Pandemic Funding Oversight
Quarterly Report
2024 Second Quarter
July 1, 2024
Jeffrey S. Shapiro, Esq., CIG
Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
 July 1, 2024
Via Electronic Mail
Her Excellency Maura Healey The Hon. Michael J. Rodrigues, Chair The Hon. Aaron M. Michlewitz, Chair
Governor of Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means House Committee on Ways and Means
Maura.Healey@mass.gov Michael.Rodrigues@masenate.gov Aaron.M.Michlewitz@mahouse.gov
The Hon. Ronald Mariano The Hon. Marc R. Pacheco, Chair The Hon. John J. Mahoney, Chair
Speaker of the House Senate Post Audit and Oversight House Post Audit and Oversight
Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov Marc.Pacheco@masenate.gov John.Mahoney@mahouse.gov
The Hon. Karen E. Spilka Matthew Gorzkowicz, Secretary The Hon. Bruce E. Tarr
President of the Senate Exec. Office of Admin. and Finance Senate Minority Leader
Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov Matthew.Gorzkowicz@mass.gov Bruce.Tarr@masenate.gov
The Hon. Bradley H. Jones Jr. Michael D. Hurley, Senate Clerk Steven T. James, House Clerk
House Minority Leader Office of the Clerk of the Senate Office of the Clerk of the House
Bradley.Jones@mahouse.gov Michael.Hurley@masenate.gov Steven.James@mahouse.gov
Re: Office of the Inspector General Pandemic Funding Oversight Quarterly Report
Dear Governor Healey and Commonwealth Leaders:
Enclosed please find the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Pandemic Funding Oversight
Report for the second quarter of Calendar Year (CY) 2024.
The OIG’s Special Funding Oversight Division coordinates the detection and prevention of fraud,
waste and abuse of funds awarded to Massachusetts public entities in response to the COVID-19
pandemic. The division works in collaboration with other OIG units, including the Bureau of Program
Integrity, the Internal Special Audit Unit, and the Audit, Oversight and Investigations Division. In this year’s
second quarter, the OIG spent $76,829.40 from the reserve fund on salary costs. Since funding was made
available, the OIG has spent $285,548.54.
In this report, the OIG details its pandemic funding oversight work for the period between April
1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, including its reviews, guidance and trainings.
Section One. Over the past year, the OIG has requested and reviewed the administration and
monitoring plans for programs supported by federal pandemic awards. Section One provides an overview
of these reviews. Over the past quarter, the OIG has issued letters to the Executive Office of Housing and
Livable Communities and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding specific
compliance recommendations for programs they administer that are funded by federal pandemic awards.
Section Two. The OIG also produces guidance related to the administration and oversight of
federal pandemic awards, which is described in Section Two. Over the past quarter, the OIG wrote an
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advisory for Local Education Agencies to use as they prepare to reach the spending obligation deadline
for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, as well as an OIG Bulletin article
about best practices for spending remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Section Three. The OIG regularly conducts trainings on rules associated with award programs, best
practices for administration and monitoring, and project management. These trainings are described in
Section Three. On April 3 and June 20, the OIG delivered trainings about best practices for managing
projects funded by federal pandemic awards as part of the OIG Academy’s “Advanced Topics Update”
training.
Additionally, during the last quarter, U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General Eric
Soskin invited me as the only guest to attend and present at a regularly scheduled meeting of the federal
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), where I shared the perspective of the
Commonwealth’s pandemic oversight. PRAC is a group composed of federal inspectors general charged
with promoting transparency and using data to detect fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement of
pandemic relief spending. PRAC is co-chaired by U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael
Horowitz and U.S. Agency for International Development Inspector General Paul Martin. I look forward to
continuing our work with these federal partners as Massachusetts jurisdictions continue to spend
pandemic relief awards.
If you have any questions or concerns about the OIG pandemic funding oversight program or this
report, please reach out to me or Michael Frieber, Director of Special Funding Oversight, at
Michael.G.Frieber@mass.gov.
