Exhibit A - Becca Cost Guidelines 2022

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EXHIBIT A BECCA COST GUIDELINES A. PURPOSE and SCOPE This document establishes the allowable cost guidelines for Becca reimbursements. It also sets forth the required documentation needed to support a reimbursement request.This supporting documentation needs to be retained at the local level and should not be submitted to AOC. B. GENERAL Becca allowable costs are only those costs associated with “processing and case management of truancy, children in need of services, and at-risk youthreferrals.” SeeESSB 5092 Section 115 (2)(a) and (b) (2021). The guidelines below take into consideration the financial needs of courtsfor processing and case management ofBeccareferrals and allows for reimbursement for expenses related to such activities. These guidelines are consistent to the legislative restrictions and guidelines placed on Beccafunding. C. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESCourt Project Manager Person designated by the court to manage the Beccacontract according to its terms including report preparation, scope of work, and performance Submits invoices and other required documentation in an accurate and timely manner Keeps all supporting documentation for audit purposes for at least six years after contract expiresAOC Project Manager Acts as central contact with the court Approves invoices and submitted supporting documentation for Becca reimbursement Forwards cost and budget questions received from the courts to the AOC Comptroller Reviews all reports required under the Becca agreementManagement Services Director Resolves policy and procedural issues related to Becca fundingAOC ComptrollerDetermines Becca annual fund allocation based on monies received from the legislature; see Allocation Process section for allocation process detailsResponds to cost and budget questionsPeriodically audits Courts to ensure reimbursement requests are supported; see Audit Process section for audit proceduresContract ManagerDrafts, reviews, and approves Becca agreementsAnswers questions regarding compliance with the agreementsProvides advice on interpretation of agreementState Auditor Audits Courts and AOC for compliance with Becca D. ALLOWABLE COSTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION Staff/FTE (salaries and benefits) Judicial Officer (i.e.judges, commissioners, and pro tems)- Time records and dockets regarding Becca processing andcase managementmust be kept locally.A judicial officercomputation rate will be supplied by AOC, and will be the same for all superior court judges or pro tems hearing Becca cases.The reimbursement for the judge or pro tem can only be for half the judge’s hourly salary. If the judicial officer is a commissioner, reimbursement will be for a commissioner rate supplied by AOC or the actual cost, whichever is less. Other court staff (e.g.clerks, court project managers, Beccacounselors or case managers, office staff) payroll record/time and attendance records related to theprocessingand case management of a Beccareferral must be kept locally.Ifthe employee is not assigned fulltime to Becca then compensation reimbursement must be proportioned to the amount of time the employee processes Beccareferralsand must be documented by time and attendance records. NOTE: This does not mean that timesheets must be completed to track the time spent on Becca. Document the process for determining the amount of time the person(s) spend on Becca duties. For example, keep track of time for at least a week and then determine the percentage to be charged. An Administrative Rate is allowed but an internal administrative rate must be documented and approved by the court administrator. This internal administrative rate must be documented with the formula used to determine the rate. Documentation must be on file locally and available to AOC and State Auditor. The vendor invoices must also be on file locally. Professional Services General - Detailed vendor invoice to include detailed description of work performed, contract number, hours, and hourly rate or time and attendance cards must be kept locally. All work must be related to the filing, processing, case management, or direct services related toBecca cases and invoice must be approved by authorizing authority (i.e.court administrator or his or her delegate) before inclusion in reimbursement request. However, these documents do not need to accompany the invoice to AOC. They should be readily available for audit purposes. Defense Attorney – Invoice must identify the specific Beccacases for which reimbursement is requested, hours worked, and the hourly or flat rate that was charged. These documents do not need to accompany the invoice to AOC. They should be readily available for audit purposes. Prosecutor - Invoice to include a breakdown of billable hours/rates working on filed Becca cases or invoice based on a per Becca petition cost to process along with rationale and explanation on how petition cost was determined.These documents do not need to accompany the invoice to AOC. They should be readily available for audit purposes. Goods Supplies Actual Costs - Supplies should be necessary for Beccacase processingor managementand may include consumable supplies. Vendor invoices should be kept locally for audit purposes. Costs Allocated by Internal Administrative Rate - Supplies may be allocated, but an internal administrative rate must be documented and approved by the court administrator. This internal administrative rate must be documented with the formula used to