2022-003 Eligibility
Housing Voucher Cluster
Material Weakness in Internal Control
Material Noncompliance
Condition: Out of an approximate population of 484 of Housing Voucher Cluster tenants the following deficiencies were noted:
Mainstream Voucher AL #14.879 (a total of 4 tenants selected for testing):
• One file did not have an annual recertification performed during the year,
• One file did not have an annual recertification performed within 12 months,
• Two files did not have 9886 release of information forms within 15 month of the annual recertification,
• One file did not have a 214 declaration form for all members of the household, and
• One file did not have documentation necessary to verify the reported income.
Emergency Housing Voucher AL #14.871 (a total of 5 tenants selected for testing):
• Four files did not have an annual recertification performed within 12 months,
• Three files did not have a 214 declaration form for all members of the household,
• Four files did not have 9886 release of information forms within 15 month of the annual recertification, and
• Five files did not have rent reasonableness form performed for the annual certification.
The Houston Housing Authority agrees with this finding.
The Houston Housing Authority has for the past several months undertaken a program to review all voucher files for purposes of getting all delinquent recertifications completed. During this process if other required documents are found to be missing steps are being taken to complete the missing documentation and make sure that the files are complete. This review is substantially completed with final completion expected in the third quarter of 2024. Procedures have been implemented with regards to preventing this situation from recurring. Where needed staff will be provided the necessary training to make sure that a HCVP staff have the skills needed to successfully complete their job tasks. To facilitate this training, the Houston Housing Authority has created a training center that is made available to not only Houston Housing Authority staff but also others to provide a wide variety of training classes. Current leadership at the Houston Housing Authority is committed to having a competent trained staff working in the HCVP as well as other departments with the agency.
Because the file clean up work was being performed in calendar year 2024 we expected this finding would be present for the 2023 audit.
This work is handled by the Voucher Program Operations department. The VP of this department and the Director of this department are primarily responsible for making sure the necessary corrections are made and the fill review is completed within the third quarter of 2024.
FINDINGS - FEDERAL AWARD PROGRAMS AUDIT
2023-003 Eligibility
Housing Voucher Cluster
Material Weakness in Internal Control
Material Noncompliance
Condition: Out of an approximate population of 1,500 of Housing Voucher Cluster tenants the following deficiencies were noted:
Mainstream Voucher AL #14.879 (a total of 5 tenants selected for testing):
• Five files did not have supporting documents needed to determine eligibility.
Emergency Housing Voucher AL #14.871 (a total of 5 tenants selected for testing):
• Four files did not have supporting documents needed to determine eligibility, and
• One files did not have an annual recertification performed.
Auditor Recommendations: The Authority should reevaluate their established procedures and controls in place to ensure full compliance in regards to eligibility and the timeliness of recertifications. The Authority needs to correct the deficiencies noted in the tested files and consider the impact to the rest of the population of tenant files that were not selected as part of the auditor’s sample.
Action Taken:
The Houston Housing Authority agrees with this finding.
The Houston Housing Authority has for the past several months undertaken a program to review all voucher files for purposes of getting all delinquent recertifications completed. During this process if other required documents are found to be missing steps are being taken to complete the missing documentation and make sure that the files are complete. This review is substantially completed with final completion expected in the third quarter of 2024. Procedures have been implemented with regards to preventing this situation from recurring. Where needed staff will be provided the necessary training to make sure that a HCVP staff have the skills needed to successfully complete their job tasks. To facilitate this training, the Houston Housing Authority has created a training center that is made available to not only Houston Housing Authority staff but also others to provide a wide variety of training classes. Current leadership at the Houston Housing Authority is committed to having a competent trained staff working in the HCVP as well as other departments with the agency.
Because the file clean up work was being performed in calendar year 2024 we expected this finding would be present for the 2023 audit.
This work is handled by the Voucher Program Operations department. The VP of this department and the Director of this department are primarily responsible for making sure the necessary corrections are made and the fill review is completed within the third quarter of 2024.