Finding 1137730 (2023-005)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2025-05-22

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Incomplete documentation of tenant income eligibility has led to potential non-compliance with HUD requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with income limits and eligibility verification for Housing Choice Voucher participants is not being met.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Focus on recruiting and training staff, and streamline processes to ensure accurate tenant eligibility documentation.

Finding Text

2023‐005 New Tenant Eligibility Controls and Compliance Questioned Costs The exact monetary impact needs further investigation to determine the amount for the period of non‐compliance. Management Views We agree with this finding and have outlined our plan of action in our corrective action plan. Cause The failure to meet compliance requirements noted above can be attributed to a combination of factors, including major staff turnover, which led to a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise critical for the preparation and maintain the required documentation in tenant files. Effect Compliance with income limits and eligibility could not be demonstrated for sampled tenants. Therefore, ineligible individuals may be receiving HAP assistance and /or HAP is being incorrectly calculated based on unverified incomes. Recommendations It is recommended that the Authority: (1) Prioritize the recruitment and training of new staff to fill critical roles, ensuring they are well‐versed in HUD requirements and (2) Revise and streamline internal processes to improve efficiency and reliability in meeting HUD's requirements for determing tenant eligibility. Criteria As a condition of admission or continued occupancy, require the tenant and other family members to provide necessary information, documentation, and releases for the Authority to verify income eligibility (24 CFR sections 5.230, 5.609, and 982.516) Condition Incomplete documentation of tenant’s initial income eligibility for participation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program. During the sampling of 6 tenant files we noted: (1) 5 contained no income calculation or supporting documentation for calculations; (2) 3 had no 50058 forms in the tenant file; (3) all 6 selected could not be traced back to the waitlist to determine proper entrance to the program. Context The Authority manages over 600 Housing Choice Vouchers with about 60‐70 new move‐ins a year. We sampled 6 tenant files for multiple compliance requirements. Cause The failure to meet compliance requirements noted above can be attributed to a combination of factors, including major staff turnover, which led to a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise critical for the preparation and maintain the required documentation in tenant files. Effect Compliance with income limits and eligibility could not be demonstrated for sampled tenants. Therefore, ineligible individuals may be receiving HAP assistance and /or HAP is being incorrectly calculated based on unverified incomes. Recommendations It is recommended that the Authority: (1) Prioritize the recruitment and training of new staff to fill critical roles, ensuring they are well‐versed in HUD requirements and (2) Revise and streamline internal processes to improve efficiency and reliability in meeting HUD's requirements for determing tenant eligibility. Questioned Costs The exact monetary impact needs further investigation to determine the amount for the period of non‐compliance. Management Views We agree with this finding and have outlined our plan of action in our corrective action plan.

Categories

Eligibility HUD Housing Programs

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 561277 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561278 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561279 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 561280 2023-005
    Material Weakness
  • 561281 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561282 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561283 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 561284 2023-005
    Material Weakness
  • 561285 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561286 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 561287 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 561288 2023-005
    Material Weakness
  • 1137719 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137720 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137721 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 1137722 2023-005
    Material Weakness
  • 1137723 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137724 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137725 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 1137726 2023-005
    Material Weakness
  • 1137727 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137728 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1137729 2023-004
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers $1.55M
14.879 Mainstream Vouchers $1.25M