The Mi’kmaq Nation has changed how it handles grant reporting following a Department of Justice audit that found insufficient documentation of how the money was being spent and other deficiencies.
The audit showed the tribe needed to improve its documentation of projects included in a total of $4,359,339 in federal grants, the justice department said in a report issued Wednesday.
The Presque Isle-based Mi’kmaq Nation received five grants from 2015 to 2022, designated to support survivors of violence and tribal youth efforts. While it is progressing well on the programs, the tribe needs to more carefully document grant finances and progress in the future, according to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.
“Specially, the OIG found that Mi’kmaq Nation needs to improve progress reporting, property management, consultant procurement, and documenting personnel and fringe benefit costs,” Horowitz said in a statement Wednesday upon the release of the final audit report.
The draft audit report was issued on July 30. The Mi’kmaq Nation responded on Aug. 14 with a six-page letter stating it would comply with all recommendations and had implemented strategies to ensure correct reporting in the future. Wednesday’s Justice Department report says all deficiencies have been resolved.
Mi’kmaq Tribal Chief Edward Peter Paul said Wednesday all the recommendations had been taken care of, and directed a reporter to Tribal Administrator Nichole Francis for details. Attempts to contact Francis were not successful.
The grants included $1,793,688 and $1,123,749 from the Office of Violence Against Women, $569,086 and $372,816 from the Office for Victims of Crime, and $500,000 from the Tribal Delinquency Prevention Program, according to the audit report. The money was designated to help the tribe respond to domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking and stalking, as well as creating support for at-risk youth.
As of February 24, when the audit started, tribal officials had used $2,928,548 of the total funding, according to the audit.
Auditors found the tribe had either successfully met or was working toward goals outlined in the grants. Successes included creating and staffing an emergency shelter, providing transitional housing and legal services to survivors of violence, and leading youth programs.
Deficiencies included incomplete grant progress reporting, equipment management, hiring of consultants without required background checks, and personnel and fringe benefit costs. The report questioned $33,322 from budget management, indirect costs, and excess cash on hand.
Among its recommendations, the justice department said the tribe should: implement procedures and instruct staff to complete progress reports required by each grant; teach staff to correctly calculate and document costs; improve documentation of inventory and property maintenance; adhere to special conditions including background checks for employees; and remedy the questioned costs.
In his Aug. 14 response to the draft audit, Chief Peter Paul said the tribe had adopted new grant reporting strategies that were approved by the Mi’kmaq Nation Tribal Council.
“The Mi’kmaq Nation concurs with the Office of Inspector General’s findings,” the letter stated. “We have outlined below the circumstances and improvements we have adopted to remedy each finding.”
Among the resolutions, the tribe has created a compliance policy addendum that serves as a guide to adequately prepare and submit progress reports to grantors. Tribal officials will monitor grant finances regularly.
The nation has instituted new background check policies to ensure all employees and prospective employees are adequately checked.
Some of the funds that the audit said were in question had been drawn by the tribe just before grants ended, and therefore showed up as excess cash, Peter Paul’s letter stated. The tribe has now created detailed instructions on how to correctly calculate and document grant money, including time spent
Following the tribe’s response, both grant providers — the Office on Violence Against Women and the Office of Justice Programs — issued letters saying they considered the audit resolved.
