HUD OIG is reviewing HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD) Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG-CV) program.  The CARES Act provided $4 billion in ESG-CV funds to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, among individuals and families who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance.  Our objective is to determine what challenges grantees of ESG-CV funds have faced in implementing the program and utilizing grant funds.

HUD OIG is reviewing HUD's Continuum of Care (CoC) spending.  Under the CoC Program, HUD provides funding to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness.  Between fiscal years 2017 and 2019, HUD made available between $2 billion to $2.3 billion annually for the CoC Program. The audit objective is to determine whether HUD is effectively tracking and monitoring slow spending CoC grants to ensure grantees are providing homelessness services in accordance with program objectives and to determine the impact of COVID-19 on COC grantee spending.

HUD OIG is conducting a limited review of the emergency Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) and Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) funds authorized under the CARES Act.  HUD awarded $200 million in IHBG CARES Act funding and $100 million in ICDBG CARES Act funding.  The audit objective is to determine the status of emergency IHBG and ICDBG CARES Act funds and any areas of potential concern.

HUD OIG is auditing a Continuum of Care Program in California.  The City Controller issued a report on August 28, 2019, criticizing the grantee for falling short of its homeless outreach goals and considered the goals as ill-defined and not in alignment with County benchmarks.  Data from HUD indicates the grantee had nine grants expire in 2017 and 2018 with balances totaling nearly $4.5 million as of September 2019.