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 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…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed the allegations contained in a hotline complaint against the Washington County Department of Housing Services, Hillsboro, OR, to determine whether its application and related submissions to secure HUD grant OR0216L0E061500 were false or misleading or would otherwise cause the Clover Court project to be ineligible for Continuum of Care funding. We…

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 City of Albuquerque’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on our risk analysis and 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 administered its CDBG program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. The City did not always properly…

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 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 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…

At the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Public Housing in Albuquerque, NM, we conducted a review of the Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority.  The Office of Public Housing estimated that the Authority could lose nearly $1 million by the end of 2014 because it had leased only 983 of its 1,607 vouchers.  Our objectives were to determine the extent, cause, and impact of not leasing all…

Based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Seattle Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed a review of certain payrolls of the owner of Civic Construction, LLC, of Portland, OR.   The payrolls were subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud…

We audited the State of Rhode Island’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) based on a risk assessment that considered the amount of funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk assessment, and HUD findings related to one of the State’s subrecipients.  Our overall audit objective was to determine whether the State properly administered the NSP and ensured that costs incurred were in accordance with HUD…

We completed a review of the Rhode Island Housing’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on an Office of Inspector General risk assessment of New England HOME recipients that considered the amount of funding provided and prior audit and monitoring findings.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Rhode Island Housing officials awarded HOME funds to grantees in a reasonable and supported manner and whether HOME funds were…

We reviewed the City of Albuquerque, Department of Family and Community Services’ Continuum of Care program.  We initiated the review based on a complaint alleging misconduct in the City’s program.  Specifically, the complainant alleged the City’s Continuum of Care failed to comply with conflict of interest and procurement requirements, did not maintain accurate Homeless Management Information System reports, and expended funds for…

We conducted a review of Home Forward (previously named the Housing Authority of Portland, OR) based on concerns noted during our ongoing internal audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of public housing authorities’ compliance with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements.  Our review objective was to determine whether Home Forward complied with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements and…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority.  We selected the Authority because we received a hotline complaint expressing several concerns about the Authority’s procurement, asset disposal, payroll withholdings, maintenance charge rates, and tenant commissioner housing issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the allegations in hotline…

We audited the Truth or Consequences Housing Authority of Truth or Consequences, NM, in response to an anonymous complaint alleging that the Authority inappropriately transferred ownership of some of its properties to the New Mexico Housing and Community Development Corporation and used its assets to support the Corporation’s activities. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority had adequate controls to ensure that it complied…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Home Forward’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland, because it disbursed the highest average Section 8 funds in Oregon from 2010 to 2012 and third highest in the Region, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  We focused on its tenant-based…

We audited the Grants Housing Authority located in Grants, NM, at the request of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Public Housing Program Center in Albuquerque, NM.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority used its capital funds and operating funds for allowable costs, performed contracting activities in accordance with program requirements, and correctly processed and paid for Section 8 housing choice…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Volunteers of America’s (VOA) Whispering Pines Senior Village’s Green Retrofit program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Our objective was to determine whether VOA used its Whispering Pines Green Retrofit Recovery Act funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Recovery Act rules and…

We audited Weststar Mortgage Corporation, a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) nonsupervised direct endorsement lender located in Albuquerque, NM. We selected Weststar for review based on a risk assessment of lenders in New Mexico. Our objective was to determine whether Weststar complied with U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and FHA loan origination requirements for loans on which the borrowers defaulted and FHA paid…