We audited the County of Northumberland, PA’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program grant because the chairman of the Northumberland County board of commissioners requested that we audit the program.  Our objective was to determine whether the County administered its program grant in accordance with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requirements.

The County did not administer its program according to Recovery Act requirements.  Specifically, it did not always (1) ensure that program participants were eligible for assistance, (2) maintain complete documentation in the participant files, (3) ensure that it incurred only eligible expenses and properly supported them, (4) make draws from the correct grant line items, and (5) perform required unit habitability inspections.  It also did not return unused program funds as required.

We recommend that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development require the County to (1) remit to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania $15,183 from non-Federal funds for the ineligible expenditures identified by the audit so the Commonwealth can return the funds to the U.S. Treasury, (2) provide documentation to support the $159,149 in unsupported expenditures identified by the audit or repay the Commonwealth from non-Federal funds for any amount that it cannot support so the Commonwealth can return the funds to the U.S. Treasury, and (3) remit to the Commonwealth $3,541 in program funds on deposit in its grant account so the Commonwealth can return the funds to the U.S. Treasury.