Federal Reports

We are required to audit the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annually in accordance with the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 as amended. Our objectives were to express an opinion on the fair presentation of HUD’s consolidated financial statements and report on HUD’s internal controls over financial reporting and compliance with select provisions of applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. This report supplements our independent auditor’s report on the results of our audit of HUD’s consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019.We expressed a qualified opinion on HUD’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2019 because of the significant effects of certain unresolved audit matters, which restricted our ability to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence about HUD’s noncredit reform loans1 and other liabilities resulting from Ginnie Mae’s guaranty asset and guaranty liability. This report provides additional details on one material weakness, three significant deficiencies, and three instances of noncompliance with laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. The most significant finding relates to instances in which HUD’s accounting did not always comply with Federal generally accepted accounting principles. We also identified (1) weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting, (2) weaknesses in the financial management system and computing environment, (3) financial management governance deficiencies, and (4) three instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. These findings occurred because of insufficient policies and procedures and limitations with HUD’s financial management systems.Current recommendations are included after each finding, while outstanding prior-year recommendations are included in the Followup on Prior Audits section of this report. Most significant are those in which we recommend that HUD (1) improve its validation methodology for accrued grant liabilities and (2) develop, implement, and improve policies and procedures.

Desarrollar pautas de la EPA para recopilar y comunicar datos sobre la calidad del aire podría mejorar el nivel de confianza del público con respecto a la agencia durante respuestas a futuras catástrofes.

Oversight and management of grant programs is crucial to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) mission and to the health and well-being of the public. Audits of Head Start and other HHS grantees have found deficiencies in the way grantees claim and account for grant funds.The objective of our audit was to determine whether Opportunities for Williamson and Burnet Counties (Opportunities) claimed and accounted for HHS grant funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

OIG evaluated RHS’ controls over tenant eligibility to occupy multi-family rental housing in rural areas

Every 6 months we provide Congress with a report detailing our independent oversight of ARC during the reporting period

In October 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved New York's Community First Choice option (CFCO). The approval allowed New York to receive an additional 6 percent of Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), referred to as "enhanced FMAP," for eligible home and community-based services and supports provided to individuals that would otherwise require an institutional level of care.

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its life safety and emergency preparedness regulations to improve protections for all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, including those residing in long-term-care facilities (commonly referred to as nursing homes). Updates included requirements that nursing homes have expanded sprinkler systems and smoke detector coverage; an emergency preparedness plan that is reviewed, trained on, tested, and updated at least annually; and provisions for sheltering in place and evacuation.

The Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has not referred troubled public housing agencies (PHAs) to the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing to take them over as the law and regulations require. Without this referral mechanism, a PHA could remain troubled for an indefinite period while conditions stagnate or deteriorate. We identified 18 PHAs that remained troubled for more than 2 years without being referred.PIH is creating a process for referring troubled PHAs, but two problems exist with its approach. First, the draft process that we reviewed in this evaluation would provide more options to the Assistant Secretary than the law and regulations allow. Second, PIH cannot meet the statutory deadlines for referral of a troubled PHA without substantial changes to the assessment process or changes to the law and regulations, which PIH is not making as part of its new process. The new process would allow some troubled PHAs more time to recover than the law and regulations allow. PIH’s training that existed at the time of our fieldwork on the authority and process for declaring a PHA in substantial default and for taking PHAs into possession suggests remedies that do not fully comply with the law and regulations. Finally, PIH has not submitted an annual troubled PHAs report to Congress for at least 11 years as the law requires, thereby missing another opportunity to strengthen the accountability and transparency of its recovery process. We recommended that PIH (1) refer troubled PHAs Directly to the Assistant Secretary for PIH when they have not met the 1- or 2-year recovery requirements, (2) ensure that referrals to the Assistant Secretary for PIH recommend only recovery options allowed by the law and regulations, (3) update training to include the actions that PIH must take when a troubled PHA does not meet the 1- or 2-year recovery requirements, (4) provide training on remedies for long-term troubled PHAs to all PIH staff members who routinely interact with troubled PHAs, and (5) submit an annual troubled PHAs report to Congress in accordance with the statute.