NCJ Number
74797
Date Published
1977
Length
55 pages
Annotation
Guidelines are provided to help States reduce erroneous payments in their programs of Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
Abstract
The guidelines focus only on the technical aspects of the corrective action process, and they are not intended to negate management actions which are crucial prerequisites for an effective corrective action program. The suggested guidelines synthesize planning practices observed in a number of States and elements of the methodology used to determine the cost and effectiveness of the national AFDC quality control corrective action program. The first section, which discusses procedures for identifying opportunities for savings, explains the need for States to take corrective action on payment error rates associated with each element of the AFDC program. A methodology for estimating the savings to be realized from error reduction is presented. The second section, which examines procedures for identifying the cause of payment errors, describes case review activities performed in several States for the purpose of understanding the nature and causes of payment errors. The third section describes a series of corrective actions which have been particularly effective in reducing selected types of payment errors. The concluding section develops a methodology for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of particular corrective actions and suggests that the results of this evaluation be incorporated in future planning activities. Appended are computational forms and procedures of methodologies for computing (1) payment error rates, (2) confidence intervals for savings opportunities, (3) policy adjustments to be used in determining corrective action savings, and (4) methodology for computing confidence intervals for corrective action savings. Also appended is an abbreviated management summary of the AFDC-QC Corrective Action Evaluation. (Author summary modified)