GAO to HUD: Answer the PhoneFriday December 2, 2005 10:16 PM
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional investigators found spotty performance
from the start in how federal and state officials handle complaints of
housing discrimination: Sometimes they don't answer the phone or
return the calls.
To assess enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act, the Government
Accountability Office made test calls last year to 10 regional offices
of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and to 36
statewide housing agencies authorized to process bias complaints.
"Our test calls revealed some potentially serious lapses," GAO,
Congress' investigative arm, reported Friday. In five of the 46 calls,
the agency did not return a message left by a test caller alleging
discrimination, even after three attempts.
<snip>
Although GAO said its test was too small to represent fairly the
entire experience of callers, it said a random survey it took of 575
people who complained that year indicated the test results were not
a fluke.
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Full article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5453457,00.html