Acadiana Legal Service CorporationNon-Profit

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION?S PAI REQUIREMENT Criteria: Recipients of Legal Services Corporation, (LSC) funding are required to devote an amount of LSC and/or non-LSC funds equal to at least 12.5% of their annualized LSC Basic Field Award to promoting the involvement of private attorneys, law students, law graduates, or other professionals in the delivery of legal information and legal assistance to eligible clients. The recipient is to demonstrate compliance with this requirement by using financial systems and procedures and maintain supporting documentation to identify and separately account for costs related to the PAI effort. While it is the expectation and experience of LSC that most basic field programs can effectively expend their PAI requirement, there are some circumstances, temporary or permanent, under which the goal of economical and effective use of LSC funds will be furthered by a partial, or in exceptional circumstances, a complete waiver of the PAI requirement. Applications for waivers of any requirement under the PAI requirement may be for the current or next fiscal year. All such applications must be in writing. Applications for waivers for the current fiscal year must be received by LSC during the current fiscal year. Condition: For the year ended December 31, 2019, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation?s Private Attorney Involvement was approximately 10.31% of its annualized LSC Basic Field Award, which is below the required 12.5% threshold. Acadiana Legal Service Corporation did not submit an application for a waiver related to its PAI requirement, which fell below the required 12.5% threshold, during the year ended December 31, 2019. Cause: For the year ended December 31, 2019, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation did not meet LSC?s PAI requirement for the following reasons: 1) Acadiana Legal Service Corporation had an unbudgeted increase in its LSC Basic Field Award of approximately $500,000. Due to the delay in Congress? passing of the final 2019 appropriations, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation did not learn of the increase in award until after the Corporation?s PAI contracts for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, were finalized. Acadiana Legal Service Corporation was able to increase the contracts of two of the PAI contracts towards the end of the year. 2) In prior years, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation has used part of its LSC basic field award to fund contracts with private attorneys to handle conflicts of interest in Child in Need of Care cases, but in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Child in Need of Care funding increased substantially, reducing the number of private attorneys used in the current year. 3) The coordinator of one of Acadiana Legal Service Corporation?s subgrantee/private attorney programs passed away during the year ended December 31, 2019, resulting in a suspension of cases being referred to the program until a new coordinator could be hired, which did not occur until the subsequent year. Effect: Acadiana Legal Service Corporation is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of the LSC Basic Field Award. Non-compliance with the LSC Basic Field Award could result in reduced awards in subsequent years. If the Corporation fails to comply with the expenditure required by this PAI requirement, and the Corporation fails without good cause to seek a waiver during the term of the grant or contract, LSC could withhold from the Corporation?s grant payments an amount equal to the difference between the amount expended on PAI and twelve and one-half percent (12.5%) of the Corporation?s Basic Field Award. If the Corporation fails with good cause to seek a waiver, or applies for but does not receive a waiver, or receives a waiver of part of the PAI requirement and does not expend the amount required to be expended, the PAI expenditure requirement for the ensuing year shall be increased for the Corporation by an amount equal to the difference between the amount actually expended and the amount required to be expended. Recommendation: We recommend that Acadiana Legal Service Corporation monitor its private attorney involvement on a more continuous basis so as to be able to adjust expenditures, as necessary, to be in compliance with the LSC requirement to devote an amount of LSC and/or non-LSC funds equal to at least 12.5% of their annualized LSC Basic Field Award to promoting the involvement of private attorneys, law students, law graduates, or other professionals in the delivery of legal information and legal assistance to eligible clients.