LIHEAP IM 2014-1 on the Compliance Review Schedule FY 2014

Transmittal No.  LIHEAP-IM-2014-1                          Date: November 25, 2013

TO:  LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP) GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES

SUBJECT:            LIHEAP Compliance Review Monitoring Schedule: FY 2014

RELATED             Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, as amended (Title XXVI of
REFERENCES:    Public Law (P.L.) 97-35, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, as amended).

BACKGROUND:  Section 2608(b)(1) of the LIHEAP statute provides that:

The Secretary shall conduct in several States in each fiscal year investigations of the use of funds received by the States under this title in order to evaluate compliance with the provisions of this title.

PURPOSE:          To inform LIHEAP grantees about plans to conduct on-site compliance reviews and desk reviews, the criteria used for selecting  grantees, and the schedule of States and Tribes selected for FY 2014.

CONTENT:          As part of our increased efforts to ensure compliance with the LIHEAP statute and regulations and prevent improper payments, the Office of Community Services (OCS) has revised its compliance review procedures. These steps include:

1. Increasing our capacity for review of grantees’ financial accounting systems and procedures;
2. Increasing the number of reviews we perform each year; and
3. Revising the process we use to select grantees for review.

We have adopted a criteria-based process to select grantees for our reviews. This approach allows us to target training and technical assistance to those grantees that need it most. We rely on several sources of data in order to estimate possible risk for LIHEAP grantees, including annual Plans, Program Integrity Assessments, Carryover and Reallotment Reports, and A-133 audit reports. Using these data sources, we prioritize grantees based on criteria that include the number and severity of A-133 audit findings, the level of grantees’ measures to prevent improper payments, results from our previous compliance reviews, and the training and monitoring performed by grantees. We also prioritize grantees that we have not visited recently. Other factors may be considered, such as ongoing audits and investigations of grantees’ LIHEAP programs by the Office of the Inspector General.

In FY 2013, we visited four States that had already been selected under our former process, as described in LIHEAP-IM-2011-04. Using the approach outlined above, we selected eight additional grantees for on-site review.   The grantees we reviewed in FY 2013 are:

After refining the selection process, we have selected the following grantees for an on-site visit in FY 2014, with the following estimated dates:

We will work with each grantee to select specific dates that will minimize disruption to grantees’ operations. OCS staff will contact the grantees listed above to explain the compliance review process, select dates, and request documentation to be provided in advance of the visit. In addition, we may add additional grantees for review, depending on time and resources.

INQUIRIES:    Lauren Christopher, Operations Branch Chief
                       Division of Energy Assistance
                       Telephone: (202) 401-4870
                       E-mail: lauren.christopher@acf.hhs.gov

/s/
Jeannie L. Chaffin
Director
Office of Community Services