(a) State agencies shall prepare corrective action plans addressing those deficiencies specified in § 275.16(b) requiring action by the State agency or the combined efforts of the State agency and the project area(s)/management unit(s). This corrective action plan is an open-ended plan and shall remain in effect until all deficiencies in program operations have been reduced substantially or eliminated. State agencies shall provide updates to their corrective action plans through regular, semiannual updates. These semiannual updates shall be received by FNS by May 1st and November 1st respectively. Such updates must contain:

(1) Any additional deficiencies identified since the previous corrective action plan update;

(2) Documentation that a deficiency has been corrected and is therefore being removed from the plan; and

(3) Any changes to planned corrective actions for previously reported deficiencies.

(b) Content. State corrective action plans shall contain, but not necessarily be limited to, the following, based on the most recent information available:

(1) Specific description and identification of each deficiency;

(2) Source(s) through which the deficiency was detected;

(3) Magnitude of each deficiency, if appropriate, as defined in § 275.15(c)(3) of this part;

(4) Geographic extent of the deficiency (e.g., Statewide/project area or management unit—specific project areas in which the deficiency occurs);

(5) Identification of causal factor(s) contributing to the occurrence of each deficiency;

(6) Identification of any action already completed to eliminate the deficiency;

(7) For each deficiency, an outline of actions to be taken, the expected outcome of each action, the target date for each action, and the date by which each deficiency will have been eliminated; and

(8) For each deficiency, a description of the manner in which the State agency will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action in eliminating the deficiency.

(c) FNS will provide technical assistance in developing corrective action plans when requested by State agencies.

(d) State agencies will be held accountable for the efficient and effective operation of all areas of the program. FNS is not precluded from issuing a warning as specified in part 276 because a deficiency is included in the State agency's corrective action plan.