Re: Food Nutrition Funding Mike McCallister 11 Jul 2003 07:50 EST

Somebody at this sponsor has too much time and a bit of a control problem.

SPanky

At 07:00 AM 7/11/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>I am interested in how other universities receiving funding under this
>program have responded to the statement copied below.  Even if you are
>not receiving such funding, I am interested in how you would respond.
>This appears to me to be an overly prescriptive requirement on how we
>meet our time and effort reporting obligations.  I would think that our
>descriptions of these processes in our Disclosure Statements and/or
>absence of effort reporting findings in our A-133 audit reports would be
>sufficient (so far, these approaches have not been successful).  Am I
>wrong to think that what is sufficient for one federal agency should be
>sufficient for other federal agencies?  This is a note from a regional
>office, but it is said to have originated from a ruling at the national
>level.  I appreciate any input you may offer publicly or in private.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Mike
>
>
>Michael J. Warnock, Director
>Office of Sponsored Program Administration
>310 Jesse Hall
>University of Missouri
>Columbia, MO  65211
>voice 573 882-4329
>fax 573 884-4078
>xxxxxx@missouri.edu
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: xxxxxx@FNS.USDA.GOV [mailto:xxxxxx@FNS.USDA.GOV]
>Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 4:32 PM
>To: xxxxxx@LISTSERV.UNL.EDU
>Subject: FSNE Time and Effort
>
>
>FILE:  FS 10-6-2 GEN
>_______________________
>
>
>         The Mountain Plains Regional Office has received further
>confirmation from the FNS National Office re: what will be accepted for
>documentation of time and effort. A Policy Memo was issued to all States
>on October 23, 2002 entitled, Use of Plan Confirmation for Time
>Accounting in the FSP Nutrition Education Program. This Policy Memo
>stated that FNS will accept the use of Plan Confirmation for documenting
>time and effort for those colleges and universities that have an
>approval from the Division of Cost Allocation.  Colleges and
>universities that do not have such an approval must utilize weekly time
>sheets for all staff devoting less than 100% of their time to the food
>stamp nutrition education project. Exceptions to this policy are those
>sub-grantees who have Federally approved Random Moment Time Studies or
>Federally approved Rolling Weekly Time Sheets. The use of After-the-Fact
>Activity Records is not an acceptable method of time and effort
>documentation.
>
>         Currently, no states in the Mountain Plains Region have approved
>Plan Confirmation methodology nor do any states have either of the
>Federally approved exceptions as identified above.  Therefore, Mountain
>Plains is requesting that all State food stamp nutrition education
>projects comply with FNS Policy and implement weekly time sheets
>beginning May 1, 2003. Please verify back to the Regional Office that
>such action has taken place. If there are questions or comments, Colleen
>Bray can be contacted at (303) 844-0347 or by e-mail at
>xxxxxx@fns.usda.gov.  Thank you.
>
>
>Colleen R. Bray
>Food and Nutrition Service
>1244 Speer Blvd
>Denver, CO  80204-3585
>(303) 844-0347
>
>
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Mike McCallister, Ph.D.
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2801 South University
Little Rock, AR  72204-1099

(o) 501-569-8474
(c) 501-590-5609
(f)  501-371-7614

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. . . . With
consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have
the life that is waiting for us.
-- Joseph Campbell
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a
faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant
and has forgotten the gift.
 -- Albert Einstein

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