Auditor Fitzpatrick announces audit of Child and Adult Care Food Program

State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick announced today that his office is reviewing a program that reimburses child care centers and other providers for serving nutritious meals to eligible children and adults. The State Auditor's Office officially started a comprehensive audit of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) on September 25.

Administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), the CACFP uses funding provided by the United States Department of Agriculture to ensure nutritious meals and snacks are served to children and eligible adults enrolled in child care centers, family child care homes, after-school programs, emergency shelters, and adult day care programs. The CACFP reimburses participating programs that provide meals that meet minimum nutrition standards.

The State Auditor's Office first began investigating issues surrounding the CACFP in May after a whistleblower complaint raised concerns about the potential misuse of federal dollars by the New Heights Community Resource Center. New Heights participated in the CACFP and received millions of dollars in federal funding. The whistleblower complaint alleged that New Heights may have used funds for purposes other than providing meals. The initial investigation conducted by the State Auditor's Office found the allegations to be credible, which led to the initiation of a comprehensive audit.

The audit will thoroughly examine the CACFP in its entirety, including all organizations that have received funding through the program.

"With the enormous influx of federal dollars into our state the opportunity for fraud has increased dramatically. The allegations of these funds being used inappropriately are extremely concerning and deserving of a comprehensive review to ensure every dollar is used to provide healthy meals to kids," said Auditor Fitzpatrick. "I encourage anyone with information that may be helpful to the audit to contact our Whistleblower Hotline."

Individuals may provide confidential information for consideration during the audit to the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, by email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or by visiting www.auditor.mo.gov/hotline.