Reports

DOL and states found themselves unprepared for the overwhelming circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and struggled to implement CARES Act UI Programs and Continue Assistance Act which added the Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program. MEUC is a new temporary, federal program that provides an extra unemployment income to self-employed individuals. As unprecedented levels of unemployment resulted in millions of jobless Americans applying for unemployment benefits during the pandemic this also led to states reporting an inability to process claims, complete required reporting, or perform required overpayment detection procedures due to an inability to hire sufficient levels of staffing. The objective of this audit is to determine how states implemented the MEUC program.

We conducted this engagement in coordination with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to gain an understanding of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fraud risk management practices and develop an inventory of fraud risks that HUD had not already identified for the funds appropriated by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) programs. We identified five overall risk factors that contribute to the risk of fraud for the CDBG and ESG CARES Act...

Results from this survey are available at the following link: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/582f32f0127c4c86870b2e129c05b9…

The coronavirus pandemic negatively impacted the oversight and assistance that Regions 9 and 10 provide to the tribal drinking water systems under their purview, as well as the capacity of these systems to provide safe drinking water. The pandemic also underscored the limitations of both EPA resources and tribal drinking water system resiliency. As a result, tribal drinking water systems may be unable to operate safely and comply with drinking water regulations. Access to safe and clean water is critical at all times, but even more so during pandemic situations.

The OIG is conducting an audit of the Office on Violence Against Women’s Grant Administration due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The preliminary objectives are to assess: (1) the grant administration and monitoring during the pandemic and (2) the guidance and assistance provided to grant recipients for addressing any increased risks to effective program implementation and to violence against women.