Survey of State and Local Offices Administering Section 521 Rental Assistance

Gao ID: GAO-04-978SP September 13, 2004

This is a companion report for GAO-04-937. This document presents the results of GAO's survey of the Rural Housing Service's (RHS) state and local offices administering the Section 521 Rental Assistance Program. The purpose of the survey was to determine (1) how RHS distributes rental assistance through state and local offices, (2) how RHS monitors the rental assistance distribution process, and (3) the sufficiency of the internal controls RHS uses to oversee the distribution process. To obtain data about RHS rental assistance distribution, we surveyed RHS state and local offices with rental assistance responsibilities using a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire covered topics related to the rental assistance program, specifically, general office and staff information; renewal contracts; unused rental assistance; transfers; the tenant application process; tenant certifications; project worksheets; rent setting; reserve accounts; and technology and resources. We identified 248 state and local offices with rental assistance responsibilities. We provided information to access the web questionnaire via e-mail for those officials identified as being the appropriate office contact. To ensure security and data integrity, we provided each official with a username and password that allowed him or her to access and complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire was activated on March 12, 2004 and was available until May 3, 2004. From the 248 offices we identified, we obtained 230 useable responses for an overall response rate of 92.7 percent. Respondents were asked to provide written comments to open-ended questions; however, to maintain the confidentiality of participants, responses to these items are not provided here. In addition, we have not included survey data that were not relevant to topics discussed in the current report, or data that were determined to be unreliable. A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology, and a discussion of the survey results are contained in our report, Rural Housing Service: Updated Guidance and Additional Monitoring Needed for Rental Assistance Distribution Process (GAO-04-937). We conducted our survey work from April 2003 through July 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.



GAO Report

U.S. Government Accountability Office

This document presents the results of GAO’s survey of the Rural Housing Service’s (RHS) state and local offices administering the Section 521 Rental Assistance Program. The purpose of the survey was to determine (1) how RHS distributes rental assistance through state and local offices, (2) how RHS monitors the rental assistance distribution process, and (3) the sufficiency of the internal controls RHS uses to oversee the distribution process. To obtain data about RHS rental assistance distribution, we surveyed RHS state and local offices with rental assistance responsibilities using a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire covered topics related to the rental assistance program, specifically, general office and staff information; renewal contracts; unused rental assistance; transfers; the tenant application process; tenant certifications; project worksheets; rent setting; reserve accounts; and technology and resources. We identified 248 state and local offices with rental assistance responsibilities. We provided information to access the web questionnaire via e-mail for those officials identified as being the appropriate office contact. To ensure security and data integrity, we provided each official with a username and password that allowed him or her to access and complete the questionnaire.

The questionnaire was activated on March 12, 2004 and was available until May 3, 2004. From the 248 offices we identified, we obtained 230 useable responses for an overall response rate of 92.7 percent. Respondents were asked to provide written comments to open-ended questions; however, to maintain the confidentiality of participants, responses to these items are not provided here. In addition, we have not included survey data that were not relevant to topics discussed in the current report, or data that were determined to be unreliable. A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology, and a discussion of the survey results are contained in our report, Rural Housing Service: Updated Guidance and Additional Monitoring Needed for Rental Assistance Distribution Process. Clicking on the following link will provide access to this report (GAO-04-937). We conducted our survey work from April 2003 through July 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Table of Contents

Instructions for Viewing this Survey

How to View The Surveys

  • Click on the Table of Contents link located in the lower right of this screen. To read to the bottom of the screen, you may need to use your scroll bar on the right side of this screen.
  • The first screen in the survey is an introduction and general information that was sent to and viewed by recipients of the survey. There are no survey results to view on this screen. This screen is for information only and you may by-pass it by clicking on Next located at the bottom of the screen in the lower right.
  • When a respondent wrote a narrative response to a question, we present the percent of respondents making a comment.

How to View the Responses for Each Question

  • To view the responses to each question, click on the question number (Links to survey questions will look like this: 1. 2. 3., etc.).
  • After viewing the responses to each question, click on the "x" in the upper right corner of your screen to close that window and return to the questionnaire.

How to Return to a Page That You Previously Visited

  • To return to the last screen you viewed, click the Previous button on the lower right corner of the screen.
  • Click the Next button to retrace your steps and return to screens you viewed.

How to Make the Font Larger on Your Screen

  • You can make the font larger by changing your browser setting. For example, on Internet Explorer you can change the font size by going to View and selecting Text Size.

Table of Contents

The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.