Leverage HUD OIG’s fraud risk inventory and continue using the Office of the Chief Risk Officer’s risk catalog to enhance CPD’s fraud risk management process.

Include grantees in the fraud risk identification process and communicate the risks and schemes identified for the disaster recovery program to relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, all HUD staff in the CPD Office of  Disaster Recovery, grantees and sub-recipients.

Use CPD’s fraud risk inventory to identify data needs, potential system enhancements, and implement data analysis techniques to improve CPD’s ability to monitor and respond to fraud risks in the Disaster Recovery program.

Evaluate and enhance its fraud risk management activities by incorporating fraud risk management practices that are in alignment with the best practices identified in GAO’s A Framework for Managing Fraud Risks in Federal Programs and Chief Financial Officers Council’s Antifraud Playbook.

Obtain training or technical assistance on the implementation of fraud risk management practices consistent with the Internal Control Integrated Framework, issued by COSO.

Issue guidance, including technical assistance, to all disaster recovery grantees that waivers for issues related to a disaster’s impact, like waivers of procurement policies, should be for reasonable and limited time periods after a disaster’s occurrence to ensure full and open competition.
 

Require the State to include in its procurement policy a reference to the New York State law which limits a State waiver of policies to 30 days unless renewed and to ensure that it clearly states whether the law affects the Governor’s 2012 waiver. Further, if it does not affect the 2012 waiver, require the State to take action to limit the use of that waiver to ensure full and open competition.
 

Require the State to implement a control, including documenting exceptions, to ensure that all contracts that exceed 5 years are approved by the Corporation.

Require the State to implement a control to ensure that it follows its mini bid process to ensure that it obtains the best services for the best price or document those exceptions and have the Corporation’s approval for them.

Require the State to implement a control to ensure that it follows its procurement policy and limits contract terms to 1 year unless it has the Corporation’s approval and it documents those exceptions.

Revise its procurement policies, practices, and controls to ensure that it executes and renews contracts in a timely manner to prevent lapses and backdating of agreements.

Revise its procurement policies to include requiring Corporation oversight for material changes in an agreement’s scope or amount.

Revise its ethics, conflict-of-interest and contractor certification policies and forms to address issues that can arise, including when using embedded consultants.

Create and implement a policy that documents how it handles and addresses conflict of interest complaints.

Collaborate with ONDCP to determine the necessary adjustments to the CoC reporting methodology that ensures HUD reports annual numeric targets and actuals to ONDCP by the required November 1 due date.

Collaborate with ONDCP to determine the necessary adjustments to the RHP reporting methodology that ensures HUD reports numeric targets to ONDCP by the required November 1 due date.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development implement training on civil rights monitoring reviews. Additionally, CPD should ensure that training on civil rights monitoring reviews is regularly provided to CPD staff.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development implement updated guidance and protocols for monitoring civil rights compliance and require CPD staff to incorporate civil rights monitoring into the risk analysis process.

We recommend that HUD’s General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development develop guidance clarifying the use of the exhibit for on-site, hybrid, and remote monitoring to ensure a full review of grantees’ compliance with civil rights requirements, and incorporate this guidance into the training developed as a result of recommendation 1A.

We recommend that the Director of CPD’s Office of Disaster Recovery require active disaster recovery grantees to report in DRGR other sources of funding used for non-Federal match activities.