GAB Decision 157
March 31, 1981 Kentucky Department for Human Resources; Docket No.
79-241-KY-HD Ford, Cecilia; Settle, Norval Teitz, Alexander
On December 21, 1979, the Kentucky Department for Human Resources
(State) filed an application for review of the November 20, 1979
disallowance by the Office of Human Development Services (Agency) of
$153,840 in Federal financial participation (FFP) for expenditures made
under contract with Northern Kentucky University (NKU) for Title XX
training for the period July 1, 1977 to June 25, 1979. After being
granted an extension of time, the Agency filed a response to the appeal
on May 16, 1980. The Board issued an Order to Show Cause on February
26, 1981. The Agency was not required to respond, and the State chose
not to respond.
The Agency determined that FFP was not available under 4k CFR 228.82
because the University's social work program had not been accredited by,
had pre-accreditation status from, or applied for accreditation by the
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) during the period in question.
NKU submitted an application for accreditation in April 1976 and was
denied accreditation by CSWE on January 4, 1977. NKU did not appeal the
denial of accreditation, and no reapplication was submitted until June
25, 1979.
Our decision is based upon the application for review, response to
the appeal, and Order to Show Cause. The Board also examined and
considered the file in a related case, Kentucky Department for Human
Resources, Decision No. 92, April 28, 1980.
Relevant Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
Under Title XX of the Social Security Act, a state may receive
Federal reimbursement for 75% of the costs of personnel training and
retraining directly related to the provision of certain welfare services
(42 USC 1397a(a)(1)). The implementing regulations can be found at 45
CFR 228.80 et seq. Section 228.82(a)(2), the section relied upon by both
parties, states that--
(a) FFP is available in payments for training furnished under grants
to educational institutions, if all conditions specified in this section
are met . . .
(2) Grants are available only to post secondary, undergraduate and
graduate educational institutions and programs that have been accredited
by the appropriate institutional accrediting body recognized by the U.S.
Commissioner of Education. A specialized program for which there is a
specialized accrediting body shall be accredited by, have
pre-accreditation status from, or have applied for, accreditation by
such body...
Both parties agree that the appropriate accrediting body in this case
is CSWE.
Discussion - In General
The State admits that NKU's social work program was denied
accreditation in January 1977 but argues that the University continued
in a pre-accreditation and application for accreditation status.
Through a consultant recommended by CSWE, the University followed
through "on recommendations for development required to meet the
criteria on candidacy." (Application for Review, p.1). The University
resubmitted an application in June 1979.
The relevant regulations do not define the terms "application for
accreditation" or "pre-accreditation status." Since HHS has recognized
CSWE as the appropriate specialized accrediting body and has not defined
the terms in question, we must look to CSWE's policies, procedures and
criteria in order to determine whether the University's status met the
requirements of the regulation.
The CSWE documents submitted by both parties describe its
accreditation process. Before an application for accreditation is
submitted by a school, the school is advised to employ a consultant from
a list suggested by CSWE, and a self-study is to be written. The
self-study is submitted along with the application for initial
accreditation. CSWE then decides whether the school's program is
sufficiently developed to warrant a visit by a respresentative of the
Commission on Accreditation (if candidacy status seems indicated) or a
site visit by an evaluation team (if the program is eligible for initial
accreditation). From the material submitted in the application, the
Commission determines whether the program is eligible for initial
accreditation or for candidacy. Candidacy is a formal,
pre-accreditation status which indicates that a program is making
satisfactory progress toward qualifying for accreditation. It may not
be possible to complete the accreditation review during the academic
year in which the application was received. If accredited status is
awarded during the suceeding academic year, such status would be made
retroactive to the academic year during which the application was
submitted.
In 1976, NKU applied for accreditation which was denied in January
1977. There is nothing in the record to indicate that CSWE did not
consider its process as to that application to be complete.
The State uses the term "application status" in describing the period
in question (letter dated August 21, 1979 from Commissioner Charles F.
Cain to L. Bryant Tudor, Regional Administrator). That term does not
appear in either the relevant regulation or CSWE documents. There is
nothing in the record that indicates that CSWE considered NKU's
application to be still pending after January 4, 1977.
Alternatively, the State asserts that NKU had pre-accreditation
status during the period in question. From the CSWE documents submitted
by both parties it appears that CSWE's "candidacy" status could be
considered pre-accreditation status within the meaning of 45 CFR
228.82(a)(2). The State has not asserted that NKU ever carried formal
"candidacy" status from CSWE, however. The mere fact that NKU was
seeking advice on accreditation is not sufficient to indicate candidacy
status. In Decision No. 92, in analyzing a similar situation, the Board
stated (page 5):
For the Board to find that KSU (Kentucky State University) had
pre-accreditation status on this basis, however, would mean that FFP
might be available starting at a point when a school merely requests
assistance from the CSWE to explore the possibility of accreditation or
requests an application for accreditation. The term used in the
regulation (pre-accreditation status) must connote some sort of formal
status from the accrediting body. Unless it is interpreted in this
light, HEW might have to provide FFP for an indefinite period of time
for an institution which has no real expectation of achieving
accreditation.
Since NKU did not carry formal candidacy status during the period in
question, the Board can not find that NKU had pre-accreditation status.
September 1, 1977 - June 30, 1978 Contract
In claiming FFP for the period after January 4, 1977, in spite of the
denial of accreditation, the State argues that it relied heavily on a
Region IV (Interpretation guide." That Guide states that if there is a
denial of accreditation, "FFP would continue to be available until the
end of the contract year in which that determination is made." (Guide,
Section D-4203.) Reliance on this Guide can not alter the disallowance
which begins on July 1, 1977. The effective date of the first contract
of which the Board has notice is September 1, 1977. There was no
contract in effect at the time that accreditation was denied. In
addition, the state itself admits that the Guide was made available to
the State after October 1977 (which is after the date of the effective
date of the first contract), and that it was in draft form and appeared
to be for discussional purposes (letter dated August 21, 1979 from
Commissioner Cain to Mr. Tudor).
July 1, 1978 - June 30, 1979 Contract
The Agency's disallowance covers the period of July 1, 1977 to June
25, 1979, the date of the reapplication for accreditation. The State
has submitted a letter from CSWE to NKU dated November 11, 1980, stating
that the University program had been accredited and that accreditation
is "effective the end of the academic year 1978-79." (Emphasis added)
In
effect, CSWE has made accreditation of NKU effective back to the period
of the reapplication for accreditation. The disallowance is consistent
with the regulation and with CSWE's accreditation action.
During the period in question, therefore, NKU's social work program
was not accredited by, did not have pre-accreditation status from, and
had not applied for accreditation by CSWE.
Decision
For the reasons stated above, we sustain the disallowance of FFP for
expenditures made under contract with Northern Kentucky University in
the full amount of $153,840.
OCTOBER 04, 1983