State Education Department

Office of Children and Family Services

Grants and Contracts Awarded to Educators for Children, Youth and Families, Inc.

Educators for Children, Youth and Families, Inc. (Educators) was a not-for-profit organization that offered various after-school services to children in New York City. We audited seven grants or contracts, totaling $3.2 million, that were awarded to Educators by the State Education Department (SED) and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). We questioned the validity of many of the expenses claimed by Educators under these grants and contracts, as $883,530 of the $1.8 million in claims that we examined were either not documented nor not allowable. For example, Educators provided us with no time and effort records, or any other payroll or personnel-related documents, for 19 of the employees charged to its contracts with SED, and no supporting documentation for $196,170 of the $199,278 claimed on its OCFS grants. Because of the high rate of invalid expense claims, we concluded that Educators may have defrauded the State. We recommended that SED and OCFS recover certain payments and investigate others for possible further recoveries.

For a complete copy of Report 2007-S-128 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.