Finding 1157358 (2024-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-09-30

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Commission failed to properly verify family income and related factors, leading to incorrect calculations for housing assistance payments.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with HUD regulations on third-party income verification and documentation was not met, affecting eligibility determinations.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Review and improve procedures for income verification, ensure accurate HAP calculations, and provide training for staff on updated processes.

Finding Text

2024-001 – Eligibility Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program: Housing Voucher Cluster FALN: 14.871/14.879 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: MD023, 2024 Award Period: 1/1/2024-12/31/2024 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: For both family income examinations and reexaminations, the PHA must obtain and document in the family file third-party verification of (1) reported family annual income; (2) the value of assets; (3) expenses related to deductions from annual income; and (4) other factors that affect the determination of adjusted income or income-based rent (24 CFR section 982.516) Condition: The Commission did not follow its policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with eligibility requirements. Questioned costs: $3,936 Context: Testing of 60 HCVP files indicated that 2 files had incorrect income values that were used to calculate the housing assistance payments (HAP). Cause: The commission must verify income annually through third-party verification and perform an accurate calculation. The commission did not complete this correctly. Effect: The Commission is not in compliance with HUD requirements. This could have an impact on HAP calculations. Repeat Finding: Yes, 2023-001 Recommendation: We recommend that the Commission review its procedures for collecting and recording third-party income support and data, and to ensure that HAP calculations are performed accurately. The Commission should ensure that staff involved in collection and recording of income support and data, and in performing related calculations, are properly informed of procedural changes and are provided with sufficient training. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.

Corrective Action Plan

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2024-001 Housing Voucher Cluster – FALN No. 14.871 & 14.879 – Eligibility Recommendation: We recommend that the Commission review its procedures for collecting and recording third party income support and data, and to ensure that HAP calculations are performed accurately. The Commission should ensure that staff involved in collection and recording of income support and data, and in performing related calculations, are properly informed of procedural changes and are provided with sufficient training. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: HCHC staff have reviewed the HUD hierarchy of collecting documents and reviewed the Administrative Plan to ensure that all third-party income support and data are calculated correctly when determining household income. HCHC staff had a mandatory training to ensure that regulations, policies, and procedures are being followed. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Crystal Gorham, Director of Rental Assistance Planned completion date for corrective action plan: April 2025

Categories

Questioned Costs HUD Housing Programs

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1157353 2024-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157354 2024-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157355 2024-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157356 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157357 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157359 2024-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157360 2024-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157361 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1157362 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers $28.89M
14.879 Mainstream Vouchers $1.83M
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $318,951
14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids $285,009
14.896 Family Self-Sufficiency Program $90,493
21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $26,146
14.U01 Fss Escrow Forfeiture Account $1,869