§3245 Reports; Recordkeeping; Investigations

Summary

Recipients of these federal funds must keep clear records so reports can be made and money can be traced to how it was spent. They must keep standardized records on participants and give the Secretary enough of those records for proper review. Performance reports go to the Secretary, normally no more than once each quarter unless Congress asks (then an estimate may be given). Records must be open to the public on request, except for private personal information and confidential business secrets, and recipients may charge fees to cover request costs. Each year the Secretary must investigate fund use in several States, and the Comptroller General may investigate any recipient. Investigators may not ask for information that recipients are not already required to keep or that is not readily available. For audits (except initial surveys or fraud/criminal probes), advance notice of the audit goals and big record needs must be given at least 14 days before the audit starts (or as soon as possible), and any major change in the audit must be communicated. Audit reports must list the law or rules used for findings. States, local boards, and main recipients must make reports available, run compatible management information systems as the Secretary directs, monitor providers, and, when practical, submit reports electronically. Required report data include participant demographics (race, ethnicity, sex, age), the programs and time in them, outcomes like occupations and nontraditional placements, program costs, and any data needed for section 3248; the Secretary must define each data element and require uniform reporting. Local boards must send quarterly financial reports to their Governor showing all costs by cost category and year of appropriation. States must send quarterly summaries of those reports to the Secretary, who must send them quarterly to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. States and local boards must also track any income or profits earned (including by subrecipients) and any allowable costs that are limited by funding rules. When requiring cost categories, the Secretary may limit them to just administrative or programmatic.