Notification of Award Decisions: Each applicant is sent a letter that  communicates the grant award decision. HHS awarded grants to about one-quarter of the applicants that applied in  2007 and 2008, as shown in table 2. Grant Announcements Have Not Always Provided Clear and Concise Information

Based on the grant announcements we reviewed and our observation of  the peer review process, the criteria upon which grant applications would  be evaluated were not clearly defined in a single location in the  announcement. Rather, we found that criteria were scattered throughout  various sections of the announcement, had multiple labels, and were not  presented in an orderly manner in a single location. First, applicants must  address the “Program Requirements,” found in Section 1 of the  announcement. ACF Provides Technical Assistance That Applicants Found Helpful

ACF provides technical assistance to potential applicants for runaway and  homeless youth grants, as required by statute. For example, 17 of  the 20 applicants who sought technical assistance were satisfied with the  help they received. For example, we found weaknesses in four  out of six internal controls related to the grant award process, as shown in  table 4. Our review of resumes of all the peer  reviewers and chairs for 2009 Street Outreach Program grants found that  many had professional and volunteer experiences that were not always  directly related to runaway and homeless youth programs. Notification of Grant Award Decisions Have Not Always Been Timely, and Notices Are Not Always Clear

		Notification Time Frames Can Present Planning Challenges for Some Applicants

Grant award decisions are not always communicated in a timely manner,  which may present planning challenges for some applicants. Based on our review of grant documents for fiscal  years 2007 and 2008, we found that for all but the 2008 Transitional Living  Program grants, this was true, regardless of when the announcement  closed or when the funding decisions were made. Recommendations

To enhance transparency and fairness in the grant award process, and  improve grantees ability to plan for services, we recommend that the  Secretary of Health and Human Services direct the Assistant Secretary for  the Administration for Children and Families to take the following seven  actions:    Clearly identify in grant announcements all the criteria that peer reviewers  will use to evaluate and score applications, and ensure that peer reviewers  use only those criteria during the peer review process. With regard to our recommendation to select peer reviewers with  expertise in the program for which they are evaluating grant applications,   HHS commented that the agency has elected to accept reviewers who are  knowledgeable of the risk factors faced by runaway and homeless youth,  and that many professional disciplines often intersect with runaway and  homeless youth.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awards grants to provide shelter and services to runaway and homeless youth through the Basic Center, Transitional Living and Street Outreach Programs. In response to a mandate for a review of the grant award process for these programs in the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-378), GAO examined (1) grant announcements and application requirements, (2) technical assistance for grant applicants, (3) how grant award decisions are made, and (4) notification of grant award decisions. GAO reviewed requirements, documents, and records associated with this process for fiscal years 2007 and 2008, observed the grant evaluation portion of this process, and interviewed applicants, peer reviewers, and agency officials.

What GAO Found

Based on GAO's review of past grant announcements for these programs, GAO found that the criteria upon which grant applications were evaluated were not clearly identified or presented in a single location in the announcement. Rather, GAO found that criteria were scattered throughout various sections of the announcement, had multiple labels, and were not presented in an orderly manner. As a result, applications that did not address the criteria from all sections were likely to receive lower evaluation scores, decreasing their chances of receiving a grant. HHS provides technical assistance to potential applicants for runaway and homeless youth grants, as required by statute. Of the 20 applicants GAO interviewed who sought technical assistance, 17 were satisfied with the help they received. Grant award decisions are primarily based on the results of the peer review process, and internal controls in place to ensure that applications are evaluated consistently were not always adequate. GAO found weaknesses in four out of the six procedures the agency relies on to ensure consistent evaluation of applications. For example, although HHS policy requires peer reviewers to be experts in the field of runaway and homeless youth programs, about one- quarter of the reviewers who evaluated applications for 2009 Street Outreach grants had little or no experience in this area. With regard to notification of grant award decisions, GAO found that they have not always been communicated to applicants in a timely manner, which can delay the start of new programs and present planning challenges for existing ones. GAO also found that the information in notification letters to applicants who were not awarded grants was not always clear or complete.