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Audit Waivers

  • Audit Waivers

    Audit waivers are handled on a case-by-case basis. Purchasers may waive the audit requirements for any family-operated group home. Audits cannot be waived for residential care centers, agency-operated group homes, or corporation-operated group homes that provide services to children. Annual audits for these providers are required as a condition of licensing and to support the DCF claims to the federal government for Title IV-E funding for the care of children at these facilities. In addition, waivers cannot be granted for audits that are required under the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 for those agencies that must have an audit in accordance with OMB Circular A-133. "Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations".

    To obtain a waiver of the audit requirement for an agency, the purchaser must apply with their DCF Regional Office. Requests for waivers should be submitted to the DCF Regional Office on the Purchase of Service Audit Waiver Request Form. The waiver requests should be submitted to the Regional Office by either email or regular mail, and should include the Waiver Request Form and the Risk Identification and Assessment Worksheet. The DCF Regional Office may decide to approve an audit waiver if:

    • The granting agency assessed the level of risk as "low" on the Risk Identification and Assessment Worksheet.

    • The granting agency increased other monitoring efforts to reduce risk to a low level.

    • The contract is funded solely with federal funds.

    • The department funding is a very small percentage of the provider's overall business.

    • An audit would place an undue hardship on the provider.

    • Audited information is not necessary.

    • The agency does not operate a group home or child caring institutional facility.


    For contracts with family-operated group homes, the purchaser, rather than the State, has the authority to grant a waiver to the audit requirements. Purchasers should use the same criteria outlined in the Purchase of Service Audit Waiver Request Form and should complete the Risk Identification and Assessment Worksheet. Recommended guidelines include:

    • If the agency is low risk, as determined by the risk assessment, and the cost of the audit exceeds 5% of the total contract, an alternate year audit schedule that covers both years may be approved.
    • If it is determined that the audit would not be cost effective or would place an undue hardship on the provider, the audit requirement may be waived. The special circumstances that support the granting of the waiver should be documented, as well as the alternative financial monitoring that will be substituted for the audit.


    It is important to remember that granting an audit waiver, does not relieve the purchaser of its responsibility to monitor the agencies which it funds.

  • Mandate Relief Waivers

    Wis. Stat. s. 66.0143 permits a local municipality (city, village, town or county) to request a waiver from state laws that do not impact safety or health. Under this statute, counties may request a waiver from the $25,000 audit threshold for their subcontractors.

    The Department of Revenue (DOR) serves as a clearinghouse for these mandate relief requests. The DOR conveys the requests to the affected state department(s), which will then approve or deny them. Waivers are effective for four years and are renewable.

    DCF will grant audit waivers for up to $75,000, or in some cases, $100,000, amounts consistent with what other departments are allowing. This effectively raises the audit threshold from $25,000 to either $75,000 or $100,000. This waiver does not relieve the provider of its responsibilities to monitor subcontracts under these amounts for compliance. Providers are expected to continue monitoring efforts in other areas and to document those efforts.

    DCF has agreed to honor any waivers and waiver renewals granted by the Department of Health Services (DHS) prior to the creation of DCF. Confirmation letters have been sent to the affected agencies from DCF regarding waiver amounts and expiration dates.

    When seeking a renewal of a waiver, agencies will have to apply to both DCF and DHS. This can be done in the same letter to the DOR by citing both the DHS and DCF statutes, Wis. Stat. § 46.036 and Wis. Stat. § 49.34(4)(c), respectively.

    Counties or agencies requesting first-time waivers should apply to DCF through the DOR. Counties will want to consider applying to all affected state agencies on one application to minimize costs and time. This can be accomplished by simply listing all applicable state statutes on the waiver application form.

    A request for an increase in the threshold limit from $75,000 to $100,000 is treated like a first-time waiver request, and requires the completion of a new waiver application, a new governing body authorization, and all required documentation. A new waiver request is also required if a waiver renewal request is not received within 60 days after the waiver expiration date.

    When the waiver or renewal request is received by the DOR, it will be referred to DCF legal staff for their determination. Written confirmation or denial will be sent to the county or agency within 60 days.

    List of counties/agencies with mandate relief waivers granted by DCF


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