Thank you for reviewing this quarterly report.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey S. Shapiro, Esq., CIG
Inspector General
cc (by email):
Chris Sawin, Compliance Officer, Exec. Office for Admin. and Finance
Stacy DeBole, State Librarian, State Library of Massachusetts
Susanne O’Neil, Deputy Inspector General and General Counsel, OIG
Joshua Giles, Director, Government Outreach and Public Policy Division, OIG
Michael Frieber, Director, Special Funding Oversight Division, OIG
Nataliya Urciuoli, Senior Executive Assistant, OIG
Office of the Inspector General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 3 | Page
 Table of Contents
Sec�on One: State Program Reviews……………………………………..5
Sec�on Two: Guidance…………………………………………………………..6
Sec�on Three: Trainings…………………………………………………………7
Appendix A: Table of Abbrevia�ons.……………………………………...8
Office of the Inspector General - Pandemic Funding Oversight Report
CY 2024; Quarter 2
Section One: State Program Reviews
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed administration and monitoring plans used by state
agencies for programs funded through federal pandemic awards to ensure that plans address relevant
fraud, waste and abuse risks, and that agencies follow the plans. The following table provides an overview
of these programs, followed by a list of OIG recommendations. 1
Funding Parent
Subagency Grant Title Amount
Source Agency
ARPA (via
Chapter 102, Rental Housing
EOHLC EOHLC $105,000,000
Acts of Production/Affordable Housing
2021)
Elementary and Secondary School
ARPA EOE DESE $1,831,416,990
Emergency Relief Fund
As a result of its reviews, the OIG made recommendations regarding the administration and oversight of
programs funded with federal pandemic awards to the state agencies it reviewed, including:
• Review implementation plans from subrecipients and ensure thorough completion of required
reporting.
• Develop written guidance regarding an agency’s applicant review process.
• Notify subrecipient public entities of a spending obligation deadline.
• Clarify a particular subrecipient’s role in a project, including that subrecipient’s duties and
responsibilities.
• Describe in a written administration plan the monitoring duties for which a third-party vendor
charged with monitoring is responsible.
• Establish schedules for regular monitoring.
• Track key performance indicators to ensure the agency meets program goals.
1
See Appendix A for a table of abbreviations used in this report.
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Office of the Inspector General - Pandemic Funding Oversight Report
CY 2024; Quarter 2
Section Two: Guidance
The OIG regularly publishes written guidance to assist recipients and administrators of programs that
administer, oversee or use pandemic funds. This guidance relates to eligible uses of federal awards and
related rules, choosing and monitoring subrecipients, and project management best practices. Over the
past quarter, the OIG has worked on the following guidance.
Guidance
Title Description
Type
The OIG has created this advisory to remind
Massachusetts public school administrators of the
upcoming September 30, 2024, obligation deadline
for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency
OIG Advisory ESSER Deadlines Relief (ESSER) Fund. This advisory describes key
aspects of the ESSER program and provides
recommendations about program oversight and
project management best practices. This advisory
will be published in Summer 2024.
Planning for the This OIG Bulletin article provides key considerations
Approaching ARPA jurisdictions should account for as they plan to
Bulletin Article and ESSER spend funds in view of the approaching pandemic
Obligation relief funding obligation deadlines. This article will
Deadlines appear in an upcoming OIG Bulletin.
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Office of the Inspector General - Pandemic Funding Oversight Report
CY 2024; Quarter 2
Section Three: Trainings
The OIG, through its OIG Academy, regularly provides trainings about federal pandemic awards,
associated rules, and best practices to a variety of Massachusetts public employees from state
agencies, local governments, school districts and other public entities. So far, the OIG has
delivered pandemic-related trainings to over 700 attendees, including 160 in the second quarter.
Class Title Dates Attendees Class Description
Best Practices Best practices for developing strong project
4/3/2024
for Pandemic 160 management plans for projects funded with
6/20/2024
Relief Funds federal pandemic awards.
For further guidance, please visit the OIG’s Pandemic Funding Oversight
Resources page at www.mass.gov/guides/pandemic-funding-oversight-
resources.
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Office of the Inspector General - Pandemic Funding Oversight Report
CY 2024; Quarter 2
Appendix A: Table of Abbreviations
ARPA – Federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
DESE – Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
EOE – Massachusetts Executive Office of Education
EOHLC – Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
ESSER – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
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