determine the rate. Documentation must be on file and available to AOC and State Auditor. The vendor invoices must be on file locally. Equipment Actual Costs - Reimbursement request does not need to include the vendor invoice if directly related to Becca; however, it must be kept locally and equipment is used solely for case processing or management. Any major purchase must be approved by AOC Project Manager prior to purchase. Major purchase is defined as purchase of an item where the cost is greater than $500 or where the service/maintenance period on the equipment is greater than one year and could exceed $500 in total maintenance costs. Vehicle and other high cost items are not allowable purchases. The purchase of printers and laptops is allowable within the existing contract allocation as long as the equipment is only provided to perform Becca work. Costs Allocated by an Internal Administrative Rate – Equipment costs may be allocated, but reimbursement request must be documented by an internal administrative rate specific to the court and approved by the court administrator. The internal administrative rate documentation must be on file and available to AOC and State Auditor. The vendor invoicemust also be on file. Training Reimbursement for attending the annual Becca Conference is provided, not to exceed the published AOC travel and per diem rates. Travel Travel/Expense Vouchers for travel to and from the annual Becca Conference and services specifically related to Beccacase processing ormanagement. Reimbursement is limited to the published AOC travel and per diem rates. Supporting Documentation –All travel reimbursement requests must be kept locally for audit purposes. All travel expenses must be within the travel costs permitted by the AOC at the time of travel. Detention Verification of detention days ordered and days served. Rate for detention costs cannot be billed at a daily rate that is higher than that charged to other courts purchasing beds nor should they be higher than the “actual” daily detention costs. If billing occurs based on a daily rate, records of actual costs should be kept on file to substantiate daily rate. If a rate is used for billing, the rate calculation must be kept locally for audit purposes. Becca Allocation Process Each biennium, an appropriation is provided by the WA State Legislature to the AOC to offset the costs associated with the processing and case management of Beccareferrals. The appropriations are provided from the State General Fund (SGF) as proviso, and are partitioned by fiscal year. In the 2021-2023Biennium, the amounts provided were $7 million per fiscal year. Allocation of the funding is based on caseload data from each county for CHINS, ARY, and Truancyfilings. The CHINS and ARY filing data is available through the AOC online caseload reports. Truancy data is researched and uploaded by the AOC Comptroller. The AOC Comptroller maintains an allocation spreadsheet (model) that utilizes this caseload data to create a percentage of total statewide filings for each county, based on a moving average of three-year filings of each case type. After updated CHINS, ARY, and Truancy data is collected, the data is loaded into the model which in turn uses a formula to create the statewide percentages by county. The percentages are applied to the appropriation amount by fiscal year, thus producing the allocation amounts that are available to counties. The formula is developed according to provisions set forth in the 2021-2023 omnibus operating budget. Specifically the operating budget states, in part: “The administrator for the courts, in conjunction with the juvenile court administrators, shall develop an equitable funding distribution formula. The formula must neither reward counties with higher than average per-petition/referral processing costs nor shall it penalize counties with lower than average per-petition/referral processing costs.” Audit Process The AOC Comptroller will periodically audit court Becca reimbursement requests to ensure requests are supported. Each year, the AOC Comptroller will randomly select several courts/counties for audit. On-site audits are not required by the State Auditor’s Office (SAO), but the AOC and AOC Comptroller reserve the right to schedule on-site audits if desired or required. The AOC Comptroller (or designee) will review payroll records, invoices, travel vouchers, and any other records of expenses related to Becca reimbursement requests. The AOC Comptroller will ensure that expenses detailed on any of these (or other) reimbursement request documents are supported by required approval and signature of appropriate county staff, and that the expenses detailed are in support of Becca in that county. Following this review, the AOC Comptroller (or designee) will contact the court if reimbursement request(s) do not meet the criteria and file the attached report in the AOC Becca audit file. See next page for sample report. State of Washington Administrative Office of the Courts I, [AOC Comptroller name], have reviewed the Becca reimbursement documents and supporting documentation provided by [county and county designee name] for the time period Fiscal Year [20XX], and do hereby declare that: Documentation is in compliance with Becca cost reimbursement requirements. Documentation is not in compliance with Becca cost reimbursementrequirements. The following corrective action must be taken: Signed ________________________________________________ AOC Comptroller/Designee Date n:\programs & organizations\wajca\contracts\exhibit a becca cost guidelines 2021.docx