Download or read book Persons with HIV Funding Formula for Housing Assistance Could Be Better Targeted, and Performance Data Could Be Improved written by U S Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-03-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extent to which persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) need housing assistance is not known, in part because the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) estimate of the housing needs of persons with HIV, including those with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is not reliable. HUD does not require Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grantees to use a consistent methodology to calculate unmet need. The agency has taken steps towards developing a standard methodology, but it has not established time frames for finalizing these efforts. GAO's work on assessing data reliability indicates that data should be consistent. Because HUD does not require grantees to use selected data sources in a consistent manner, the reported information on unmet housing needs of persons with HIV are not comparable across jurisdictions and are not useful and reliable. In addition, the statutory HOPWA funding formula is based on cumulative AIDS cases since 1981, including persons who have died, rather than on current numbers of persons living with HIV (including those with AIDS). This approach has led to areas with similar numbers of living HIV cases receiving different amounts of funding. Because HOPWA funds are awarded based on cumulative AIDS cases, these funds are not being targeted as effectively or equitably as they could be. Agency data for HOPWA and the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Ryan White program indicate most recipients of assistance obtained stable, permanent housing, but Ryan White housing data may have limitations. HRSA, within the Department of Health and Human Services, does not require Ryan White grantees to maintain current data on clients' housing status. However, it uses the data that grantees report to calculate the proportion of clients that have stable housing. HRSA is charged with tracking Ryan White clients' housing status as a part of the White House's National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Federal internal control standards state that events should be promptly recorded to maintain their relevance and value to management in controlling operations and making decisions. Because HRSA does not require grantees to maintain current data on clients' housing status, HRSA's data may be of limited usefulness in tracking the National HIV/AIDS Strategy goal of improving clients' housing status.