LIHEAP IM 2015-2 Compliance Review Monitoring Schedule: FY 2015

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

SUBJECT:   LIHEAP Compliance Review Monitoring Schedule: FY 2015

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 2015.

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, amount of funding awarded, Carryover and Reallotment Reports, and A-133 audit reports. Using these data sources, we prioritize grantees based on criteria which 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.

In FY 2014, we visited 14 States based on criteria and process that we have developed. The grantees we reviewed in FY 2014 were:

After refining the selection process, we have selected the following grantees for an on-site visit in FY 2015, with the following estimated months:

2015 Compliance Review Schedule

These dates are approximate. 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. The 2015 compliance review will focus on the 2013 annual plans and data that includes both program and fiscal.

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

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