GAB Decision 248
January 20, 1982 Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc., Los Angeles,
California; Docket No. 81-34 Ford, Cecilia; Garrett, Donald Teitz,
Alexander
The Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc. (AADAP, Grantee) appealed
a decision of the Grant Appeals Committee of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse,and
Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA, Agency) that the Grantee should
refund $16,433. ADAMHA found that AADAP failed to document $16,433 of
the total which was allegedly expended for grant purposes in the third
year of the grant.
The Board issued an order directing Grantee to show cause why the
ADAMHA decision should not be upheld, on the grounds that Grantee failed
to document the $16,433. In reply AADAP conceded that it should refund
the $16,433. Also, Grantee contended in effect that the refund should
be offset by reversal of an adjustment of $20,807 made by ADAMHA in
1976. After receiving AADAP's report of grant-related expenditures for
the second year of the grant, ADAMHA found that AADAP had claimed 79.6
percent as the federal share, instead of the 75 percent to which Grantee
was entitled that year. In its response to the Board's Order to Show
Cause, Grantee alleged that it underreported its matching share for Year
02 (thus overreporting the federal match) and that it could prove this
by evidence which it had not presented previously.
Under the circumstances the relief requested by AADAP is
inappropriate in this appeal. Even if Grantee could show it
underreported its matching share by $20,807, ADAMHA made the adjustment
decision in 1976 and Grantee did not attempt to appeal it until now. We
will not consider that issue until it has been presented to the ADAMHA
Grant Appeals Committee and their decision, if adverse, is properly
appealed to us. Therefore, if Grantee wishes to pursue that matter, it
must do so directly with ADAMHA. *
(2) As we indicated in the Order to Show Cause, throughout the
proceedings in the Agency and before the Board, Grantee has failed to
document that it expended for grant purposes the $16,433 at issue in
this appeal. Grantee now has concurred that it should refund this
amount because of insufficient documentation. Accordingly, we uphold
the decision of ADAMHA that the $16,433 must be returned to the federal
government. * ADAMHA asserted in its memorandum of June 15, 1981 that
"the time-frame in which an appeal of this issue (the $20,807
adjustment) could be accepted has expired." We note, however, that the
May 27, 1976 letter referring to the adjustment did not advise Grantee
that it could appeal, much less set a time limit for such an appeal.
OCTOBER 22, 1983