3022 Contract Amendments, Budget Revision, and Reporting Requirements

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Aging Services
Administrative Manual

Chapter:

3000 Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Administration

Effective Date:

09/07/2023

Section Title:

Contract Amendments, Budget Revision, and Reporting Requirements

Reviewed or Updated in:

MT 2024-01

Section Number:

3022

Previous Update:

MT 2017-04

Summary Statement

Area Agencies on Aging will adhere to all Federal, State, Department of Human Services, and Division of Aging Services requirements for budget, contracts, and reporting.

Requirements

Contract Certifications

Certifications required of all Regional Commissions(RCs)/Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) include but are not limited to:

Debarment and Suspension:

  • The area agency shall not knowingly deal with any person, business or other entity which has been suspended or debarred from receiving federal funds under 45 CFR, §76.200, concerning non-procurement, or 45 CFR, Part 1229, Government wide Debarment and Suspension (non-procurement) and Government wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants.)

  • For each federal fiscal year the agency shall secure a Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion for Covered Contracts and Grants from any potential subcontractor, at any level, for which such certification is required, prior to issuing any award, grant or contract.

Americans with Disabilities Act:

The agency shall not purchase services from any subcontractor not in compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Budget Submissions

AAAs shall submit an annual budget, in the format specified by DAS, which reflects the scope of the approved area plan. The plan and budget for the Multi-Funded Services contracts are developed based on planning allocations . Other contract budgets which are carried forward from the previous fiscal year are to be developed on the balance of funds remaining in the contract at the end of the fiscal year.

The agency shall submit the budget revision within the DAS Data System (DDS) for Division approval prior to its implementation.

AAAs shall submit budget amendments required through an Allocation Issuance to DAS by the deadline set forth in the Allocation Memorandum. Budget Revisions not due to an Allocation Issuance may be submitted throughout the Program Year unless a closure date for such submissions is specified by the Division. Refer to Section 2003 of this manual for the Division’s Allocation Methodologies by Fund Source

Budget Revisions

Budget Revision adjustments not requiring a contract amendment:

  • If there is a projected change in spending which exceeds 10% within state or federal fund source budgets as long as the AAA’s contracted state and federal dollar amounts are not and will not be exceeded; or

  • Changes in unit costs for services which were not anticipated prior to contract execution and that result in an increase or decrease in service levels; or

  • There are changes in services to be offered, service providers and/or sites, subsequent to contract execution; or

  • There are changes in the number of units to be provided and persons served as a result of adjustments to unit costs or other cost factors.

Budget Revision adjustments requiring a contract amendment:

  • To process transfers of funds among and between eligible parts of the Title III OAA funding, known as Title IIB/Title IIIC shifts; or

  • To reflect increases or reductions in state, federal, or local funding released in the Division’s Allocation Issuances or other wise directed by the Division; or

  • To reflect a change in the annual scope of work as mandated through the Division’s Allocation Issuances or otherwise directed by the Division; or

  • To remove the AAA’s budgeted DHS Unified Transportation dollar amounts from the AAA’s contract.

The AAA’s budget revision requiring a contract amendment may include any or all of the above Budget Revision adjustments.

Budget Management Options

AAAs shall implement such budget management strategies and measures as are necessary to avoid lapsing state and federal funds, including the timely and appropriate revision of AAA and subcontract budgets and the amendment of provider subcontracts at any point during the fiscal year when it becomes evident that there is significant risk of lapsing funds.

AAAs may shift funding among services within a fund source to better match client needs/demands with available funding, without amending the budget, as long as:

  • The agency has sufficient documentation that a shift to reconcile differences between projected and actual demand by service is warranted; and

  • The agency does not overspend the total contracted amount for that fund source; and

  • The agency continues to meet all minimum funding/maintenance of effort requirements for all services.

Specifically in reference to in-home and/or supportive services, a provider that is under contract to the AAA for the provision of more than one service may shift funding among services within a single fund source to better match client needs/demands with available funding, without submitting a budget revision/contract amendment, as long as:

  • It consults with and provides documentation to the Area Agency that demonstrates that a shift is warranted, and

  • It does not overspend the total contracted amount for that fund source.

Refer to Appendix F, Taxonomy of Services for in-home and supportive services.

Performance Evaluation

AAA and provider budget performance will be managed and evaluated on the basis of:

  • The documented correlation between client needs/demand for service based on current DON-R assessments, current service plans, actual services provided, and

  • Actual year-to-date expenditures compared to projected expenditure levels.

Recapture of Payments

Recapture of payments may occur when costs have been disallowed by DHS/ DAS, or if the agency has received funds in excess of those actually earned. DHS/DAS may take appropriate action including requiring the repayment of and/or withholding of funds in such cases that overpayment has occurred.

Any agency having funds recaptured because of a disallowance, in accordance with this section, shall waive all rights to such funds and shall not receive any of the funds as a part of a future allocation.

Reporting Requirements

Reporting Forms

AAAs shall submit to DAS such reports and data as specified by DAS, in such format and on such schedule as established by DAS, in fulfillment of all federal and state requirements.

Verification of Service Provider Reports

AAAs shall conduct ongoing verification of the accuracy and adequacy of service providers' reports in accordance with the terms of the performance-based contracts.

Reporting Deficiencies

If reports are late, incorrect, or incomplete, DAS reserves the right to withhold reimbursement in part or in full, in accordance with contract requirements, until complete, correct reports are submitted.

Requests for reimbursement for services provided shall be supported by programmatic reports and/or data entered into the DDS which document that the amount of services delivered or activities conducted correspond to the amount of reimbursement being requested.

DAS will issue payment based on additional or corrected submissions in the regular payment cycle of the following month. These are entered as reimbursement “Corrections” in the DDS.

DAS Data System

The DAS data system is the official mechanism for reporting all fiscal and programmatic transactions of service providers and AAAs.

AAAs complete financial data entry into the data system each month to generate reimbursement submissions on or before the 15th working day of the month following the month the services were provided, to include the Certified Costs/In-Kind Report uploaded into the DDS as a Note Alert. The month’s reimbursement request must include all activities and client data delivered in the month for which the reimbursement is requested.

All program reports submitted to the DAS Program Owner via email must be submitted per the specified frequency per the program requirements.

All submissions (budget revisions, reimbursements and program reports) are to be validated and certified by the AAA Director.

If the AAA Director is unable to certify a submission, the AAA must contact DAS for instructions.

AAAs will then send an email notification that the financial reporting has been completed and submitted in the DDS to the AAAReport@dhs.ga.gov Within the subject line, include the following:

  • AAA Name

  • Report Month

  • State Fiscal Year (SFY)

  • Allocation Issuance Number or Planning

  • Description (Budget Revision, Reimbursement, Programmatic Reporting, etc.)

  • Name of Programmatic Report(s) if applicable

  • Budget revision number if applicable

Annual Close Out

AAAs have the option of filing a “thirteenth period” or close out report if necessary to bring up actual year-to-date expenditures at the end of a fiscal year.

All such reports shall be filed with DAS not later than the 15th calendar day of August each year following the close of the prior fiscal year. Any reimbursement request submitted after this date will not be paid by the Department.