HHS OIG: ACF Can Improve Homeless Youth Services Compliance

HHS OIG Reports & Publications

Published January 30th, 2026

Detected February 11th, 2026

Summary

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report finding that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) can improve services to homeless youth by strengthening grant recipients' compliance with Transitional Living Program (TLP) requirements. The audit found significant documentation gaps in service provision for a large percentage of youth served by TLP grants.

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What changed

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report (A-06-23-07001) detailing significant compliance issues within the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Transitional Living Program (TLP). The audit, which reviewed 25 TLP grant recipients, found that 88% of the homeless youth sampled either did not receive or did not have documented receipt of all required services. A specific finding noted that for parenting youth, separate case files were not created for their children in 12 out of 21 cases.

The OIG has made four recommendations to ACF, which ACF has concurred with. These recommendations focus on creating enhanced guidance and providing technical assistance to TLP grant recipients. Key areas for improvement include better documentation of required services in case files, ensuring continuity of care, verifying service provision, and maintaining separate case files for infants of parenting youth. ACF's update on these recommendations is expected by July 29, 2026. Regulated entities, specifically TLP grant recipients, should anticipate updated guidance and technical assistance from ACF to improve their compliance and documentation practices.

What to do next

Review OIG report A-06-23-07001 for detailed findings and recommendations.
Anticipate and prepare for updated guidance and technical assistance from ACF regarding TLP service documentation and compliance.
Ensure case file documentation practices align with federal requirements, particularly for parenting youth and their children.

Source document (simplified)

ACF Can Improve Services to Homeless Youth by Strengthening Grant Recipients’ Compliance With Transitional Living Program Requirements

Issued on

01/30/2026

| Posted on

02/04/2026

| Report number: A-06-23-07001

Report Materials

Why OIG Did This Audit

Youth affected by homelessness are vulnerable to exploitation and victimization, have high rates of involvement in the juvenile justice system, and are more likely to engage in substance use.
The Transitional Living Program (TLP), administered by ACF, awards grants to public and private organizations (grant recipients) to provide temporary living arrangements and services to homeless youth aged 16 to 21.
In Federal fiscal year 2022, ACF awarded over $53 million to TLP grant recipients to help youth transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. We conducted this audit to determine whether TLP grant recipients provided services to homeless youth in accordance with Federal requirements.

What OIG Found

The 25 TLP grant recipients in our sample did not provide or did not document that they provided all required services in accordance with Federal requirements for 107 of the 123 homeless youth in our sample.

On the basis of our sample results, we estimated that TLP grant recipients did not provide or did not document that they provided all required transitional living services to 3,538, or 88 percent, of homeless youth in the TLP.
TLP grant recipients that provided maternity related services did not create a separate case file for the child or infant for 12 of 21 homeless youth that were parents.

What OIG Recommends

We made four recommendations to ACF to create guidance and provide technical assistance for TLP grant recipients, including creating guidance and technical assistance for documenting required services in homeless youth case files. The full recommendations are in the report.

ACF concurred with all four recommendations.

Recommendation Details (1)

26-A-06-034.01 to ACF - Open Unimplemented Update expected on
07/29/2026 We recommend that the Administration for Children and Families create guidance and provide technical assistance for TLP grant recipients related to: documenting required services in homeless youth case files,
documenting required services in homeless youth case files that allows for continuity even when employees change jobs, ensuring required services are provided, and maintaining separate case files for children or infants of parenting youth.
View in Recommendation Tracker Report Type Audit HHS Agencies Administration for Children and Families Issue Areas Non-institutional care Public Health Issues Quality of Care Target Groups Children and Families Financial Groups Grants