Appendix A: County Billing Procedures for Title IV-E Contracts

Title IV-E Finance Handbook for County Contracts April 2013

Each type of Title IV-E expenditure is calculated separately since a different percentage, or FFP rate, is applied to each, as indicated in the table below.

For billing and tracking purposes administrative expenditures are required to be reported under a number of different administrative activities, as indicated on the billing worksheet provided by DFPS.

Payments for supplemental foster care maintenance are calculated slightly differently from training expenses and from administration and other expenses:

Type of Expenditure	Federal Financial Participation (FFP) Rate
Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments	The Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rate in effect for Texas for the current federal fiscal year
Training Expenses	75%
Administration and Other Expenses	50%

To submit a bill for a Title IV-E expense, the contractor takes the following steps:

1. Determine that all expenses included under each expenditure type are allowable expenses. Do not include any unallowable expenses in the calculation. Costs for supplemental foster care maintenance must be attributable to a specific child who is eligible for Title IV-E.

2. Ensure that the expenses are grouped together by type of expenditure (that is, supplemental foster care maintenance payments, training, and administration and other expenses).

3. Calculate a total for each expenditure type by adding all expenses that fall under that expenditure type.

Here is where the methods of calculation differ slightly in steps 4 and 5, below:

For Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments:	For Training Expenses and For Administration and Other Expenses:
4. Multiply the expenditure total by its applicable FFP rate. The product of this calculation is the amount that the contractor may bill to DFPS for supplemental foster care maintenance payments.	4. Before applying the FFP rate, apply an additional rate (the *population rate*) to the expenditure total for training expenses and for administration and other expenses. (The population rate is computed by dividing the total number of Title IV-E eligible children in the county by the total number of CPS clients in foster care.) The population rate is unique for each county and fiscal quarter in which the expense was incurred. These rates are computed on a quarterly basis in the Title IV-E Population Ratio Report.
N/A	5. The product that is calculated by multiplying the expenditure total by the population rate is then multiplied by the FFP rate for training expenses and for administration and other costs. The final product of this calculation is the amount the county may bill to DFPS for training expenses and for administration and other costs.

For Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments:

For Training Expenses and For Administration and Other Expenses:

4. Multiply the expenditure total by its applicable FFP rate. The product of this calculation is the amount that the contractor may bill to DFPS for supplemental foster care maintenance payments.

4. Before applying the FFP rate, apply an additional rate (the population rate) to the expenditure total for training expenses and for administration and other expenses. (The population rate is computed by dividing the total number of Title IV-E eligible children in the county by the total number of CPS clients in foster care.)

The population rate is unique for each county and fiscal quarter in which the expense was incurred. These rates are computed on a quarterly basis in the Title IV-E Population Ratio Report.

N/A

5. The product that is calculated by multiplying the expenditure total by the population rate is then multiplied by the FFP rate for training expenses and for administration and other costs. The final product of this calculation is the amount the county may bill to DFPS for training expenses and for administration and other costs.

Example

Uvalde County has the following allowable expenses:

Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments (only for specific children who are Title IV-E eligible)	Training Expenses	Administrative Expenses
• Clothing: $200 • Graduation expenses: $100 • School supplies: $300 • Transportation: $100	• Foster parent training: $400 • Training for Title IV-E CPS staff: $200	• Birth certificates: $300 • Salaries and fringe: $700

Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments (only for specific children who are Title IV-E eligible)

Training Expenses

Administrative Expenses

• Clothing: $200

• Graduation expenses: $100

• School supplies: $300

• Transportation: $100

• Foster parent training: $400

• Training for Title IV-E CPS staff: $200

• Birth certificates: $300

• Salaries and fringe: $700

Calculations

Steps 1 and 2 above have been completed.

For step 3, the totals for each expenditure type are as follows:

Payments for Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance = $700

Training Expenses = $600

Administrative Expenses = $1,000

For Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments

In step 4, for supplemental foster care maintenance payments, the expenditure total is multiplied by the FFP (FMAP) rate:

Supplemental Foster Care Maintenance Payments (expenditure total)...	Multiplied by the Applicable FFP/FMAP Rate...	Equals
$700	66.73%	$467.11

(This FMAP is for example purposes only. Actual Form 4116 State of Texas Purchase Voucher and billing worksheet will reflect the FMAP for each respective quarter.)

This is the federal reimbursable amount to be billed to DFPS for supplemental foster care maintenance payments. The difference of $232.89 (calculated by subtracting $467.11 from $700.00) is the total certified match, or the amount the county must pay.

The county must certify that it has paid this amount out of state or local funds.

For Training Expenses

Step 4 for training expenses involves applying the population rate to the expenditure total before applying the applicable FFP rate:

Expenditure total...	Multiplied by the County Population Ratio...	Equals
$600	73.81%	$442.86

In step 5 for training expenses, the applicable FFP rate is applied to the product obtained in step 4:

Product in Step 4...	Multiplied by the Applicable FFP Rate...	Equals
$442.86	75%	$332.15

This is the federal reimbursable amount to be billed to DFPS for training expenses. The difference of $110.71 (calculated by subtracting $332.15 from $442.86) is the total certified match, or the amount the county must pay. The county must certify that it has paid this amount out of state or local funds.

For Administration and Other Expenses:

Step 4 for administration and other expenses involves applying the population rate to the expenditure total before applying the applicable FFP rate:

Expenditure total...	Multiplied by the Population Rate...	Equals
$1,000	73.81%	$738.10

In step 5 for administration and other expenses, the applicable FFP rate is applied to the product obtained in step 4:

Product in Step 4...	Multiplied by the Applicable FFP Rate...	Equals
$738.10	50%	$369.05

This is the federal reimbursable amount to be billed to DFPS for training expenses. The difference of $369.05 (calculated by subtracting $369.05 from $738.10) is the total certified match, or the amount the county must pay.

The county must certify that it has paid this amount out of state or local funds.

Submitting Title IV-E 4116 to DFPS

Counties

When reviewing submitted purchase vouchers, the contract manager, at a minimum:

• verifies the expenses against the approved contract budget;

• verifies proper dates on the voucher;

• ensures that the population rate, FFP rates, and object codes are correct;

• verifies that training expenses are allowable, using the Title IV-E Training Expense Documentation Form provided by the Federal Funds Division of DFPS;

• verifies child-specific expenses against the Title IV-E Eligibility Verification Report;

• verifies that the purchase voucher includes the signature of a county representative certifying that the expenses are correct;

• verifies the accuracy of the billing worksheet (the sheet categorizing expenses for administration, training, and supplemental foster care maintenance); and

• verifies the current registration and DUNs number for any invoice received prior to July 1, 2011, by using the federal site System for Award Management (SAM).

DFPS may require more extensive documentation to support the bills.

All billings must be submitted for reimbursement in accordance with the time limit specified in the county contract. See 45 CFR §95.7. This subpart establishes a two-year (eight quarter) time limit for a state to claim federal financial participation in expenditures under state plans approved under Title IV-E.

Bills or amended bills submitted to DFPS later than seven quarters after the end of the quarter in which the expense was incurred are not processed unless DFPS determines that it can submit the bill to the federal government for payment in a proper and timely fashion.

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Appendix A: County Billing Procedures for Title IV-E Contracts