4200 Documentation Requirements
Title IV-E Finance Handbook for County Contracts February 2013
Reimbursement to the County
DFPS reimburses a county from Title IV-E funds when the county’s costs are determined to be reasonable, allowable, and allocable in accordance with the county contract and budget documents. The county must submit a detailed budget in the required format and a narrative justifying both the budget and the allocation of costs to Title IV-E. Both the budget and narrative must reflect appropriate Title IV-E costs.
If DFPS determines that a county’s costs are not reasonable, allowable, and allocable under Title IV-E, DFPS:
• does not reimburse the costs; and
• recovers any previous payments for such costs.
If the county’s bills are inadequately documented or appear to be unallowable, in whole or in part, DFPS notifies the county within 30 days and provides guidance to the county concerning the issues.
Counties must submit a new budget to DFPS for each federal fiscal year through budget forms 2030 CLIVE, 2030 CLIVE-PR, or 2030 CWIVE.
DFPS reimburses a county:
• only after the county’s budget is approved by DFPS; and
• only in accordance with the county’s contract and the approved budget forms.
A county may request that DFPS approve a new budget if the county’s expenses will exceed their current fiscal budget.
Billing Requirements
All billings must be submitted for reimbursement by the time limit specified in the contract.
The county must submit bills:
• quarterly; and
• within the first quarter after the quarter in which services were provided.
To submit bills, the county uses the following:
• Form 4116 State of Texas Purchase Voucher, available from the Federal Funds Division of DFPS (DFPS provides counties with a partially completed Form 4116, with object codes and other essential information included, for their convenience).
For billing and tracking purposes, administrative expenditures must be reported under a number of administrative activities, as indicated on the billing worksheet provided by DFPS.
• Other DFPS forms, forms provided by the contractor, or other sufficient documentation to support the claim as appropriate.
• The completed billing worksheets supplied by the DFPS Federal Funds Division.
Exceptions
If the quarterly bills for the county average, or are expected to average, less than $1,000 per quarter, the county may request, and the DFPS contract manager may grant, written permission to submit the bills annually. Annual bills must be submitted before the end of the first quarter of the following fiscal year and must document the claims for each quarter separately.
Amended or supplemental billings are allowed under the contract, but must be submitted within the time frames established by federal law for Title IV-E. To claim federal financial participation in expenditures under state plans approved under Title IV-E, states must adhere to the two-year (eight-quarter) time limit established in 45 CFR, Part 95, Subpart A.
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.
Required Claims Documentation
A county must maintain and submit supporting documentation for each claim. Supporting documentation must:
• be substantiated by the appropriate invoices or receipts;
• represent actual expenses (not estimates); and
• be reflected in the county’s accounting system.
Late Documentation
If a county does not submit the required documentation by the date requested, DFPS returns the claim to the county and the county’s reimbursement is delayed.
Required Documentation for Administration Salaries and Fringe Benefits
The county must maintain timesheets for each employee for whom the county wishes to claim reimbursement.
Timesheets must include all of the following:
• The employee’s name
• The date the work was performed
• The number of hours the employee worked on each task
• A description of the work performed
• The mileage that the employee is claiming, if any
• The employee’s signature certifying the accuracy of the data submitted
Required Documentation for Administration Travel
The county must maintain and submit copies of receipts, with the exception of meal receipts, for all actual travel expenses.
Travel receipts must provide all of the following:
• The name of the employee
• The date the expense was incurred
• The purpose of the expense
• A list of itemized charges
A Training or Conference
The documentation of costs for a training session or conference must include a copy of the agenda or brochure.
Mileage
The documentation of mileage must include:
• the starting and ending odometer readings; and
• an itemized city-to-city description.
If the odometer readings are not provided, use any readily available online mapping service. The itemization must provide enough detail for DFPS to verify the number of miles.
Required Documentation for Materials and Supplies, Equipment, and Other Costs
For all costs submitted for reimbursement under the cost categories of Materials and Supplies, Equipment, and Other, the county must maintain receipts and invoices that include all of the following:
• The date of purchase
• The items purchased
• The county’s name
• An itemized list of the charges