Audit Report on the Department of Homeless Services’ Monitoring of the Homebase Program

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is responsible for preventing homelessness and providing emergency shelter and social services to homeless families. The agency’s Homebase program is designed to help families overcome immediate housing problems that can result in homelessness. Through its contracts with eight community-based organizations, which are located in 12 locations throughout the five boroughs, DHS helps homeless families and individuals gain self-sufficiency and move from temporary to permanent housing. According to data reported by DHS, $16.9 million in Federal funds and $778,469 in City funds were expended on the Homebase program in Fiscal Year 2012.

In Fiscal Year 2012, providers enrolled 10,847 clients in the Homebase program. Homebase provided these clients with legal, employment, and tenancy services and financial assistance to help solve their various housing needs. DHS was responsible for overseeing the Homebase program and for ensuring that providers followed the guidelines outlined in their contracts and the program criteria developed by DHS.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

DHS ensured that the program was carried out in accordance with the guidelines and criteria of its program. DHS conducted annual performance evaluations, risk assessment reviews, and case file audits in conjunction with a contracted CPA firm. In addition, DHS ensured that any issues reported in the audits were corrected by the providers. DHS also met with providers on a monthly basis, ensured that providers received training as it pertained to the guidelines of the program, and provided support and guidance when necessary. Furthermore, we found no issues with the services offered to clients.

However, we identified weaknesses that DHS should correct. Specifically, DHS should develop written policies and procedures governing the entire monitoring process, including modifying its monitoring checklist. In addition, DHS should require that its providers maintain records explaining the initial determinations of client ineligibility and should discontinue its practice of providing advance notice for all of its risk assessments and case file audits. Furthermore, because DHS does not formally track complaints it receives on the Homebase program, we could not render an opinion as to whether the agency resolved complaints in a timely and appropriate manner.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, we make six recommendations, including that DHS should:

• Compile written policies and procedures that its staff can use in the course of monitoring the compliance of Homebase providers with their contracts.
• Require that Homebase providers maintain records of their eligibility assessments of those denied services during the initial inquiry stage of the process.
• Require that some of the audits and site visits to the Homebase providers be unannounced.
• Maintain a record of complaints it receives pertaining to the Homebase program so that it can track and monitor the resolution of the complaints as well as identify any specific areas that require additional attention.

Agency Response

DHS officials agreed to implement one of the six recommendations in the report (to maintain and verify supporting documents) and asserted that they already comply with three other recommendations (to create policies and procedures, to update the monitoring checklist, and to track complaints). However, during the course of our audit, we were not provided with evidence to support these claims. DHS officials disagreed with the remaining two recommendations that some of DHS’s audits and site visits be unannounced and that DHS discontinue its practice of giving providers advance notice of the specific case files selected for review. After carefully reviewing DHS’s arguments in response to these two recommendations, we found them to be without merit.