California Met Some Requirements of the Projects for Assistance in Transition From Homelessness Program but Did Not Accurately Report Program Activities for Selected Providers

Why OIG Did This Audit

• California has the largest homeless population in the United States, with 24 percent of the nationwide total of more than 771,000 homeless persons.
• This audit is the fourth in a series to ensure the integrity of grant funds awarded under SAMHSA’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness program (PATH). These funds assist States with providing services to individuals with serious mental illness experiencing homelessness.
• California was awarded approximately $8.8 million, the largest PATH grant in the Nation, from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. This audit assessed whether California complied with PATH program requirements.

What OIG Found

California complied with PATH program requirements related to program costs, non-Federal contributions, and consumer eligibility for five selected providers. However, it did not fully comply with requirements to accurately report PATH program activities in its Annual Report to SAMHSA and to ensure providers adequately documented services provided.

• California included in its Annual Report: (1) an inaccurate number of consumers enrolled in the PATH program for one selected provider and (2) inaccurate total Federal and non-Federal contributions made for another selected provider to support its PATH program.
• California did not ensure that 1 selected provider documented the services provided to 10 of 20 selected consumers reviewed and contacts made with all 20 consumers.

What OIG Recommends

We recommend that California work with relevant parties to provide guidance and training to PATH providers to accurately report data in the PATH Annual Report, and strengthen its oversight of the PATH program by validating that PATH providers adequately document services provided to and contacts made with consumers. California concurred with our recommendations and provided information about the actions that it plans to take to address our recommendations.