QEJ Applauds NYC Comptroller Audit of DHS Program

QEJ Applauds Comptroller Report

On the Department of Homeless Services’

Work Advantage Program

On July 15, 2010 the New York City Office of the Comptroller released the results of an audit of the Department of Homeless Services’ (DHS) Work Advantage Program (WADV). The report contains conclusions drawn from a review of WADV operations and procedures, as well as recommendations to DHS for correcting the problems that were found.

Queers for Economic Justice applauds Comptroller John Liu and his staff for this report, and hope that this helps bring about changes in the program for homeless New Yorkers.

The Work Advantage (WADV) Program is a subsidized housing program that offers rental subsidies to working homeless families and individuals living in temporary shelters. Once it is determined that a client is eligible for WADV, DHS presents the client with a list of registered apartment units, and after the lease is signed DHS subsidizes the client’s rent in the form of a voucher. The subsidy lasts for one year, and may be renewed for a second year. This program, if administered correctly, can provide the kind of support to help individuals and families move permanently out of the shelter system.

But the Comptroller’s report found several problems with the program, including:

· DHS does not adequately ensure that the WADV program is carried out according to its current guidelines. In part, this is the result of its failure to update and distribute guidelines to DHS staff on a timely basis, which has led to inconsistencies in how they carry out procedures.

· DHS does not adequately deal with landlords and brokers who pressure their tenants to pay additional rent payments outside their lease agreements, otherwise known as side deals.

· DHS does not keep track of, and continues to do business with, landlords who have records of abuses in the WADV program.

· DHS does not have inadequate controls for the maintenance of its case files. These case files contain important information, and DHS has no system in place to keep track of them or prevent their misuse or unauthorized alteration.

The Office of the Comptroller issued a number of recommendations, including that DHS should:

· Ensure that all DHS employees are aware of and abide by all polices and procedures.

· Enforce regulations that prohibit side deals, and refrain from doing business with landlords and brokers who participate in side deals.

· Ensure that shelter clients have accurate information and are informed of their rights.

· Re-examine its current clearance procedures and set stringent thresholds and guidelines with regard to building violations to ensure that apartments with numerous hazardous violations are not registered.

· Emphasize to case workers the importance of obtaining all the required documentation and signatures in the lease-signing process.

Queers for Economic Justice works with LGBT people in the NYC shelter system everyday. We have found that the problems with the WADV program named by the Comptrollers report are in fact an accurate reflection of what our constituents go through with WADV program, and with unscrupulous landlords who are not monitored. We hope that further monitoring happens to ensure the recommendations by the Comptroller are adhered to, so that homeless New Yorkers are given the support they need, are not taken advantage of, and have responsive channels of recourse when abuses occur.

Not only must our shelters be made safe, but so must the housing that people moving out of homelessness are provided.