Ensure that its staff is properly trained and familiar with HUD’s requirements to ensure that it properly procures and invests Federal funds in HUD-approved investment accounts.

Implement adequate procedures and controls to ensure that the Authority complies with HUD’s requirements for its investments of Federal funds.

Procure appropriate HUD-approved investment accounts and move all Federal funds from the STAR Ohio investment accounts to HUD-approved accounts to ensure that $20,706,862 or the current balance of the STAR Ohio accounts is properly protected.

Develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that documentation is maintained by grantees to support program participants’ contractual agreements.

Develop and implement a plan to monitor grantee FSS programs, including to ensure that escrow accounts are calculated correctly.

Monitor the grantees’ efforts to improve the accuracy and completeness of the PIC program data to ensure that program outcomes reported to Congress are accurately supported.

Require the Housing Authority of Brevard County to repay $1,520 in ineligible escrow funds to HUD from non-Federal funds for the program participant that exceeded allowable contract terms of the FSS program.

Require the 12 grantees to correct their action plans to ensure that they comply with program requirements and submit the corrected plans to HUD for review or require the grantees to repay HUD from non-Federal funds for any amount of the $7,779,450 they received that they cannot support.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for REAC require REAC to establish and implement written processes and procedures to verify the accuracy of the unit numbers sampled and entered for inspection by the inspector, which could include requiring (1) inspectors to upload a picture of the rent roll to the data collection device, (2) housing agencies to maintain a copy of the rent roll used, and (3) inspectors and public housing agencies to sign a certification stating that the units were inspected in accordance with the sample generated by the data collection device.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for REAC require REAC to develop and implement processes and procedures, in accordance with its system security plan and the HUD Handbook, Information Technology Security Policy, to ensure that annual assessments and continuous monitoring of the security controls are performed and that security control failures are prevented and corrected when identified.