Reports

The Emergency Rental Assistance program helps individuals affected by the public health emergency to cover the cost of rent and utilities. Through June 2021, DOA received $434.7 million in federal funds through the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act for the program. From March 2021 through September 2021, the program provided $64.0 million in benefits for 15,968 households. We make recommendations for DOA to improve how it administers the Emergency Rental Assistance program, including by improving the program’s application process, modifying the process for...

During our audit, we identified internal control and compliance findings that we believe are either directly, or indirectly, related to a lack of resources available for processing and adjudicating unemployment claims with the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency. To address the rapid rise in unemployment, the federal government provided additional federal funding to states and implemented several new unemployment-related benefits. The Commission struggled to adapt to these changes due to a lack of both staffing and technology resources. As a result, the Commission was not able to...