(The Center Square) — New York City’s housing voucher program is plagued with problems that are preventing people from getting out of emergency shelters into permanent housing, according to a scathing new state audit.
The report by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli cited “inefficiencies and irregularities” by the New York City Department of Social Service in the administration of its main rental voucher program, which is making it harder for participants to find housing as the Big Apple struggles with historically high rates of homelessness.
Auditors reviewed the case files of more than 50 families participating in the City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement program, known as CityFHEPS, which covers the cost of up to 70% of rent costs for those who qualify. They pointed to “significant delays” in helping families move out of shelters and into homes with a voucher.
The report’s authors also criticized DSS over how it monitors people once they leave the emergency shelter system, saying they found “inaccuracies” in the agency’s shelter exit data.
DiNapoli said the report’s findings show that the state agency needs to “improve its management of the CityFHEPS program to ensure every dollar goes towards helping people experiencing homelessness.”
“The housing affordability crisis in New York City underscores the importance of an effective and efficient rental assistance program,” he said in a statement.
In a response to the audit, the state agency pushed back on claims in the report saying they contained “multiple inaccuracies and misstatements” about its administration of the CityFHEPS program, “despite DSS making itself available for many meetings and interviews, and all of the documents that DSS shared with the auditors.”
“DSS remains committed to its mission of serving New York City’s most vulnerable population in the most efficient and effective manner, while adhering to all applicable rules, regulations, and laws by which we are bound,” the agency said.
New York City’s housing voucher system is billed as one of the most important tools to help homeless New Yorkers secure housing in a city of ever-increasing rents. However, the demand for housing comes at an increasing cost to the city’s taxpayers who subsidize the program. In the most recent fiscal year, the city expects to spend $816 million on CityFHEPS, up dramatically from $174 million five years ago.
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams is battling the city council and others in court over a package of bills approved last year that would allow New Yorkers facing eviction to apply for rental vouchers and eliminate a rule requiring people to stay in shelters for 90 days before they are eligible to receive a voucher, among other changes.
Adams, a Democrat, vetoed the proposal, saying it would be too costly to the city. He estimated it would cost $17 billion over the next five years, $7 billion more than the council had projected.
However, the council joined a class action lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Society on behalf of low-income New Yorkers against Adams over his “failure” to enact the new requirements.
In August, a state judge ruled that the council overstepped its authority by expanding the program, siding with the Adams administration’s claims that the state’s social services law preempted the bill. The council has appealed the ruling.
