Finding Text
Finding No. 2022 - 003: Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program Title: Moving to Work Demonstration Program (HCVP Only) Federal Assistance Listing Number: 14.881 Award Period: January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 Compliance Requirement: Special Tests Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Condition/Context A sample of 60 tenant files tested for special tests found the following exceptions: Two (2) of 60 files tested did not have a housing quality standards inspection performed within 25 months of the previous inspection. Our sample was a statistically valid sample. Questioned Costs N/A Criteria The Program Administrative Plan states that BRHP will attempt to inspect all units under contract in accordance with its housing quality standards at least once every 25 months. Cause Two BRHP families had inspections that exceeded the 25-month limit, a deficiency noted in a prior year audit. As a result of the prior audit, BRHP developed an internal report that required a monthly review of possible missed inspections. The creation of inspections in Yardi Voyager is handled through a script that calculates inspection due dates based on last passed inspection date. The script creates a string of text to load into a Yardi report screen that then triggers the creation of inspections in the system. In both cases, the inspections included in multiple months of reports and were included in the upload to Yardi. However, Yardi systematically "excludes" units based on factors outside BRHP's control, and if a unit is excluded, an inspection will not be created and there is no error message or other indication that the inspection failed to be created. The tenants and units for these two cases appeared in subsequent reports showing as overdue, and attempts were made on several occasions to schedule, but until the "excluded" unit was discovered and resolved, inspection creation and scheduling was not possible. Staff changes and challenges with the inspection contractor also contributed, with slower response times to flagged overdue inspections. Effect BRHP is not in compliance with its administrative plan and the Uniform Guidance compliance requirements. Identification of a Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the immediate previous audit, Finding No. 2021-002. Recommendations We recommend that BRHP review their process for tracking and scheduling inspections to ensure compliance. Views of the Responsible Officials The two files reviewed with missed inspections have been scheduled for the biennial inspection and have passed inspection. BRHP has added two elements to the process for scheduling biennial inspections; including a check for excluded units prior to upload of inspections needing scheduling, as well as a validation report of scheduled inspections against those requested. Additional training has been provided to key HCV staff to review audit reports and subsequent process steps.