Sneak Preview: ED Urged To Timely Monitor COVID-19 Programs

(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) Because federal agencies were instructed to issue COVID-19 emergency relief funds quickly to recipients, the Department of Education (ED) has been urged to take timely steps to monitor the use of these funds to determine if it needs to issue related guidance or provide technical support to ensure these programs achieve successful results.

“Given the importance of spending these funds quickly and appropriately, it is important for [ED] to obtain timely and accurate information and to respond quickly to emerging challenges identified by its monitoring and oversight, or work performed by federal and nonfederal auditors,” the ED Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated in its recent report, “Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Management Challenges Facing the Department of Education.”

The latest management challenges report, which OIG issues annually, identified five areas of concern based on its prior audits ― implementing pandemic relief laws, oversight and monitoring, data quality, improper payments, and information and technology security. These areas mirrored those from OIG’s FY 2021 report. While OIG noted that ED made progress in addressing these challenges, vulnerabilities continue to exist.

ED received more than $280 billion under COVID-19 relief laws enacted in 2020 and 2021, which established new grant programs, such as the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF), and provided statutory and regulatory waivers to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs). “Implementation of the pandemic relief laws poses challenges for the department as it must effectively oversee and monitor new grant programs and additional federal education funds, implement additional student financial assistance program requirements, and ensure that quality data are reported,” OIG added. “Effective oversight and monitoring of pandemic relief funds are critical to ensure that they are used for the purposes intended.”

(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)

Join us for our following Thompson Grants event:
Thompson Grants Workshop: Managing Key ARPA Programs, their Relation to the Uniform Guidance Addendum| Jan. 27, 2022 | Washington, D.C.
Nonprofit Legal, Finance, and Grants Conference| March 22, 2022 | Washington, D.C.