Navajo-Hopi Relocation Program

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the relocation of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Tribes, focusing on: (1) whether the Navajo and Hopi Relocation Office certified more families for benefits than it relocated in 1994; and (2) the number of families that still have to be relocated or certified as of December 31, 1994. GAO noted that: (1) as of December 31, 1994, 4,507 families had applied for relocation assistance, 3,302 families were certified for relocation benefits, and 2,560 families had been relocated; (2) although the Relocation Office certified 160 families for benefits and in 1994, it only relocated 102 of these families; (3) certifications outnumbered relocations mainly because previous ineligibility determinations were reversed; (4) 742 families certified for relocation had not been relocated as of December 31, 1994; (5) the 660 families originally found to be ineligible for assistance could have their original ineligibility determinations overturned during review; and (6) there may be as many as 100 additional Navajo families eligible for relocation assistance, but these families have never applied for such assistance.