U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

Office of Inspector General 

451 Seventh Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20410-4500 

Phone: (202) 708-0390 Fax: (202) 708-1354

 

September 27, 2011 

 

MEMORANDUM FOR: Mercedes M. Marquez, Assistant Secretary for Community 

Planning and Development, D 

FROM: James B. Ward, Director, Inspections and Evaluations Division, Office of 

Investigation, GIH 

SUBJECT: Inspection of the Washington, DC Department of Housing and Community 

Development’s participation in HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grant Program 

 File: IED-11-007M 

INTRODUCTION 

The Office of Inspector General, Inspections and Evaluations Division (IED), conducts 

independent, objective examinations of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD) activities, programs, operations, and organizational issues. 

We conducted an inspection of the Washington, DC Department of Housing and Community 

Development’s (DHCD) participation in HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program in 

order to determine whether DHCD (the grantee) and its sub-recipients: 

I. appropriately used HUD grant funds for eligible homeless assistance services, and 

II. accurately entered required information into the Integrated Disbursement and Information 

System (IDIS) 

We determined that DHCD did not use HUD Emergency Shelter Grant funds for inappropriate or 

ineligible purposes for the transactions that we reviewed. Our inspection also determined that 

the required information was accurately entered into IDIS for the sample of transactions 

reviewed. 
 IED-11-007M 

2 

BACKGROUND 

Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) Program

ESG was authorized under Subtitle B of Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act of 1987, as amended and provides homeless persons with basic shelter and essential 

supportive services. Title 42 United States Codes 11374 and 11378 outline the program’s eligible 

activities and use of funds for administrative costs, respectively. HUD’s Emergency Shelter 

Grant (ESG) Program Desk Guide provides an overview of the program, describes the funding 

process, and covers topics including the initial application, grant administration, project 

implementation, and performance monitoring. 

ESG is a formula-funded program that uses the Community Development Block Grant formula 

as the basis for allocating funds. Grantees, including state governments, large cities, urban 

counties, and U.S. territories, receive ESG grants and make these funds available to eligible subrecipients. Sub-recipients can be either local government agencies or private nonprofit 

organizations. 

HUD and ESG grantees use the Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS) and the 

Grants Management Process (GMP) System to administer the program. IDIS performs financial 

management, information reporting, and performance monitoring capabilities. GMP is a 

monitoring and tracking system used by HUD to document monitoring review results, post 

monitoring reports, and record risk assessments (risk analysis) results. 

Each grantee is also required to submit a Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation 

Report (CAPER) to the local HUD field office within 90 days after the end of the program year1. 

The CAPER is an annual report on a grantee’s progress in meeting goals set out in its 

Consolidated Plan. 

Funding for the Washington, DC ESG program was allocated to the Department of Housing and 

Community Development (DHCD). DHCD was awarded $808,603 and $802,910 in plan years 

2008 and 2009, respectively. DHCD awarded sub-grants to two nonprofit organizations, My 

Sister’s Place (MSP) and the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP), 

respectively. As HUD’s grantee, DHCD was responsible for monitoring its ESG sub-recipients 

and approving and verifying voucher requests. 

SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 

We reviewed applicable ESG criteria and guidance; grantee and sub-grant agreements; IDIS and 

DHCD system reports; and, voucher requests with supporting documentation. We also 

interviewed responsible HUD and DHCD staff members. 

 

1

 DHCD’s fiscal year is the same as HUD’s program year, which is from October 1st to 

September 30th. 
 IED-11-007M 

3 

The inspection covered grant funding and activities for two fiscal years (FYs) from October 1, 

2007 to September, 30 2009 (FY2008 and FY2009). We examined documentation for the 

largest draw downs for each fiscal year as shown in IDIS as of March 1, 2011. The highest 

amounts drawn down for FYs 2008 and 2009 were $968,165.51 for MSP and $177,598.97 for 

TCP, respectively. 

We conducted the inspection in accordance with the Quality Standards for Inspections issued by 

the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

RESULTS 

I. Did DHCD and its sub-recipients appropriately use HUD grant funds for eligible 

homeless assistance services? 

Based on the transactions reviewed, we found no instances in which DHCD used ESG funds for 

purposes other than eligible homeless assistance services. 

II. Did DCHD and its sub-recipients accurately enter required information into the 

Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS)? 

DHCD accurately entered required voucher information into IDIS for the sample of transactions 

that we reviewed.