HUD Inspector General audits SHA program
Suggests improvements to "Welfare-to-Work"
Program
SEATTLE--May 29, 2002--The Office of the Inspector General of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today issued an
audit report concerning the Seattle Housing Authority's
administration of the Welfare-to-Work Section 8 Tenant-based
Assistance Program from 1999 to early 2001. The audit, which criticizes several aspects of
the agency's administration of the program, contends that SHA
"did not provide adequate management oversight over program
administration."
Responding to the audit report, Executive Director Harry Thomas
emphasized the housing authority's commitment to the Welfare-to-Work
program. "This program has made it possible for us to put
badly-needed housing vouchers into the hands of over 700 deserving
and extremely-low income families," he said. "It is a
great program, and although we firmly believe that we have
administered the program properly, we welcome the suggestions of the
Inspector General's office because they will help us to do an even
better job."
Under the "Welfare-to-Work" voucher program, SHA
received 700 new Section 8 vouchers in late 1999. The special
program was designed to help families become more self-sufficient
and move from welfare to work. SHA collaborated with the Washington
State Department of Social and Health Services to identify
applicants on its waiting list who were also enrolled in the State's
"Work First" program under "Temporary Aid to Needy
Families" (TANF). The audit report suggests that SHA
should have taken further steps with each household to determine
whether or not receiving a housing voucher was critical to the
family's ability to successfully obtain or retain employment.
In fact, the agency has been working steadily over the last two
years to improve administration of the Housing Choice Voucher
program, including the Welfare-to-Work program. Efforts to date
include:
-
Establishing a comprehensive technical training program for
all Section 8 staff, including supervisors and line staff (April
2001).
-
Adding 8 new line staff positions to the Section 8 program
(February 2002).
-
Instituting a peer audit system to ensure accuracy of family
data entered into SHA's waiting list database.
-
Completing a major revision of written policies and
procedures, including SHA's Section 8 administrative plan (July
2002).
-
Reorganizing the Section 8 division to increase management accountability
for the family selection process.
-
Closing the Section 8 waiting list to reduce the risk of
errors in managing and maintaining an excessively long list
(May 2003).
In addition to these changes, SHA is also in the process of
updating its compliance procedures, with the help of an outside
legal firm. According to General Counsel James Fearn, "We want
to make sure that we have all the checks and balances in place to
assure compliance with the terms of every program we administer."
One of the audit's findings criticized SHA's spending of just
over $130,000 to secure housing counseling services by various
non-profit organizations. While the audit reported that the services
themselves were properly procured, it found that the funds came from
the wrong account. SHA already has complied with the auditor's
suggestion by transferring the expense to a different account.
"This was a very thorough audit by the Office of the
Inspector General," said Thomas. "We appreciate the
auditors' careful review and will use the findings to improve our
procedures to the greatest extent possible. At the same time, it is
important to note that we have several legitimate disagreements with
the audit staff on the administration of this program. We believe we
accurately interpreted the program regulations and look forward to
using it to continue serving needy low-income residents who are
seeking housing assistance in order to move from welfare to
work."
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