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WBK Industry - Federal Regulatory Developments

HUD Seeks Public Comment on Study of Community Compass Technical Assistance Program Amid OIG Audit Finding that the Program Lacked Adequate Oversight

11 Oct 2018

On September 27, 2018, HUD published a notice for public comment on a proposed study to be conducted with the Urban Institute to assess HUD’s Community Compass Technical Assistance and Capacity Building (Community Compass) program.  According to HUD, Community Compass is designed to help HUD customers “navigate housing and community development challenges by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, tools, capacity, and systems to implement HUD programs and policies successfully and be more effective stewards of HUD funding.”  Last year, HUD granted $56.5 million in Community Compass Technical Assistance awards for applications submitted in Fiscal Year 2016.  The notice asks for public comment on the information that will be collected for the study, which will include in-depth interviews with Technical Assistance providers and customers.

The study focuses on three research questions:

  • What Technical Assistance does HUD provide?
  • How does HUD provide Technical Assistance?
  • How effective is HUD Technical Assistance?

The public notice vaguely references GAO recommendations from 2002 that HUD should both streamline its Technical Assistance programs and request such providers to establish performance measures and report on their intended outputs and outcomes. However, the notice does not specifically state why HUD now is seeking a study which asks such generic questions.

Meanwhile, a day after the notice was published, on September 28, 2018, HUD’s Office of Inspector General issued an audit report finding that HUD did not have sufficient oversight of its Community Compass program, resulting in over $850,000 in ineligible or unsupported program costs.  The audit also found that more than $20.5 million in program funds could be put to better use if HUD strengthens its internal controls and only awarded contracts according to procurement requirements.

The notice for public comment is available here.