DSS FISCAL MANUAL Section I – Introduction

Section I – Introduction

December 31, 2011

Section I-A PURPOSE OF PROGRAM COST REPORTING

The local departments of social services and their employees have the responsibility for administering social services and public assistance programs.

Under Federal Regulations and the General Statutes of North Carolina, funds are appropriated from Federal, State and County sources for providing social services and financial assistance to needy individuals. These funds are administered by the local department of social services.

For reimbursement purposes, social services are divided up into four parts 1) Services 2) Income Maintenance 3) Child Support 4) Administration. The administrative cost or operating cost of the local DSS is paid up front with local funds. At the end of each month, the local DSS will prepare and submit a reimbursement report referred to as the "DSS-1571". This report will enable the county to receive the Federal and State funds available for the expenditures reported. This report is submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services Controller’s Office and is to be uploaded and balanced by the 15^th of the month or the first work day thereafter.

The DSS-1571 reports from the local DSS serve to support the North Carolina Division of Social Services disbursement of funds to the counties and separate agencies. It is also a means of supporting the claims of Federal funds and other funds, which flow through the Department of Health and Human Services.

The County Finance Officer is the custodian of all funds in the local treasury. The local funds expended by the department of social services are disbursed only upon authorization from the local board of county commissioners.

Federal agencies and designated state agencies may conduct administrative reviews of all records relating to the county department of social services to determine whether or not the standards and regulations of the Department of Health and Human Services are being carried out. Exceptions are taken to any payments made which do not conform to Federal or State regulations.

This manual outlines the requirements for reporting the administrative costs of social services. These procedures are not all inclusive and should not be misconstrued as such.

In order to be successful in completing the DSS-1571, you will also need a SIS Manual and Family Services Manual. If you need a SIS Manual please contact Client Information at 733-4530. If you need a Family Services Manual, please contact Family Services at 733-9467.

If you have questions concerning the correct reporting of cost or need help understanding the Fiscal Manual please don't hesitate to call your appropriate Local Business Liaison.

Section I-B Reports

The state office currently has seven reports that are primarily related to our county reimbursement system. (For current listings of County Admin. Reports, refer also to the DHHS, Office of the Controller, website.) The reports and their designated formats to which the forthcoming instructions apply are as follows:


1.	DSS-1571	Part IA	Services Salaries
		Part IB	Income Maintenance, Administrative Support and Training Officer's Salaries
		Part IC	Child Support Salaries, IV-D
		DSS-3538	Worksheet on Overhead Cost for Benefiting In-Home Aide Workers
		Part II	Administrative Costs
		Part III	Total Cost Contracts Purchases
		Part IV	Purchased Services related to clients

2.	XS-325	Summary of Administrative Expenditures. Monthly data submitted by the County on the DSS-1571 Part IA, Part IB, Part IC and Part II are summarized on this report.

		Distribution of Support. This report shows the distribution of administrative overhead expenditures within the categories of services, income maintenance and child support.

		Distribution of Other Admin. This report shows the distribution of administrative cost shown on the DSS-1571 Part II in to services, income maintenance and child support.

		Final Distribution. This report shows the final distribution of expenditures to include the identification of non-matchable costs

3.	XS-327	Reimbursement Schedule for Part III County Welfare Expenditures. Monthly data submitted by the County on the DSS-1571 Part IV are summarized on this report.

4.	XS-335	Reimbursement of County Welfare Administrative Expenditures (Monthly). This report combines the monthly data from the XS-325 Final Distribution, XS-327 Reimbursement Schedule for Part III County Welfare Expenditures, IV-D Cost Recovery and manual adjustments; and includes reimbursement data.

5	XS-337	*YTD Summary of Reimbursement Expenditures*

6.	XS-411	North Carolina Department of Health and Services, Division of Social Services, Year to Date Allocation Expenditures. Cumulative data on allocation, monthly reimbursement and available balance are shown for selected programs. Reimbursement data comes from the XS-335.

7.	WS-338 MCR	*County Administration (Reimbursement Unit) Total Manual Entries by County.* Monthly data from the, DSS-1571, Part IV and manual adjustments made by the County Administration Accounting Unit are shown.

8.	WC-302	*Participation in Budgeted County Expenditures.* Summarized by program are expenditures for County Administration, adjustments to County Administration and Income Maintenance Payments.

9.	WC-373	*Work First Monthly and Year to Date Expenditures.* Summarized by application code as the total, federal, state and local share of expenditures for Work First for each county.

10.	WC-450 Note:	*Notification Report.* Notification of when a county can transmit a new service month. New users needing access to the NCXPTR County Administration Reports must first contact their Local County Security administrator. He/she will then contact the DSS Customer Support Center which is currently managed by Joann Parker. Her team will proceed by establishing the necessary access. (Note: Counties should manage the security access to these reports by keeping access to a minimum).

For questions or clarification on any of the policy contained in these manuals, please contact your local county office.