For each youth referred, require PHAs to obtain PCWA certification that the PCWA will provide or secure access to supportive services.

Include FYI in its voucher risk assessment and develop and implement monitoring policies, procedures, and controls.

Establish and implement methods to regularly assess the effectiveness of the program in preventing and ending youth homelessness and improving participants’ self-sufficiency, which could include performance metrics and periodic studies performed by the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R).

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to establish and implement procedures and controls to ensure that lead-based paint visual assessments are performed within the required timeframe.

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to implement adequate procedures and controls to ensure that lead-based paint hazard reduction work is performed within the required timeframe and that all identified hazards are abated or treated with interim controls.

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to maintain lead-based paint documentation for its properties in a manner that it is readily available for review by HUD and the Authority’s tenants if requested.

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to perform a search for historical lead based paint documentation and if any documents are found, compare the results from the historical documents with the results of the recent testing to identify any potential issues or inconsistencies and maintain all lead-based paint documentation related to the Authority’s properties according to HUD’s requirements.

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to Implement adequate procedures and controls to ensure that accurate lead disclosures are provided to current and prospective tenants.

We recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing require the Authority to implement adequate controls to ensure that contracted inspectors’ deliverables comply with HUD’s and EPA’s requirements.

We also recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing work in conjunction with HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to provide training to the Authority’s staff involved with managing lead-based paint and technical assistance in developing and implementing new procedures and controls.

We also recommend that the Director of the Philadelphia Office of Public Housing work in conjunction with HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to assess the quality of the lead-based paint inspections and risk assessments performed by the Authority’s contractors to determine whether they are sufficient to fulfill HUD’s requirements.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Housing and Voucher Programs enhance SEMAP or develop a new performance measurement process that would identify PHAs with underperforming HCV Programs, which should include an assessment of PHAs’ ability to maximize assistance to house families.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Provide additional training and guidance to field office program staff on SEMAP scoring, rating, and verification procedures, including confirmatory reviews, quality control reviews, and adjustments to the SEMAP process.

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations provide training and guidance to field office program staff on SEMAP scoring, rating, and verification procedures, including confirmatory reviews, quality control reviews, and adjustments, as appropriate, for the revised SEMAP process.

Create a plan and timeline that outlines OFO’s proposal to make necessary improvements to the EBLL tracker, such as moving it to a different platform.

Provide field office staff access to historical data in the EBLL tracker to be readily available as needed, with adequate protection of PII.

Update the EBLL tracker to show whether one or multiple children have an EBLL and whether the unit, building, or development previously had an EBLL reported.

Update the EBLL tracker by including which data fields are required, establishing what type of information can be entered into each data field, and disallowing case closure if required information is missing.

PIH in coordination with other HUD offices as necessary, research and address potential causes of the variance in the number of EBLL cases among States on the EBLL tracker and identify solutions that are within HUD's control.

Status

As of November 13, 2024, the PIH Office of Field Operations (OFO) had completed its outreach data collection and identified 9 public housing authorities that had not completed the required EBLL reporting actions and that OFO informed the field office directors overseeing the appropriate PHAs that they had until November 6, 2024, to upload the proper information to the trackers. As of January 29, 2025, OFO field office directors and their staff were still updating and inputting EBLL cases and relevant documentation into the EBLL tracker due to delays in responses from PHAs. The estimated completion date is February 28, 2025.

Analysis

To fully address this recommendation, OFO must provide evidence that it coordinated with other HUD offices and identified the causes of the variances in the number of EBLL cases among states on the EBLL tracker. OFO must also demonstrate that it fully remedied the causes of the variances. Alternatively, OFO must provide an explanation sufficient to support a claim that it could not identify the causes of the variances or develop and implement solutions for problems it identified in its research.

Implementation of this recommendation will result in improved HUD data of EBLL cases of children living in public housing across the country. Accurate reporting of EBLL cases to HUD is essential so that HUD can ensure PHAs take effective environmental interventions that help prevent additional lead exposure.

Create a plan and timeline that outlines OFO’s proposal to move the LBPR tracker to a different platform.