Objectives

To determine whether Local Program Administrators (LPAs) were selected appropriately and their selection was properly documented by Homes and Community Renewal (HCR); and whether selected LPAs were properly administering the Residential Emergency Services to Offer Home Repairs to the Elderly (RESTORE) program in accordance with program goals and requirements. The audit covered awards in funding years 2017-19.

About the Program

HCR consists of several of New York State’s major housing and community renewal agencies, including the Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC), which is responsible for community development through the construction, development, revitalization, and preservation of low-income housing. Within HTFC, the Office of Community Renewal (OCR) is responsible for administering the RESTORE program, which assists senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety or that affect the livability of their homes.

LPAs, which are selected through an application process where they must demonstrate, among other things, a clear understanding of the RESTORE program requirements, are responsible for administering the program locally. LPAs’ applications are reviewed and scored, and selected LPAs enter into a contract for a term of one year with HTFC and can be awarded up to $150,000 per funding year. For the three funding years 2017-19, 49 RESTORE program awards totaling approximately $6.13 million were awarded to 36 LPAs for an estimated 785 projects to assist seniors.

Key Findings

HCR could improve its process for selecting LPAs and ensuring RESTORE program funds reach elderly residents from more counties and within the prescribed time frames to better support senior homeowners in need of assistance. Specifically, we found:

• Inaccurate scoring on 7 of 30 LPA applications reviewed (23 percent) resulted in at least three LPAs being inappropriately awarded funds while other LPAs were denied the opportunity for funding.
• LPAs were not properly administering the RESTORE program and were not using awarded funds within required time frames to ensure emergency repairs were addressed promptly.
• For the three-year period, the 49 RESTORE awards went to just 36 LPAs to serve only 36 of the 62 counties in the State. More targeted outreach regarding the RESTORE program could increase statewide participation in the application process and result in better distribution of funds.
• There were significant delays from the time OCR received notice of available funding to when RESTORE funds were made available to LPAs, thereby delaying the start of projects and assistance to seniors.

Key Recommendations

• Develop objective scoring guidelines to promote consistency and transparency in scoring and selecting LPA applications.
• Identify LPAs that have shown they are unable to use awarded RESTORE funds within the contracted period and provide timely assistance.
• Increase outreach and support to LPAs in counties that have not applied for or did not receive RESTORE program awards.
• Improve timeliness of awarding RESTORE program funds to LPAs.