Recommendations for Executive Action

1. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: Education developed monitoring guidelines for staff conducting site visits to McKinney Act grantees and has increased the number of such visits.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Education should develop specific guidelines, conduct regular on-site visits, and require financial audits for all their McKinney Act programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Education

2. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: SNAPS issued memorandum regarding improved monitoring policy and procedures for its field offices and PHAs to follow for the Sec. 8 Mod. Rehab. SRO program.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Education should develop specific guidelines, conduct regular on-site visits, and require financial audits for all their McKinney Act programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Housing and Urban Development

3. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: HHS has taken four actions to increase monitoring: (1) required annual reports of states; (2) met with states to instruct them on requirements for reporting more detailed program information; (3) instituted monthly meetings with HUD to share information on McKinney Act programs; and (4) established a policy to conduct monitoring visits to states, beginning June 1992.

   Recommendation: The Secretary of Health and Human Services should determine whether it is appropriate to increase the level of monitoring for the two HHS McKinney Act block grant programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services

4. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: A contract evaluation report was completed and evaluation guidelines were developed that will help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The Department sent a copy of the guidelines to Congress and GAO in April 1995.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Director, FEMA, should evaluate the effectiveness of all their McKinney Act programs to assess whether they are working as intended and to identify needed changes. The Secretaries and the Director, FEMA, should also develop evaluation guidelines to help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Education

5. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: HUD has contracted for evaluations of three of its four McKinney Act programs. The fourth program, SRO, has been reviewed by HUD Office of the Inspector General and is currently being evaluated by GAO, code 385289.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Director, FEMA, should evaluate the effectiveness of all their McKinney Act programs to assess whether they are working as intended and to identify needed changes. The Secretaries and the Director, FEMA, should also develop evaluation guidelines to help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Housing and Urban Development

6. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: HHS has initiated effectiveness evaluations of its McKinney Act programs that are not administered as block grants to states. HHS maintains that program evaluation is a state responsibility for its McKinney Act block grant programs.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Director, FEMA, should evaluate the effectiveness of all their McKinney Act programs to assess whether they are working as intended and to identify needed changes. The Secretaries and the Director, FEMA, should also develop evaluation guidelines to help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services

7. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: Labor has guidelines in place for its two McKinney Act programs to help grantees develop, document, and report program evaluation data. Initial effectiveness evaluations of both programs have been completed, and additional follow-up evaluations are planned.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Director, FEMA, should evaluate the effectiveness of all their McKinney Act programs to assess whether they are working as intended and to identify needed changes. The Secretaries and the Director, FEMA, should also develop evaluation guidelines to help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

   Agency Affected: Department of Labor

8. Status: Closed - Implemented

   Comments: FEMA provided the Office of Management and Budget with an evaluation of its Emergency Food and Shelter program on December 10, 1990, and the EFS Board completed a survey of participant local boards in April 1992. Guidelines for the collection of program evaluation data are to be issued by April 30, 1992.

   Recommendation: The Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Director, FEMA, should evaluate the effectiveness of all their McKinney Act programs to assess whether they are working as intended and to identify needed changes. The Secretaries and the Director, FEMA, should also develop evaluation guidelines to help assistance providers develop, document, and report consistent and comprehensive program data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.

   Agency Affected: Federal Emergency Management Agency

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