Report 2009-119.3 Recommendations

When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.

Recommendations in Report 2009-119.3: Department of Housing and Community Development: Despite Being Mostly Prepared, It Must Take Additional Steps to Better Ensure Proper Implementation of the Recovery Act's Homelessness Prevention Program (Release Date: February 2010)

Recommendations to Housing and Community Development, Department of
Number	Recommendation	Status
1	To strengthen the processes involved in its administration of the Homelessness Prevention program, the department should develop and implement necessary policies that are currently absent. Specifically, the department should develop and implement policies for ensuring that subrecipients limit the time that elapses between receiving federal funds and disbursing them, as well as policies for ensuring that subrecipients maintain an appropriate level of federal cash balances.
2	The department should finalize and implement those policies that are currently in draft form. Specifically, the department should finalize and implement its draft guidelines for monitoring subrecipients, including its plans to conduct quarterly surveys of subrecipients and to perform risk assessments of the subrecipients. These guidelines should ensure that subrecipients comply with the following: - Costs incurred are for only those services allowed by law. - The time period between receiving and spending federal funds is minimized, which has the effect of limiting the federal cash balances that subrecipients maintain. - Federal cash balances are maintained in interest-bearing accounts. - Households receiving services are eligible to participate. - Eligible households are not charged fees to participate. - The two- and three-year spending deadlines are met. - Administrative costs stay within applicable limits. - Reports submitted to the department contain accurate and complete information. - The 11 requirements identified in the March 2009 notice issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development are met, including habitability standards for housing units, nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirements, and requirements involving lead-based paint. - Registration in the federal Central Contractor Register is maintained.	Fully Implemented
3	The department should finalize and implement its draft plan to perform site visits or desk audits of subrecipients between April 2010 and the end of March 2011.	Fully Implemented
4	The department should put into writing those practices that it states it currently follows. Specifically, the department should put into writing procedures for minimizing the time from the date it draws down federal funds to the date it disburses the funds to subrecipients.	Fully Implemented
5	The department should put into writing its procedures for management's periodic review of the department's level of spending for administrative costs, to help ensure that it does not exceed the applicable limit.	Fully Implemented
6	The department should put into writing its current practices for preparing, reviewing, and submitting required federal reports.	Fully Implemented
7	The department should document actions that it takes while administering the program. Specifically, the department should document the results of management's periodic review of the department's level of spending for administrative costs.	Fully Implemented
8	The department should document the date on which it submits its Recovery Act information using the State's accountability tool.	Fully Implemented
9	The department should notify its subrecipients of the federal award number for the Homelessness Prevention program.	Fully Implemented

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