Homeland Security Assistance for Nonprofits: Department of Homeland Security Delegated Selection of Nonprofits to Selected States and States Used a Variety of Approaches to Determine Awards

The fiscal year 2005 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriation set aside $25 million, of the $885 million appropriated for the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), for grants to eligible nonprofit organizations that the Secretary of Homeland Security determined to be at high risk of international terrorist attack. This letter responds to the conference report that directed GAO to review the validity of the threat and risk factors used by DHS to allocate discretionary grants to nonprofit organizations in fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Based on our review of DHS's risk methodology for fiscal year 2006, the criteria in the fiscal year 2005 grant application kit, and conversations with Congressional staff about the conference report, we addressed the following objectives: (1) DHS's methodology for determining risk for urban areas and the nonprofit grant program, and DHS implementation of the program; (2) states' efforts to implement the nonprofit grant program in fiscal year 2005, and (3) whether subgrants were made to nonprofits in fiscal years 2003 and 2004, when funds were not specifically set aside for nonprofits.