This is a special time of year for the Hispanic community as the nation observes National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Several federal agencies, led by the White House, have launched initiatives to bolster this segment of society.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials plan to strengthen guidance language to ensure that public safety grant recipients purchase emergency communications equipment that is interoperable, following a recent DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit.

Years ago, Prudential Insurance was known for its ad jingle, “Get a Piece of the Rock.” That jingle was the first thing that came to my mind back in 2009 when, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board established the Recovery Operations Center, or as it was more commonly known, the “ROC”. The ROC housed an accountability analytic group that focused on mitigating fraud, waste and abuse of Recovery Act funds. The analysts were supported with software and data sets that helped them detect possible misuse of funds, requiring further investigation.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) Federal agencies that either terminate an award before the end date or deny a proposal based on risk or integrity information will be required to post the termination or denial in the System of Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov, and make that information publically available for five years, under the recently published final guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) related to Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 110-417). Types of information that federal agencies consider include failure to comply with federal statues, regulations or award terms and conditions, risk assessments and integrity reviews such as criminal, civil and administrative proceedings.

It didn’t have much fanfare and you may have missed it, but the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) made some big news last week. Maybe not quite as big as the initial issuance of the uniform grant guidance, but important none the less.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommended in a recent audit that HUD require public housing authorities to establish policies to reduce the number of families in public housing whose income exceeds eligible limits (i.e., “overincome families”). Creating such policies would make public housing available to more eligible low-income families, the OIG added.

As a kid, one of the most frightening things I remember when riding in my parents’ car was crossing railroad tracks, which we did almost on a daily basis as several tracks crisscrossed our county. While many had the traditional warning signals and crossing bars, numerous others only had a single sign. If you didn’t know the tracks were there and failed to stop for the sign, these crossings could prove potentially deadly if a train were coming. In addition, some track crossings were located near an intersection with a traffic light, and you could find yourself stuck on the track until the light changed if you weren’t careful. I dreaded crossing the rails every time.

(The following was excerpted from an article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has included a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on its website to provide information and instructions to recipients of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) awards as the department transitions to requirements under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128).

It’s early September and for most students across the country, that means it’s back to school time, not only for K-12 students, but those in higher education as well. With the help of some new federal grant funds, many tribal colleges and universities will be able to provide a richer educational experience this year.