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Audit of South Shore Stars, Inc. (Stars)

June 30, 2020 · South Shore Stars, Inc. (Stars) · Read the full official report on mass.gov ↗

Published June 30, 2020 Audit covers July 1, 2017 – November 30, 2019 Under Suzanne M. Bump · 2011–2023

In plain English
The auditor found that South Shore Stars sometimes got childcare subsidy eligibility wrong and sometimes entered eligibility information incorrectly.
source
“Stars did not always properly determine childcare financial assistance eligibility and enter accurate eligibility data in its reporting system.”
Read the plain-English breakdown
What is this?

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of South Shore Stars, a nonprofit childcare and youth program provider, covering July 1, 2017 through November 30, 2019.

“I am pleased to provide this performance audit of South Shore Stars, Inc.”
Why was it audited?

The audit looked at whether South Shore Stars followed rules for deciding which families qualified for subsidized childcare.

“In this performance audit, we examined Stars’ compliance with requirements related to family eligibility for subsidized childcare.”
Why it matters

Mistakes in eligibility can mean public money goes to families who may not qualify, family fees are wrong, and eligible families may wait longer for care.

“As a result, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) made childcare payments to Stars for families that may not have been eligible; copayments from families, and payments from EEC to Stars, might have been incorrectly calculated; and eligible families on EEC’s waitlist may have had their childcare needs delayed or unmet.”
What's in it for me?

For ordinary residents, this matters because childcare subsidies are public resources meant to help eligible families get affordable care.

“Very-low-income families may not have to pay a copayment, according to the EEC Financial Assistance Parent Co-Payment Table that EEC uses to determine family copayments.”
The bottom line

The main problem was not the childcare service itself; it was the paperwork, eligibility checks, and data entry needed to support public childcare funding.

“Our review of 86 authorizations for income-eligible childcare subsidies revealed that South Shore Stars, Inc. (Stars) did not make proper eligibility determinations for 17 authorizations and that it made additional errors entering data in the Child Care Financial Assistance (CCFA) database for 14 authorizations.”
What happens next

The auditor recommended stronger procedures, better checks of staff work, complete documentation, and use of EEC’s checklist.

“Stars should implement the Department of Early Education and Care’s Early Education Subsidy Authorization File Checklist.”
Jargon, unpacked

CCFA is the state childcare financial assistance database; the report says Stars needed to enter complete and correct information there so family copayments and payments could be calculated properly.

“CCFA calculates a copayment to be paid by the family based on the information entered.”

What the Auditor checked

What the Auditor found

South Shore Stars did not always properly determine subsidized childcare eligibility or enter accurate eligibility data.
eligibility determinationrecordkeeping/documentationinternal controls

Why it matters: EEC may have paid Stars for ineligible families, family copayments and EEC payments may have been miscalculated, eligible families on the waitlist may have been delayed or unmet, and some families received childcare without completed attestations or fee agreements.

Standard: Sections 10.03 and 10.04 of Title 606 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations; EEC financial assistance policy guides; Section 3.1.1(D) of EEC's Financial Assistance Procedures Manual for Subsidy Administrators. ( Sections 10.03 and 10.04 of Title 606 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations; Section 3.1.1(D) of the Financial Assistance Procedures Manual for Subsidy Administrators )

3 recommendations
  • Stars should develop and implement procedures and effective monitoring of internal controls to ensure that the information entered in CCFA is correct.
  • Intake staff members should obtain sufficient proof of income, child identity and residency, family composition, child citizenship/immigration status, and need for service, as well as completed applications and fee agreements.
  • Stars should implement EEC's Early Education Subsidy Authorization File Checklist.
Agency response & Auditor reply
Agency: "We believe that is precisely what this Audit found."