Mutual Housing Association of South Central Connecticut d-b-a Neighborworks New Horizons

Finding 2022-002: Information on the Federal Program Assistance Listing Number 14.239-HOME Investment Partnerships Program, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Pass-Through Entity: State of Connecticut Department of Housing. Award Number 20020020010579163A. Compliance Requirement: Eligibility. Type of Finding: Immaterial Noncompliance Identification as a Repeat Finding This is not a repeat finding. Criteria The HOME program has income targeting requirements. Only low-income or very low-income persons, as defined in 24 CFR section 92.2, can receive housing assistance (24 CFR section 92.1). Therefore, the participating jurisdiction must determine if each family is income eligible by determining the family?s annual income, including all persons in the household, as provided for in 24 CFR section 92.203. Participating jurisdictions must maintain records for each family assisted (24 CFR section 92.508). Condition For the year ended December 31, 2022, management was unable to obtain the required information to perform the annual recertification from the tenant. Context One tenant out of eight tested did not timely provide the annual recertification documents. The sample was not statistically valid. Cause The tenant failed to respond to requests from management and therefore, went into eviction status. Effect or Potential Effect As a result, Mutual Housing Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc. and Affiliates is not in compliance with the HOME program requirements. Questioned Costs None. Recommendation Management should establish procedures to ensure that required tenant documents and information is obtained timely to perform annual recertifications. Views of Responsible Official Management disagrees with the finding because we followed protocol multiple times to get the tenant to complete his recertification. The tenant finally responded when he was placed in eviction status.

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN Audit Finding Reference: 2022-001 Planned Corrective Action: The Finance Department will work with a consultant to update the Policies and Procedures manual to be in line with best practices. We have implemented additional software modules to improve accuracy and efficiency in financial reporting. Finance added new hires towards the latter part of 2022 and management will provide training and professional development for the team. We are planning on completing a hard close for the period ending June 2023 and will consult with Cohn Reznick upon completion in Fall 2023. Our long-term goals are to conduct monthly and quarterly closes on all properties going forward. Name of Contact Person: Arlene Lawrence, CFO, arlene@nwnh.net, 203-562-4514 Anticipated completion date: November 2023 Audit Finding Reference: 2022-002 Planned Corrective Action: Our Property Management team worked with the tenant to bring the recertifications up to date. The recertification is now in compliance with the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. Name of Contact Person: Tom Cruess, President/CEO, tom@nwnh.net, 203-562-4514 Anticipated completion date: July 12, 2023