State Audit: Suffolk's Disabled Veterans Faced Delays in Home Repair Program

More than 13,000 disabled veterans in Suffolk County are among those affected by failures in a state program designed to help veterans remain safely in their homes, according to a new audit released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

The audit found New York's Access to Home for Heroes/Veterans Program, which provides grants of up to $25,000 for accessibility modifications, emergency repairs and code violation corrections, suffered from poor oversight and inadequate outreach that delayed assistance to eligible veterans.

"Affordable, accessible housing remains out of reach for many of New York's veterans," DiNapoli said. "This program is supposed to deliver critical home repairs, but poor oversight and weak outreach left veterans waiting for help. Our recommendations will help the state fix this program and better assist the men and women who served our country."

Auditors found two Local Program Administrators serving Suffolk County failed to submit required initial project reviews more than 10 months into their contracts, delaying projects intended to help disabled veterans live safely and independently.

Statewide, only 36% of the program's $3.3 million in contract funding was spent during the audit period, with just 81 home improvement projects completed in 15 of New York's 62 counties.

Auditors also found that 19 counties with large disabled veteran populations had no applicants for the program, while some local officials said they had never heard of it.

The audit recommends that New York State Homes and Community Renewal strengthen oversight of local administrators, improve outreach and target counties with large disabled veteran populations.

For Suffolk County, home to one of New York's largest veteran populations, the findings raise concerns that veterans who earned these benefits waited longer than necessary for critical home repairs because of bureaucratic delays rather than a lack of available funding.