In January 2017, HUD awarded the City $141.2 million in Community Development Block Grant National Disaster Resilience grant funding for disaster resilience. HUD designed the grant to give states flexibility in planning program activities and help state and local communities recover from past disasters, while also improving their infrastructure to withstand future extreme events through strategic community investments.  The City initially…

We reviewed the Bogalusa Housing Authority’s public housing programs based on the activities included in our annual audit plan and because the Authority has not been audited in more than 15 years.  The objective of our review was to determine whether the Authority administered its public housing programs in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own requirements. The Authority did not always…

We reviewed the Northlake Homeless Coalition’s Continuum of Care Program (CoC) based on a hotline complaint alleging impropriety in Northlake’s selection of grant award recipients and as part of our annual audit plan.  The objective of our review was to determine whether Northlake administered its CoC in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and its own program requirements.The hotline complaint did…

We audited the Public Housing Capital Fund program at the Housing Authority of the City of Woonsocket, RI, based on a request by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and because we have not audited the Authority in more than 10 years.  We also received a complaint regarding a property purchase and later demolition next to one of the Authority’s developments.  The audit objective was to determine whether the…

We audited the State of Louisiana’s Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance program as part of our annual audit plan to review Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery programs.  Our objective was to determine whether the State ensured that it complied with (1) its eligibility requirements for the Homeowner Assistance program and (2) website reporting requirements. We found that The State did not always ensure that it complied…

We audited the City of Providence RI’s HOME Investment Partnerships program based on an OIG risk assessment, which ranked the City as the highest risk HOME grantee in New England.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether the City properly committed and disbursed HOME funds in accordance with Federal and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. City officials did not properly administer their…

We audited the Jefferson Parish Community Development Department in response to a citizen complaint and in accordance with our annual audit plan to review the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) community planning and development programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs.  Our objective was to determine whether the Parish (1) ensured that payments to…

We audited the City of New Orleans’ HOME Investment Partnerships program in response to a citizen complaint alleging that the City did not monitor its HOME-assisted projects and in accordance with our annual audit plan.  Our objective was to determine the validity of the complaint allegations and whether the City administered its HOME program in accordance with Federal and HUD requirements. We found that complaint had merit as the City did…

We audited the Housing Choice Voucher and public housing programs at the West Warwick Housing Authority as a result of concerns from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a hotline complaint.  The audit objectives were to determine whether (1) procurements were executed in accordance with Federal regulations, (2) West Warwick officials established adequate controls over the Housing Choice Voucher and public housing…

We audited the Hammond Housing Authority as part of our annual audit plan to review public housing programs.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority properly administered its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program in accordance with HUD requirements. While the Authority properly administered its waiting list and completed housing quality standards inspections at least…

We audited Health Concepts Ltd., a management agent that administers six Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured nursing homes.  We conducted this audit based on our review of the Pine Grove Health Center.  The review found that Pine Grove’s owners paid salaries for onsite staff that were covered under the management agreement and charged for services that should have been included in the management fee.  Our objectives for…

We audited the St. Tammany Parish grants department’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery program, as part of our annual audit plan to review the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 funds.  Our objective was to determine whether the Parish administered its disaster recovery program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Development (HUD) requirements and in line with its…

We audited the Federal Housing Administration-insured Burrillville Nursing Home, Incorporated, doing business as Pine Grove Health Center, based on a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General risk assessment.  Additionally, HUD identified Pine Grove as a high financial risk and a potentially troubled facility, and Pine Grove’s auditors reported substantial doubt regarding its ability to continue as…

We audited the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development’s disaster assistance programs, administered by the State’s subrecipient, St. John the Baptist Parish, as part of our annual audit plan to review disaster assistance programs under the 2013 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act.  Our objective was to determine whether the Parish, as the State’s subrecipient, met the requirements of its agreement with the State and followed U.S…

We audited Central City Housing Development Corporation’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sections 202 and 8-funded project, Satchmo Plaza, as part of our annual audit plan to review multifamily projects.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the Corporation met the requirements of its regulatory agreement and followed HUD requirements when operating the project. We found that the Corporation did not always…

We audited the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge’s (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program as part of the Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan to review community planning and development funds.  The audit objective was to determine whether the City properly administered and adequately documented its CDBG program activities in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD…

We audited the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) assistance grant provided to the State of Rhode Island by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist in disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts resulting from damages caused by Hurricane Sandy.  The audit objective was to determine whether State officials obligated and disbursed the grant funds in a timely manner in accordance with HUD…

As part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General’s annual audit plan, we audited the Belle Maison Nursing Home.  We selected the facility for review based on a risk analysis.  Our objective was to determine whether the facility complied with the executed owner and operator regulatory agreements and HUD requirements.  The facility generally complied with the terms of the owner and…

The Duson Housing Authority failed to administer its public housing programs in accordance with HUD regulations and other requirements.  Specifically, it did not maintain (1) its units and property grounds or perform annual unit inspections, (2) auditable files, (3) adequate documentation to support tenant childcare and medical expense deductions and utility allowances, and (4) its waiting list properly.  This condition occurred…

We audited the City of New Orleans’ Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) assistance funds awarded to the City as a result of damages caused by Hurricane Isaac.  Our objective was to determine whether the City maintained adequate procurement controls and financial management systems and administered its CDBG-DR funds in accordance with Federal guidelines, HUD regulations, and other requirements. We found that the…