United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-04-27 monographic deposited born digital 85 p. GA 1.13:RCED-99-98 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98 P0b002ee18037f376 f:rc99098 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98 RCED-99-98 Internal controls Financial management Housing programs Block grants Grant monitoring Community development programs Program abuses Management information systems Computer security HUD Grants Management System HUD Integrated Disbursement and Information System Community Development Block Grant Program HUD Home Investment in Affordable Housing Program HUD Emergency Shelter Grant Program HUD Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program HUD Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Programs HUD 2020 Management Reform Plan HUD Community 2020 System Chapter Report RCED

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on whether controls are in place to ensure that block grant programs' objectives are being achieved and that funds are being managed appropriately, focusing on whether: (1) the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) on-site monitoring of grantees under the Grants Management System is adequate; and (2) the Integrated Disbursement and Information System provides the data HUD needs to accurately assess grantees' performance.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) while the Grants Management System provides a logical, structured approach to managing the four block grant programs, HUD's monitoring under the system--including on-site monitoring of grantees and the Integrated Disbursement and Information System--does not ensure that the programs' objectives are being met and that grantees are managing their funds appropriately; (2) HUD considers its on-site monitoring of grantees essential, but GAO found this monitoring is inadequate; (3) the five field offices GAO visited (accounting for about 20 percent of all block grant funds in fiscal year (FY) 1998, or $1.18 billion) conduct on-site monitoring infrequently because of a shift to a more collaborative relationship with the grantees and because of a lack of resources, according to the directors of the field offices; (4) furthermore, on-site monitoring seldom targets the grantees that receive the poorest evaluations from the field officers compared with other grantees, and this monitoring is not uniform or comprehensive because the field officers lack specific guidance; (5) the reviews of some grantees conducted by GAO and others, especially HUD's Inspector General, have identified significant problems in grantees' finances and performance; (6) while such reviews are not generalizable to all block grant programs, these reviews, along with the breakdowns in monitoring, call into question the integrity of programs funded at nearly $6 billion in FY 1998, including their safeguards against fraud, waste, and abuse; (7) for its part, HUD's Integrated Disbursement and Information System does not provide the information HUD needs to accurately assess grantees' performance and thus does not compensate for these breakdowns in monitoring; (8) fraught with major design flaws, the information system makes the process for establishing and maintaining accounts difficult and provides ample opportunity for major problems with entering data, does not allow such problems to be corrected easily, cannot track the program income from the revolving funds that grantees establish, does not provide timely and accurate information, and has difficulty producing reports; and (9) GAO also determined that the security controls for the information system are weak and therefore do not provide assurance that the system is safe from fraud and abuse. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98.pdf GAO/RCED-99-98 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-98 Chapter Report GAO/RCED-99-98; Community Development: Weak Management Controls Compromise; Internal controls Financial management Housing programs Block grants Grant monitoring Community development programs Program abuses Management information systems Computer security HUD Grants Management System HUD Integrated Disbursement and Information System Community Development Block Grant Program HUD Home Investment in Affordable Housing Program HUD Emergency Shelter Grant Program HUD Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program HUD Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Programs HUD 2020 Management Reform Plan HUD Community 2020 System Title 31 Section 7501 31 U.S.C. 7501 Public Law 103-62