(The following was excerpted from an article in the Single Audit Information Service.) New York education officials have proposed reforms to improve the state’s oversight of special education programs in response to a New York Office of State Comptroller audit that found various fiscal concerns with the program. OSC reported that since 2003, its audits of special education providers have repeatedly found increasingly serious deficiencies in fiscal management, including cases of outright fraud.

It’s not often that the Office of Management and Budget’s Victoria Collin can be compared to megastar Oprah Winfrey, but on Monday, they both had something in common.

(The following was excerpted from an article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) The Louisiana State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has developed new procedures to ensure that it submits referral letters of substantiated fraudulent and convicted providers in a timely manner to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for program exclusion.

(The following post ran in Thompson's education blog, Title 1-derland.) Oh, where, oh where, can it be?

The time has come to throw an extra blanket or two on the bed and don several layers before venturing out the door. Here in the Washington, D.C., area, we’re getting set for a week of some of the coldest temperatures we’ve had in years. Because of the long run of generally moderate temperatures we’ve had for quite some time, one may forget about the importance of the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance grant program. Not now.

(The following was excerpted from an article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) The Federal Railroad Administration must establish grants management guidance with clear goals and performance measures to ensure that its High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program is implemented effectively, an official with the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General recently told a House committee.

Maybe, just maybe, we might get a clearer idea later this month about what’s in store for the future of grants management. At least, one can hope. Here, let me explain.

There may be many other pressing concerns -- the federal debt, gun control, foreign wars, to name a few -- but President Obama has ensured that reducing federal government improper payments remains high on his agenda.

(The following was excerpted from an article in the Single Audit Information Service.) Federal Highway Administration officials plan to review each state’s cost estimating procedures by May 2013 to ensure that states are obligating funds for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act highway infrastructure projects based on best estimates of project costs, in response to an audit by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General.

With a new year, time marches on and things change. After 34 years in public office, Brian Sonntag will be leaving his position as the state auditor for state of Washington, moving on to become the chief financial officer of The Rescue Mission, which helps the hungry and homeless in the Tacoma area.The Seattle-Tacoma News Tribune’s Political Buzz blog recently ran an intriguing, question-and-answer blog post featuring Sonntag. The post actually included questions and responses from Sonntag that didn’t make the publication’s original feature. In one question, Sonntag was asked what audit brought forth the most meaningful change. Sonntag replied that his office conducted a huge performance audit on the Port of Seattle several years ago, and issued a report he deemed “pretty contentious” because there was “a lot of pushback on the part of the port.” Sonntag said his office found about $95 million had been misspent in contracting, and the auditor’s office made several dozen recommendations.Sonntag noted that the port has since implemented almost everything his office recommended including creating a contract compliance officer. “Heck, they even record their executive sessions,” he added in his response. “It is such a different atmosphere at the port right now, and that’s what we were after.”Later in the post, Sonntag was asked what his advice would be for his successor. His response was simple – “to listen.” “I think that’s critical, that you listen to the people who you work with, the people who you audit, those other public servants around the state, and you also listen to the public,” he states in the blog post. Such good advice. I would hope other public officials would do the same.