Eligibility
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers Program - AL No. 14.871
Material Weakness in Internal Control
Material Noncompliance
Condition: Out of an approximate population of 2,256 tenants, a total of 39 tenant files were selected
for testing and the following deficiencies were noted:
Five files had an annual recertification completed over 12 months after the previous
recertification,
Six files did not have a valid 9886 release of information from within 15 months of
the annual recertification,
Eight files had the incorrect payment standard used,
One file contained an income calculation error,
One file had missing income support,
One file was missing photo identification for one adult tenant,
One file had 214 forms missing for 3 tenants, and
One file had a missing rent reasonableness form.
Auditor Recommendations: The Authority should continue to train staff on the established
procedures and controls in place to ensure full compliance in regard to eligibility. 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: HCV Department will implement the recommendations as presented. The department does recognize that this is a repeat finding and leadership adjustments have been made, appointing a new program director. Transition to paperless function resulted in an adjustment to regular quality checks. A few of the functions to enhance performance during the next fiscal year will be;
1. establish and enforce Standard Operating Purchases
2. Reestablish 120-day Recertification protocols and enforce compliance
3. Streamline elderly and disabled customers based on initial HOTMA 3 yr interval
4. Quantitative metrics added to performance evaluation for all staff, including error-rate
5. Periodic one-on-one check-ins from supervisors
6. Enforce mandatory, individual staff, QC forms to ensure files are maintained in order
7. Weekly staff meetings to review and discuss regulations, administrative policies, PIC issues, QC errors, and required protocols
8. Enforce internal QC procedures at a minimum of 10% annually
9. Enforce electronic files for every customer
10. In an effort to exceed expectations staff will attend trainings to update and teach staff requirements and protocols on pending HACFM changes to include PBV, HOTMA, NSPIRE, and HCV Specialist training for newer staff