Reports

The objective of this audit was to determine theeffects of COVID-19 and the events of January 6, 2021, on the CHOBr Project.

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s (Education) management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies (LEAs) respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that LEAs spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

We conducted a state high‑risk audit of the California Department of Education’s management of the federal funding it received to help local educational agencies respond to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The following report details our conclusion that California Department of Education must improve its oversight of these funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to ensure that local educational agencies spend the funding before the associated deadlines and comply with relevant requirements.

This audit was conducted to evaluate CARES Act funds designated for City Council-approved small business recovery and housing relief programs. The Office found that Community relief programs were adequately designed to address the economic impact from the pandemic. Controls over the distribution and monitoring of some community recovery programs should be improved to prevent and detect misappropriations. Emergency relief programs can benefit from the lessons learned during these COVID-19 responses.

This report focuses exclusively on The Department of Housing and Community Development's (HCD) progress in committing and awarding rent relief program benefits to eligible California households by the first crucial federal deadline, which is September 30, 2021. Although HCD is making significant progress toward meeting the first federal deadline, it must commit additional benefits to eligible households in order to reduce the State’s risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funds for this program.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development administers the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program, which received $316 million in federal funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic (ESG-CV) for individuals who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Th e following report details our conclusion that the department failed to expedite access to federal funding to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the homeless population.