| (5) recommend dedesignation and/or cancellation of
the contract of the Area Agency on Aging to the Texas Board on Aging.
(j) Administrative Violations. Administrative violations
shall result in disciplinary actions as specified in this section,
unless the violation was due to an act of God or action by the Department.
Violations will be documented and greater levels of administrative
sanctions will be applied for non-compliance issues deemed most serious
and for continued non-compliance of less serious offenses.
(k) Violations Subject to Level One Sanctions. Violations
which may result in the imposition of level one sanctions include
the following:
(1) failure to submit a required report by the due
date or approved extension. For purposes of this violation, a Form
269 and CIS/MIS submission for a single month shall be considered
one report submission;
(2) failure to submit required reports accurately
and completely, if identified by the Department (not to exceed two
instances in one fiscal year), and not corrected within five workdays
following notification;
(3) failure, on the third occurrence, to submit required
reports accurately and completely, if identified by the Department,
whether or not a violation notice was previously issued;
(4) failure to submit timely an acceptable corrective
action plan for findings of program and fiscal monitoring within
45 days;
(5) failure to conduct an appropriate audit review
process for required provider audits;
(6) failure to resolve deficiencies noted in an audit
review within timeframes established by contract;
(7) failure to comply with the Department's requirements
related to the Agreement Between the State of Texas and the Secretary
of the Treasury, the United States Department of the Treasury in Accordance
With the Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (CMIA), and its attendant
regulations as set forth in 31 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
Part 205, for the first time within a budget period; and
(l) Violations Subject to Level Two Sanctions. Violations
which may result in the imposition of level two sanctions include
the following:
(1) failure to rectify any level one sanction within
the timeframe established for corrective action;
(2) failure to timely complete corrective actions
provided in any corrective action plan;
(3) failure to timely submit a Single Audit, in accordance
with OMB Circular A-133, to the Department;
(4) failure to be certified as having had accurate
data following performance measure testing;
(5) commits a second violation, within a budget period,
of the Department's requirements related to the Agreement Between
the State of Texas and the Secretary of the Treasury, the United
States Department of the Treasury in Accordance With the Cash Management
Improvement Act of 1990 (CMIA), and its attendant regulations as set
forth in 31 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 205;
(6) failure to conduct on-site monitoring of providers
as required;
(7) failure to issue letter of findings within 30
days following on-site monitoring or quality assurance review (QAR)
of service providers; and
(8) failure to assure contractor's resolution of deficiencies
found during service provider's monitoring/quality assurance review
within the timeframes established in the corrective action plan.
(m) Violations Subject to Level Three Sanctions. Violations
which may result in the imposition of level three sanctions include
the following:
(1) failure to rectify any level 1 sanction within
90 days following the timeframe established for corrective action;
(2) failure to rectify any level 2 sanction within
the timeframe established for corrective action;
(3) failure to appropriately act upon reported or
identified threats to the health and safety of program participants
within 72 hours of notice/identification;
(4) failure to appropriately report and respond to
allegations of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation, and/or allegations
of fraud or ethics code violations;
(5) failure to have tested data certified as accurate
2 times out of any 4 consecutive performance measure tests; and
(6) commits four or more level one violations or three
or more level two violations within the same fiscal year.
(n) Violations Subject to Level Four Sanctions. Violations
which may result in the imposition of level four sanctions include
the following:
(1) failure to rectify any level 1 sanction within
180 days following the timeframe established for corrective action;
(2) failure to rectify any level 2 sanction within
90 days following the timeframe established for corrective action;
and
(3) failure to rectify any level 3 sanction within
the timeframe established for corrective action.
(o) Notice.
(1) The date of notice shall be the date the notice
is sent to the contractor via facsimile transmission (FAX), if transmitted
or recorded as delivered by 12:00 Noon on a regular business day.
If transmitted after 12:00 Noon, the next business day will be considered
the date of notice.
(2) All notices of violations will be sent by the
following methods:
(A) facsimile (FAX) transmission for all notices;
and
(B) letter by regular mail for violations subject
to a level one and level two sanction or, for violations subject to
a level three and level four sanction, by regular mail, return receipt
requested.
(3) All notices will be addressed to:
(A) the contractor's Executive Director or designated
representative;
(B) the Director of the Area Agency on Aging; and
(C) the contractor's Chairman of the Board or comparable
agency official.
(p) Fraud. All allegations of fraud will be investigated
by the Department. Complaints will be referred to the appropriate
agency for action. Since payments to contractors are made from both
State and Federal funds, submission of false or fraudulent claims,
statements, documents, or the concealment of a material fact may be
prosecuted as a felony in either Federal or State Court.
(1) The Department will inform the contractor of the
exact nature of the complaint and may require the contractor to conduct
its own internal investigation.
(2) The Department will document its investigation's
findings and conclusions and inform the contractor and the complainant
of the results. If an investigation indicates there is a substantiated
situation in which there is a question of fraud, the Department will
require the contractor to take corrective action and/or refer the
complaint to the Texas Attorney General's Office, the United States
Attorney General's Office and other appropriate law enforcement agencies.
(q) Ethics Code Violations. Violations of the Ethics
Code requirements, Texas Government Code 572, related to ethics, as
specified in the contract, will be investigated by the Department
and referred by the Department to the appropriate law enforcement
agency. Ethics violations may result in criminal prosecution and may
be pursued based on the provisions of the Texas Government Code,
the Election Code, the Penal Code, or other pertinent laws and regulations.
(1) The Department will inform the contractor of the
exact nature of the complaint and may require the contractor to conduct
its own internal investigation.
(2) The Department will document its investigation's
findings and conclusions and inform the contractor and the complainant
of the results. If an investigation indicates there is a substantiated
situation in which there is a question of ethics code violations,
the Department will require the contractor to take corrective action
and/or refer the complaint to appropriate law enforcement agencies.
(r) Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Abuse, neglect,
exploitation and other violations of client rights will be reported
by the Department to the appropriate authorities.
(s) Other Remedies. The Department may take and/or
impose other remedies that are legally available based on the circumstances
involved.
(t) Procedures for the Withdrawal of Area Agency on
Aging Designation.
(1) If the Department proceeds to withdraw Area Agency
on Aging designation, action shall be taken to assure that appropriate
individuals and agencies are informed in advance of the reasons which
make it necessary. Correspondence shall be prepared summarizing the
basis for the action. This correspondence shall be mailed by certified
mail, return receipt requested, to the contractor and other interested
parties, including subcontractors or vendors for the contract involved.
Such notification will be sent at least ten working days prior to
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