Finding 2023-002 – Low Income Public Housing Tenant Files – Eligibility – Noncompliance & Significant Deficiency – Public and Indian Housing – ALN 14.850
The New Reidsville Housing Authority suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Specialists wi...
Finding 2023-002 – Low Income Public Housing Tenant Files – Eligibility – Noncompliance & Significant Deficiency – Public and Indian Housing – ALN 14.850
The New Reidsville Housing Authority suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of the Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Specialists within weeks of one another and immediately before the start of the fiscal year. As a small housing authority, the deaths of two of the five office employees who had a combined 33 years of Authority experience left a significant void in knowledge and experience. Although the two employees were cross trained on each other’s jobs, no remaining employees were fully trained or capable of assuming those positions or responsibilities.
In the months after the passing of the PH Specialist, temporary labor was utilized until such time as the position was filled on a permanent basis. Although a comprehensive review of all tenant and participant files to ensure completeness and compliance had begun prior to the audit, the sudden declining health and subsequent passing of the Executive Director hindered efforts even further.
All new and existing housing personnel have received and continue to receive housing-related software-specific training and cross training on both the Public and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Comprehensive file review, written documentation of all tasks, and an office-wide evaluation of processes will continue as the employees become accustomed to their new positions.
Corrective Action Plan:
We concur with this finding. We are emphasizing the importance of accurate tenant file information, data entry, and calculations with our staff in their new positions. We are confident these errors and oversights will not occur in the future. An extensive tenant file review was underway but was not completed at the time of the audit. A thorough tenant file audit to detect and correct any misstatements will begin as well. All staff are being trained in their positions, and future cross-training and peer review processes are currently being put into practice to execute an added layer of review for all tenant files.
Person Responsible:
Samantha Shumaker, Interim Director
Anticipated Completion Date:
June 30, 2024