2022-029 Oregon Housing and Community Services Ensure accessible documentation to evidence compliance with program requirements Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Assistance Listing Number and Name: 21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (COVID-19) Federal Award Numbers a...
2022-029 Oregon Housing and Community Services Ensure accessible documentation to evidence compliance with program requirements Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Assistance Listing Number and Name: 21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (COVID-19) Federal Award Numbers and Years: ERA 1, 2021 (COVID-19) Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed; Allowable Costs/Cost Principles; Eligibility Type of Finding: Material Weakness Prior Year Finding: N/A Questioned Costs: N/A Criteria: 2 CFR 200.302(a); 2 CFR 200.332(a)(5) Department management is responsible for communicating to subrecipients that they are required to permit the department and auditors access to their records as necessary to ensure the department is compliant with program requirements. To ensure compliance with program requirements, subrecipient records must also be sufficiently detailed. The department passed through $140 million phase one program funds to community action agencies (subrecipients) to provide program delivery. The department performed limited fiscal monitoring during the audit period which included procedures to address compliance with activities allowed and allowable cost requirements for administrative costs. The department did not perform any program monitoring during the audit period which primarily addresses compliance with eligibility requirements. To determine whether the department complied with program requirements for the fiscal year, auditors attempted to reconcile detailed subrecipient ledgers with the intent of selecting and testing sample items at each individual subrecipient organization. We noted issues with two individual subrecipients, resulting in an inability to perform testing procedures over a total of $21,438,521 in program expenditures. For the first subrecipient we were able to reconcile their detailed ledgers to the department?s financial records, however their detailed ledger included pass-through payments to a third organization for program delivery. As a result of the combination of direct and pass-through payments, we were unable to obtain sufficiently detailed data that also reconciled to the department?s financial records to select individual transactions for testing. This subrecipient represents $19,877,962 of the unaudited expenditures. For the second subrecipient we were able to reconcile their detailed ledgers to the department?s financial records and select administrative and program transactions for testing. However, the subrecipient was unresponsive to documentation requests to substantiate expenditures. This subrecipient accounted for $1,560,559 of the unaudited expenditures. We recommend department management obtain and reconcile sufficiently detailed subrecipient ledgers and support to substantiate expenditures to allow for fiscal and program monitoring to ensure subrecipients are administering program funds in accordance with program requirements. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE: We agree with this recommendation. To effectively deliver much needed funds to maintain the housing stability of tens of thousands of Oregonians on the brink of experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, agency staff raced to stand up a first-of-its-kind ?single entry point? program for Oregonians to apply for assistance regardless of zip code. In our efforts to focus on speed we acknowledge that there was insufficient planning and capacity to stand up a large-scale emergency program including sufficient assurances our subrecipients could generate evidence of compliance with program requirements including transaction level details to assist with reconciliation. Oregon?s experience is in line with national findings. According to the January 2021 research brief conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition around key program challenges with administering emergency rental assistance programs. Survey respondents listed the two most common limitations to be staff capacity and the completeness of applications. Many agencies leaned on whatever local capacity was available to develop programs, review, and process applications, make payments and conduct outreach. Corrective action plan: OHCS had significant compliance monitoring staff turnover in FY22 leading to incomplete subrecipient monitoring reviews. OHCS completing these reviews would?ve ensured subrecipients had adequate time to produce necessary documentation to evaluate compliance, or if not, subrecipients would?ve been required to take corrective actions. For fiscal compliance, OHCS hired a contractor to perform fiscal monitoring of federal funded Grantees. OHCS also hired fiscal staff to pre-FY22 levels, fully trained them, conducted coordinated working sessions, and reached out to the CAA network for discussions on improving processes. OHCS continues to work with the contractor for much needed assistance in monitoring of back log while internal staff move forward to allow for all monitoring to be back on schedule and coordinating both fiscal and program compliance during future fiscal years. Program compliance employees have been hired and compliance efforts are underway. All providers will have internal compliance visits at regular intervals to ensure they have necessary documents and eligibility is being determined in compliance with program requirements. Additionally regular and ongoing check ins and trainings are being offered by program staff. Finally, program compliance teams are working with the Finance compliance team as well as a contracted expert to develop systems and processes in alignment with the Finance compliance team. As a result of program compliance efforts, a risk evaluation is being developed and incorporated into future contracting decisions. Efforts in hiring and systemic investments in infrastructure, processes, and procedures in addition to partner communications have taken place to ensure agency readiness in the event another emergency occurs. As part of our commitment to continual learning, our OHCS research team is collaborating closely with university and national partners to analyze our ERA program data and findings to see what themes emerge for improvement both nationally and in Oregon. Anticipated Completion Date: December 31, 2023 Contact: Jill Smith, Director of Housing Stabilization Division and Dean Criscola, Controller