an inability to access the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M
The amount of underpayments that occurred because of a failure to access data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M

Eligibility element/information needed Eligibility amount
Financial $0.0 M

Mitigation strategies taken Mitigation strategies planned
Training

Technically improper payments

The amount of improper payments that were paid to the right recipient for the correct amount but were considered technically improper because of failure to follow statute or regulation $0.0 M

Additional information

$0.0 M

Unknown Payment Details

Evaluation of corrective actions

A response is not applicable because the ESF program's IP and UP estimate is below the statutory threshold.

Future payment integrity outlook

Education Stabilization Fund has established a baseline.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next Fiscal Year.

Out-Year improper payment and unknown payment projections and target
Current year +1 estimated future outlays $64,590 M
Current year +1 estimated future improper payment and unknown payment rate 0 %
Current year +1 estimated future improper payment and unknown payment reduction target 0 %

The program's current year improper payment and unknown payment rate of 0.0 % may or may not be the tolerable rate. The agency has not yet determined the tolerable rate for this program.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next Fiscal Year. With no reduction target established, the tolerable rate cannot be determined.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next Fiscal Year. With no reduction target established, the tolerable rate cannot be determined. While the tolerable rate for the Education Stabilization Fund program has not been identified, the program has the internal controls, human capital, information systems and other infrastructure to maintain low improper payments and unknown payments.

The Department did not request additional resources. This program has well designed and effective internal controls in place.

Additional programmatic information

Unknown Payments (UPs) were the primary driver of this program’s high estimated Improper Payment (IP) and Unknown Payment (UP) rate reported in FY22. The UPs identified in FY22 were the result of lack of documentation due to the delayed start of the study and the payment recipients not understanding what type of supporting documentation to provide to satisfy the requirements of the study. The Department implemented effective mitigation strategies in FY23 which resulted in the elimination of UPs, and subsequently the significant reduction of the estimated IP and UP rate in FY23. The strategies implemented are as follows:

1. The Department began the FY23 study earlier in the fiscal year, providing sufficient time for State Education Agencies (SEAs) to obtain and provide supporting documentation from Local Education Agencies (LEAs) for the program’s payments.

2. The Department also provided SEAs with targeted technical assistance and training. This assistance encompassed technical assistance meetings with certain states, written guidance, and payment documentation criteria guidance.

Additionally, The Department formally issued its policy on Payment Integrity, providing guidance to agency employees, in Fiscal Year 2023.

  • FY 2024 improper payment estimates

    Chart legend and breakdown

    Payment accuracy rate

    Improper payment rate

    Unknown payment rate


    Sampling & estimation methodology details

    Sampling timeframe:

    10/2022 - 09/2023


    Confidence interval:

    95% to <100%


    Margin of error:

    +/-5.0

  • Actions taken & planned to mitigate improper payments

    Mitigation strategy Description of the corrective action Completion date Status
    Training
    The Department continues to work internally to address accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.
    The corrective action was not fully completed this reporting period
    Not Completed

Overpayments

Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments within the agency's control $0.0 M

The ESF program experienced overpayments that were beyond the agency’s control, due to automatic rounding errors. These discrepancies occurred both within Excel and other system-based processes. Preventing rounding within system-based processes is inherently challenging. When rounding occurs in a system and is subsequently recalculated in Excel, discrepancies can arise, resulting in minor differences in amounts. Consequently, it is difficult for states to prevent these rounding errors, which is why they are classified as beyond the agency’s control.
Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments outside the agency's control $0.1 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment does not exist $0.1 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of an inability to access the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M
The amount of overpayments that occurred because of a failure to access data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M

Overpayment type Eligibility element/information needed Eligibility amount
Overpayments Outside Agency Control Financial $0.1 M

Underpayments

Underpayment root cause Underpayment amount
Amount of underpayments $0.0 M

Technically improper payments

The amount of improper payments that were paid to the right recipient for the correct amount but were considered technically improper because of failure to follow statute or regulation $0.0 M

Additional information

$0 M

Unknown Payment Details

Evaluation of corrective actions

These were accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.

The Department has worked internally to address accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.

These were accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.

The Department has worked internally to address accounting errors that resulted in rounding errors made by the recipients of the funds. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays would not usually present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.

Future payment integrity outlook

Education Stabilization Fund has established a baseline.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next fiscal year.

Out-Year improper payment and unknown payment projections and target
Current year +1 estimated future outlays $55,570.27 M
Current year +1 estimated future improper payments $0 M
Current year +1 estimated future unknown payments $0 M
Current year +1 estimated future improper payment and unknown payment rate 0 %
Current year +1 estimated future improper payment and unknown payment reduction target 0 %

The program's current year improper payment and unknown payment rate of 0.0 % may or may not be the tolerable rate. The agency has not yet determined the tolerable rate for this program.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next Fiscal Year. With no reduction target established, the tolerable rate cannot be determined.

