ODJFS monitoring finds Athens County charged federal funds for building costs; $100,000 in HAPCAP bed-bug work ruled unallowable under TANF

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services told the Athens County Board of Commissioners on April 20 that a routine monitoring review found federal funds had been charged to building-related expenses and other costs that are not allowable under federal grant rules.

Sabrina Jamison, the ODJFS project and process liaison who presented the findings, said the agency issued a formal monitoring report identifying those costs and requiring the county to recode them to local funds. Jamison also said a deeper review of staff activity coding using Random Moment Sampling (RMS) showed staff time had been misallocated to grants for activities that were not allowable, contributing to a larger financial adjustment.

A specific finding involved roughly $100,000 in costs associated with a bed-bug program administered through HAPCAP, Jamison said. Those charges were deemed not allowable under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding because required PRC (Prevention, Retention, and Contingency) applications and eligibility documentation were not on file. Jamison said ODJFS provided an opportunity for documentation but did not receive sufficient evidence to validate eligibility.

Jamison told the commissioners that for expenditures to qualify under TANF/PRC, a completed PRC application must be on file and the recipient must meet TANF eligibility criteria. She added that while mixed-funded programs (those serving both eligible and noneligible participants) can allocate costs between eligible and noneligible participants, the allocation must be reasonable, documented and compliant with the specific rules of the funding source.

Commissioner Lenny Eliason asked about the county's ability to recover disallowed funds and about differences in allowability across funding streams. Jamison said ODJFS could not determine or enforce reimbursement claims against subcontractors or program partners and emphasized that allowability varies by funding source; counties may pursue recovery independently.

The monitoring report requires Athens County to recode the improperly charged costs to local funds; the transcript indicates a total financial adjustment was calculated based on the monitoring findings and misallocated staff time but does not specify the aggregate dollar amount of that adjustment. The county did not take a formal vote on recovery actions during the April 20 session.

The meeting opened with a motion by Commissioner Charlie Adkins, seconded by Commissioner Chris Chmiel, to approve the agenda; the roll call vote was unanimous. Adkins later moved to adjourn, Chmiel seconded, and the vote to adjourn was unanimous.

Next steps recorded in the session: ODJFS has issued the monitoring report and Athens County officials must recode identified costs to local funding sources; the county may choose to pursue reimbursement or resolution with HAPCAP independently, per ODJFS.