The Women's HomeNon-Profit

Federal Program: Assistance Listing Number 21.023, Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Federal Award Identification Number 20220000044, U.S. Department of Treasury, Passed through Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Criteria: The entity must establish and maintain effective internal control to provide reasonable assurance that only eligible individuals receive assistance or services under the federal award program. Certifications must be obtained for COVID-19 Impact, Housing Instability, and Household Income. In addition, the participant may not have duplication of benefits through another federal program. Condition: We selected a sample of 25 participants out of 154 for testing. Overall, participant files for 3 individuals did not contain a properly completed intake form and lacked documentation as follows: (1) Two files did not have certification regarding the participant experiencing financial hardship during or due directly or indirectly to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2)Two files did not have certification regarding housing instability; (3) One file did not have support regarding no duplication of benefits for the participant. Cause: Personnel not adhering to prescribed procedures. Potential Effect: Lack of proper documentation could lead to ineligible individuals receiving benefits. Questioned Costs: None Recommendation: The period for this grant contract ended on March 31, 2024. We recommend that The Home ensure that chart audits were performed for all participants in the program to address situations where lack of documentation may exist. Views of Responsible Officials: These participants received services during 2024; however, they were enrolled in the program during 2023. Our processes were updated during 2023 to ensure eligibility information was consistently captured for participants. The employee responsible for the errors is no longer with The Home and the grant was officially closed by the State during 2024, noting no issues. We have instituted quarterly audits of records to catch data entry errors.

Federal Program: CDBG Entitlement Grants Cluster; Federal Award Identification Numbers 4600015327 2023-042, 4600015327 2022-0394, and 4600017951 2023-0879; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Passed through City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department. Criteria: The subrecipient agreement between the City of Houston and The Home requires a Fiscal Report be submitted by the 20th day of the calendar month following the end of each calendar quarter. As noted in the agreement, the Fiscal Report shall consist of a “trial balance taken from its General Ledger or a copy of its Revenue, Expenditures and Balance Sheet; and a copy of its balance reconciliation.” Condition: We noted that the quarterly fiscal reports for calendar year 2023 were not submitted by the 20th day of the calendar month following the end of each calendar quarter. Cause: Prior to sending the Fiscal Report to the City of Houston, The Home’s financial information is approved by the Board of Directors basis during their quarterly scheduled meetings, which occur after the due date of the Fiscal Reports. Potential Effect: As stated in the subrecipient agreement, failure to comply with the reporting requirements is considered to be a breach of the agreement and reimbursements of costs may be withheld until the reports are submitted. Questioned Costs: None. Recommendation: We recommend that a process be developed to submit the Fiscal Report within the prescribed timeframe. Views of Responsible Officials: We have held recent discussions with the City of Houston regarding the Fiscal Report. As a result, it has been agreed that we will submit the Fiscal Report within the required timeframe. The Home will develop a process to ensure that once the Board of Directors has approved the quarterly financial information, the previously submitted Fiscal Reports will be reviewed for consistency. If differences exist, The Home will submit an amended Fiscal Report to the City of Houston for the applicable quarter.

Finding 2022-001 - Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Federal Program: Assistance Listing Number 21.023, Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Federal Award Identification Number 20220000044, U.S. Department of Treasury, Passed through Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Criteria: The entity must establish and maintain effective internal control to provide reasonable assurance that only eligible individuals receive assistance or services under the federal award program. Condition: We selected a sample of 40 participants out of 395 for testing and noted the following: - Documentation to support nonduplication of benefits was lacking for 9 participants at the time the Intake Form was reviewed and signed by the organization?s staff. Additional information has been provided to the auditor to support that no duplication of benefits occurred for these 9 individuals. - For 1 participant, proper documentation regarding eligibility was obtained at time of intake; however, the Intake Form was not signed by the organization?s staff. Cause: Appears to be the result of the transitioning of personnel and insufficient training. Potential Effect: Lack of proper documentation could lead to ineligible individuals receiving benefits. Questioned Costs: None Recommendation: We recommend that a process be developed to ensure proper review of the Intake Form by the organization?s staff and that when questions are unanswered, additional information be obtained and maintained with the Intake Form. Views of Responsible Officials: The issue was caused by an oversight on our part compounded by personnel transitioning and training issues. To improve the internal controls and provide for adequate documentation, we will (1) modify the intake checklist to include the TDHCA - Housing Stability Services Program Intake Form, (2) new staff will be trained on completion of intake paperwork as part of their orientation process, (3) regular chart audits will be conducted to review and re-certify as necessary, (4) copies of the completed TDHCA - Housing Stability Services Program Intake Form will be submitted monthly to the Grant Compliance Specialist to review prior to monthly report submission, and (5) a compliance team will meet with the program team twice a year to provide updates on compliance requirements.