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Report File
Date Issued
Submitting OIG
Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG
Other Participating OIGs
Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG
Agencies Reviewed/Investigated
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Components
Public and Indian Housing
Report Number
2023-CH-0002
Report Description

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) based on our report on HUD’s top management challenges for fiscal years 2020 through 2022 and HUD’s strategic goals and objectives reported in its strategic plan for 2018 through 2022. Our audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of HUD’s SEMAP as a performance measure for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.HUD has an opportunity to improve its process for evaluating the performance of public housing agencies’ (PHA) HCV Programs. HUD uses SEMAP to evaluate the performance of PHAs’ HCV Programs remotely. However, (1) the information reported by PHAs in SEMAP may not have accurately represented the performance of their HCV Programs and (2) HUD’s process for verifying the information PHAs use for SEMAP reporting did not effectively assist HUD in evaluating and identifying PHAs’ HCV Programs that may have needed improvement. These conditions occurred because (1) SEMAP uses performance indicators that are based on PHAs’ self-certifications and self-reported data and (2) HUD’s verification process did not capture the performance of all PHAs’ HCV Programs. Without an effective performance measurement process, HUD lacked assurance that PHAs’ HCV Programs met their intended objectives, which include assisting the maximum number of eligible families with obtaining affordable and decent rental units at the correct subsidy cost. In addition, HUD may have missed opportunities to identify PHAs experiencing difficulties in managing their HCV Programs.We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing and Voucher Programs enhance SEMAP or develop a new performance measurement process that would identify PHAs with underperforming HCV Programs. We also recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations provide training and guidance to its program staff on SEMAP scoring, rating, and verification procedures, including confirmatory reviews, quality control reviews, and adjustments for the current and revised SEMAP processes.

Report Type
Audit
Agency Wide
Yes
Number of Recommendations
0
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0

Open Recommendations

This report has 2 open recommendations.
Recommendation Number Significant Recommendation Recommended Questioned Costs Recommended Funds for Better Use Additional Details
2023-CH-0002-001-A No $0 $0

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing and Voucher Programs enhance SEMAP or develop a new performance measurement process that would identify PHAs with underperforming HCV Programs, which should include an assessment of PHAs' ability to maximize assistance to house families.

2023-CH-0002-001-C No $0 $0

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations provide training and guidance to field office program staff on SEMAP scoring, rating, and verification procedures, including confirmatory reviews, quality control reviews, and adjustments, as appropriate, for the revised SEMAP process.

Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG

United States