[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 4]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR275.9]

[Page 833-834]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 275--PERFORMANCE REPORTING SYSTEM--Table of Contents
 
              Subpart B--Management Evaluation (ME) Reviews
 
Sec. 275.9  Review process.

    (a) Review procedures. State agencies shall review the program 
requirements specified for review in Sec. 275.8 of this part using 
procedures that are adequate to identify problems and the causes of 
those problems. As each project area's operational structure will 
differ, State agencies shall review each program requirement applicable 
to the project area in a manner which will best measure the project 
area's compliance with each program requirement.
    (b) ME review plan. (1) State agencies shall develop a review plan 
prior to each ME review. This review plan shall specify whether each 
project area is large, medium, or small and shall contain:
    (i) Identification of the project area to be reviewed, program areas 
to be reviewed, the dates the review will be conducted, and the period 
of time that the review will cover;
    (ii) Information secured from the project area regarding its 
caseload and organization;
    (iii) Identification of the certification offices, issuance offices, 
bulk storage points, reporting points, and data management units 
selected for review and the techniques used to select them;
    (iv) Identification of whether the State agency is using the ME 
review to monitor coupon issuers and bulk storage points as discussed 
Sec. 274.1(c)(2). At State agency option it may also indicate whether 
the State agency is using the ME review process to perform non-
discrimination reviews; and
    (v) A description of the review method(s) the State agency plans to 
use for each program area being reviewed.
    (2) ME review plans shall be maintained in an orderly fashion and be 
made available to FNS upon request.
    (c) Review methods. (1) State agenices shall determine the method of 
reviewing the program requirements associated with each program area. 
For some areas of program operation it may be necessary to use more than 
one method of review to determine if the project area is in compliance 
with program requirements. The procedures used shall be adequate to 
identify any problems and the causes of those problems.
    (2) State agencies shall ensure that the method used to review a 
program requirement does not bias the review findings. Bias can be 
introduced through leading questions, incomplete reviews, incorrect 
sampling techniques, etc.
    (d) Review worksheet. (1) State agencies shall use a review 
worksheet to record all review findings. For each sub-unit reviewed the 
State agency shall, on the worksheet, identify:
    (i) The sub-unit being reviewed;
    (ii) Each program requirement reviewed in the sub-unit;
    (iii) The method used to review each program requirement;
    (iv) A description of any deficiency detected;
    (v) The cause(s) of any deficiency detected, if known;
    (vi) The number of casefiles and/or program records selected and 
examined within the sub-unit, identification of those selected (record 
case number,

[[Page 834]]

household name, etc.), the proportion which were not subject to review, 
as well as the method used to select the sample;
    (vii) Where applicable, the numerical extent of any deficiency 
detected through examination of program records; and
    (viii) Any pertinent comments concerning the sub-unit's operation.
    (2) State agencies shall promptly forward review findings to the 
appropriate State office for analysis, evaluation, and corrective action 
planning. Review worksheets shall be retained in an orderly fashion and 
made available to FNS upon request.

[Amdt. 160, 45 FR 15900, Mar. 11, 1980; 45 FR 25375, Apr. 15, 1980, as 
amended by Amdt. 266, 52 FR 3409, Feb. 4, 1987; Amdt. 356, 59 FR 29713, 
June 9, 1994]