We audited the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development’s (State), Orleans Parish Long Term Community Recovery Program (Program), administered by the State’s subrecipient, the City of New Orleans (City). Our objective was to determine whether the City, as the State’s subrecipient, met the requirements of its cooperative endeavor agreement (agreement) with the State during its administration of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’...

We conducted a review of the State of Mississippi (State), a $5.5 billion Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery grantee. We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the Federal Government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our objective was to determine whether the State ensured that contracts were...

We conducted a review of the State of Mississippi (State), a $5.5 billion Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery grantee. We initiated the review as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our objectives were to determine whether the State ensured that (1) public housing...

We performed a review of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development’s (State), Louisiana Tourism Marketing Program (Program), administered by the State’s subrecipient, the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT). We initiated the review as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of activities related to Gulf Coast hurricane disaster relief efforts. Our objective was...

We completed an inspection of the State of Louisiana’s (State) Road Home Elevation Incentive (elevation grant) program funded by HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds.  We wanted to know whether homeowners used the funds to elevate their homes as set forth in their grant agreements.  Our inspection covered 199 (about 10 percent) of the 1,906 property owners who received more than $44.4 million in elevation...

We performed an audit of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development (State), Recovery Workforce Training Program (Program) administered by the State’s subrecipient, Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC). We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the Federal Government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit...

As part of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General's obligation to ensure accountability and transparency in use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds, we performed a review to assess the Housing Authority of New Orleans' (Authority) capacity to administer $34.5 million in ARRA funding. Our objective was to evaluate the Authority's capacity and risks in the following areas:...

We audited the Louisiana Land Trust (LLT), a $29 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery subrecipient of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development (State). We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit objective was to...

We audited the State of Mississippi's (State) administration of the $5.058 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery funds provided to the State in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The State allocated $2.2 billion to help homeowners in southern Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. Our audit objective was to determine whether the State ensured that applicants were eligible to receive disbursements under...

We audited the State of Mississippi's (State) administration of the $5.058 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery funds provided to the State in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The State allocated $2.2 billion to help homeowners in southern Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. During our audit on grant eligibility, we identified a few possible duplicate payments when reviewing the State's...

Due to a citizen's complaint, we audited the State of Louisiana's (State) Road Home homeowner assistance program managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC. The complaint raised a potential issue with Road Home employees improperly obtaining grants. During our audit on employee eligibility for additional compensation grants, we identified possible program eligibility issues through a review of the...

Due to a citizen's complaint, we audited the State of Louisiana's (State) Road Home homeowner assistance program managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC. The complaint raised a potential issue with Road Home employees improperly obtaining grants. During our audit on employee eligibility for additional compensation grants, we identified possible program eligibility issues through a review of the...

At the request of two United States senators, we initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) administration of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to determine the effect of HUD's receivership on the Authority's performance. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether HUD had taken action to improve the Authority's post-Hurricane Katrina performance while under HUD...

At the request of two United States senators, we initiated an audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) administration of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to determine the effect of HUD's receivership on the Authority's performance in its contracting activities and financial functions. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether HUD's receivership ensured that the Authority...

We completed an inspection of HUD funds drawn from the Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS) to pay for construction at Savoy Place, the last phase of the Desire Development at The Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO).  The Desire Development is a three-phase HOPE VI development, comprising of Abundance, Treasure, and Savoy Place.   We compared progress payments HANO made to the developer, Michaels Development Company, with...

We audited the State of Louisiana's (State) additional compensation grant (grant) component of the Road Home homeowner assistance program, managed by the State's contractor, ICF Emergency Management Services, LLC (ICF), in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region's audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our...

As part of the Office of Inspector General's strategic plan, we audited the Shreveport Housing Authority's (Authority) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8 program). Our objective was to determine whether the Authority ensured that it made housing assistance payments in accordance with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 program requirements. The Authority's contracted...

We audited the State of Mississippi's Development Authority's (Authority) Homeowners Assistance Program (Program), implemented by Reznick Group and Reznick Mississippi, LLC (contractor). We initiated the audit in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region's audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP) and Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) administered by various public housing agencies. Our audit objective was to determine whether HUD established controls to ensure that the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) pre-Hurricane Katrina Housing Choice Voucher program participants did not receive duplicate assistance...

We audited the Homeowner's Assistance Grant Program (Program), a component of the State of Mississippi's (State) administration of the $5.058 billion in Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds provided to the State in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The State allocated $3 billion to help homeowners in Southern Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. The audit objectives were to determine whether the State and/...