The program's reported improper and unknown payment estimate is below the statutory threshold; therefore, the program is not required to establish and publish a reduction target for the next Fiscal Year. With no reduction target established, the tolerable rate cannot be determined. While the tolerable rate for the Education Stabilization Fund program has not been identified, the program has the internal controls, human capital, information systems and other infrastructure to maintain low improper payments and unknown payments.

The Department did not request additional resources. This program has well designed and effective internal controls in place.

Additional programmatic information

Accountability for detecting, preventing, and recovering improper payments

Department personnel, including executive managers and staff, are held accountable for promoting payment
integrity and maintaining effective internal controls in their day-to-day jobs. Key management officials have
specific expectations related to payment integrity included in their annual performance plans. Program officials who administer programs deemed susceptible to significant improper payments are highly engaged in developing and implementing corrective actions as well as providing technical assistance for grantees to prevent improper payments for being made and to ensure payments are supported by sufficient documentation. Due to the improper payment and unknown payment estimate being below the statutory threshold, a reduction target is not required for this program.

  • FY 2025 improper payment estimates

    Chart legend and breakdown

    Payment accuracy rate

    Improper payment rate

    Unknown payment rate


    Sampling & estimation methodology details

    Sampling timeframe:

    10/2023 - 09/2024


    Confidence interval:

    95% to <100%


    Margin of error:

    +/-0.01

Causes

The ESF program experienced overpayments that were beyond the agency’s control, due to automatic rounding errors and inadequate expenditure data. These discrepancies occurred within Excel and within other system-based processes. Preventing rounding within system-based processes is inherently challenging. When rounding occurs in a system and is subsequently recalculated in Excel, discrepancies can arise, resulting in minor differences in amounts. Consequently, it is difficult for states to prevent these rounding errors, which is why these errors are classified as beyond the agency’s control.
Additionally, some grantees did not have clear documentation readily available to support the full sampled amount.

Overpayment root cause Overpayment amount
Amount of overpayments within the agency's control $0.0 M
Amount of overpayments outside the agency's control $2.36 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment does not exist $2.36 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because of an inability to access the data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M
Amount of overpayments that occurred because of a failure to access data/information needed to validate payment accuracy prior to making a payment $0.0 M

Underpayment root cause Underpayment amount
Amount of underpayments $0.0 M

The amount of improper payments that were paid to the right recipient for the correct amount but were considered technically improper because of failure to follow statute or regulation $0.0 M

The amount that could either be proper or improper but the agency is unable to determine whether it was proper or improper as a result of insufficient or lack of documentation $0.0 M

Prevention

In FY2026, the Department will continue to reinforce correct accounting practices to reduce rounding errors by funds recipients. Additionally, the Department will reinforce guidance for submitting adequate expenditure data that emphasizes clear and concise documentation submissions. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays does not normally present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to prevent overpayments.
The ESF program’s estimate had IPs and UPs that were well below the statutory threshold. According to OMB Circular A-123, Appendix C, a program must develop a corrective action plan when the estimate is above the statutory threshold. Since most identified overpayments were due to rounding errors of under one dollar, developing and implementing mitigation strategies or corrective actions that cost less than the IP or UP amount would not be cost effective for the Department.

The Department continues to reinforce correct accounting practices to reduce rounding errors by funds recipients. Additionally, the Department reinforces guidance for submitting adequate expenditure data that emphasizes clear and concise documentation submissions. The small amounts identified relative to the program outlays does not normally present an opportunity to efficiently use resources to attempt to recover.

Payment type Mitigation strategies taken Mitigation strategies planned
Overpayments Training Training

Eligibility element/information needed Description of the eligbility element/information
Financial The financial position or status of a beneficiary, recipient, or their family

Additional information

Reduction target

0 %

The Education Stabilization Fund reported improper and unknown payment estimates in FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025 below the statutory threshold. The program has the internal controls, human capital, information systems and other infrastructure needed to continue to maintain low improper and unknown payments. The small amounts of improper payments identified during the estimation process does not present an opportunity to efficiently use additional resources to further reduce improper payments.

The Department did not request additional resources. This program has well-designed and effective internal controls in place.

Department personnel, including executive managers and staff, are held accountable for promoting payment integrity and maintaining effective internal controls in their day-to-day jobs. Key management officials have specific expectations related to payment integrity included in their annual performance plans. Program officials who administer programs deemed susceptible to significant improper payments are highly engaged in developing and implementing corrective actions as well as providing technical assistance for grantees to prevent improper payments for being made and to ensure payments are supported by sufficient documentation.

$0 M