The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes (known collectively as the Fort Peck Tribes) are federally recognized Native American tribes located in Montana. For Federal fiscal years (FYs) 2011 through 2015, the Fort Peck Tribes did not administer $436,765 of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) grant funds in compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance. These errors occurred because the Fort Peck Tribes did not have policies and procedures or other internal controls in place to prevent the errors. The improperly administered LIHEAP grant funds could have been used to provide eligible households additional benefits, or the Fort Peck Tribes could have used them for other purposes such as crisis situations, residential weatherization, or energy-related home repairs.
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 265201 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Fort Peck Tribes develop and implement controls to verify that all applicants for LIHEAP assistance report all royalty income in their applications. | |||||
| 265202 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Fort Peck Tribe develop and implement policies and procedures to track credit balances in beneficiaries’ accounts held by energy suppliers to ensure that all unused LIHEAP funds are returned to the tribe so that excess funds can be used to provide assistance for additional benefits and for other purposes, such as crisis situations and residential weatherization, as described in the Manual. | |||||
| 265203 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Fort Peck Tribes develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that FFRs, Carryover Reports, and Household Reports are properly completed and timely submitted to ACF. | |||||
| 265200 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Fort Peck Tribes develop and implement controls to verify that FFRs and Carryover Reports accurately report the amount of unobligated funds in the current year and to ensure that the tribes repay to the Federal Government amounts that can no longer be obligated because those amounts exceeded the 2-year grant period | |||||
| 265199 | No | $436,765 | $0 | ||
| We recommend that the Fort Peck Tribes refund to the Federal Government $436,765 for grant funds that remained unobligated after the 2-year grant period. | |||||
