December 3, 2009

Management Alert on the Department's Monitoring of the Weatherization Assistance Program in the State of Illinois

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program received $5 billion to improve the energy efficiency of homes owned or occupied by low income persons, reduce their total residential expenditures, and improve their health and safety. Since the Recovery Act was enacted in February 2009, the Department has awarded weatherization grants to every state, the District of Columbia and five territories. Because of the unprecedented level of funding and the risks associated with spending vast amounts of money in a relatively short period of time, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated a series of audits designed to evaluate the Program's internal control structures at both the Federal and state levels. As part of our work, we are in the process of reviewing Weatherization Program internal controls for the State of Illinois. We are also currently performing identical audits in the States of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Topic: Financial Assistance