Audit 380849

Federal program: AL #14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids FY/Federal Award ID#: FY2025/See Schedule of Federal Expenditures Federal agency: Department of Urban Development Pass thru entity: AIDS Foundation of Chicago Criteria: The PHA or owner must provide housing that is decent, safe, and sanitary. All housing that involves acquisition, rehabilitation, conversion, lease, repair of facilities, new construction, project-or tenant-base rental assistance (including assistance for shared housing arrangements), and operation costs must meet housing quality standards required at 24 CFR sections 574.310(b)(1)-(2) also known as the HOPWA Habitability Standards. HOPWA grantees must perform housing quality inspections to ensure that the units meet required HOPWA Housing Quality Standards (HQS). Condition: One out of forty selections did not include support that the Organization's housing quality survey was completed or other supplemental documentation to satisfy the criteria above. The sample was not statistically valid. Questioned Costs: None noted. Cause: Lack of maintaining required compliance documentation per the Organization's policies and procedures. Effect: If supporting documentation of HQS inspection is not maintained there is a reasonable possibility that rental assistance may be provided for a unit that does not meet required health and safety standards. Recommendation: The Organization should ensure that documentation is maintained related to inspection of rental units prior to authorizing client lease execution and move-in as well as subsequent inspections at least annually during assisted occupancy. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs and is putting safeguards in place to ensure all documentation, including the housing quality survey, is maintained related to inspection of rental units prior to authorizing lease execution and move-in. These safeguard include internal program audits of a sample of files on a quarterly basis.

Federal program: AL #14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids FY/Federal Award ID#: FY2025/See Schedule of Federal Expenditures Federal agency: Department of Urban Development Pass thru entity: AIDS Foundation of Chicago Criteria: A person eligible for assistance under this program means a person with HIV or AIDS who is a low-income individual and the person’s family, including persons important to their care or wellbeing, as defined in 24 CFR section 574.3. The eligibility of those tenants who were admitted to the program should be determined by (1) obtaining applications that contain all the information needed to determine eligibility, including diagnosis, documentation of housing need, income, rent, and order of selection; and (2) obtaining third party verifications or documentation of expected income, assets, unusual medical expenses, and any other pertinent information. Some households entering the HOPWA program may indicate that they have no income. In such cases, agencies are expected to document this fact by obtaining a certification of “no income” from the applicant through a Zero-Income Affidavit. Condition: One out of forty selections did not include documentation to satisfy criteria (2) above. Further, twelve of out forty selections related to clients with no-income, which included selfverification by the client of no income along with other supplemental documentation to satisfy criteria (2) above, however there was no signed Zero-Income Affidavit. The sample was not statistically valid. Questioned Costs: None noted. Cause: Lack of a maintaining required eligibility compliance documentation. Effect: If supporting documentation for eligibility is not maintained there is a reasonable possibility that rental assistance may be provided for clients that are ineligible to participate in the program. Recommendation: Third party verification of low-income or other supplemental documentation to satisfy criteria (2) above should be maintained in the program participant's file. In addition, Zero-Income Affidavits should be signed by all participants with no income and maintained in the program participant's file. Views of Responsible Officials: Management concurs and the supportive housing policies and procedures manual will be updated to reflect the requirements of 24 CFR Part 574, Subparts B to F. Further, the organization will fully implement no-income affidavits to be used anytime a client self_x0002_reports no income.