Karen Hoffman of Cross Lanes says she received a letter in June 2009 saying she had been approved for the federal weatherization assistance program. No one has ever come to do the work.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In April 2009, West Virginia received nearly $38 million in federal stimulus funds to make the homes of needy residents more energy-efficient.
Eighteen months later, many are wondering why that weatherization aid never reached them.
Karen Hoffman, 55, got a letter last June saying she had been approved for repairs at her mobile home in Cross Lanes.
"No one has ever been here," Hoffman said.
Peggy Coleman of Cedar Grove said a weatherization crew replaced her 33-year-old furnace late last year. The crew was supposed to return to install an air conditioner.
"They just never came back," the 79-year-old widow said.
Weatherization is meant to help cut the energy bills of low-income, disabled and elderly people. Crews can install insulation, seal ducts, and tune up or replace heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Department of Energy says families can save an average of $437 a year.
The federal stimulus package pumped $5 billion into the program, but across the nation, states have failed to meet goals set when the stimulus was rolled out. They've blamed complex federal regulations and other challenges.
West Virginia officials cite the same problems, coupled with troubles at the regional anti-poverty organization Capital Resource Agency, which serves Kanawha County and surrounding areas.
Kelly Davis, acting director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, acknowledged that some people have fallen through the cracks and said CRA's problems hurt the state's overall numbers. CRA also serves Boone, Clay, Fayette and Putnam counties.
Still, she said, "the feds are not unhappy with our numbers, compared to other states."
Last month, the state was selected to receive a $500,000 grant from the federal Energy Department to install high-performance hot-water systems and cool roofs throughout the state. A federal news release announcing the funds said they would be used to "expand West Virginia's successful weatherization program."
West Virginia planned to complete work on 3,000 houses between last April and this June. According to figures provided by the state, weatherization crews finished about 2,625 by late last month.
In some counties, crews have met goals, according to the state's figures, but in Kanawha County, only 93 houses had been weatherized, even though the state planned to do about 240.
In Boone County, crews finished work on 12 of 50 planned houses. Only two households had gotten help in Clay County, where the state had planned to improve 27 houses by the end of June.
The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity contracts with more than a dozen community-action agencies to provide services funded by federal grants.
Until this year, CRA was one of them, but the South Charleston-based organization became mired in a battle with the state.
In February, the state suspended CRA's weatherization program. In April, state auditors cited the agency for shoddy weatherization work, falsified documents, missing inventory and credit card abuses.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In April 2009, West Virginia received nearly $38 million in federal stimulus funds to make the homes of needy residents more energy-efficient.
Eighteen months later, many are wondering why that weatherization aid never reached them.
Karen Hoffman, 55, got a letter last June saying she had been approved for repairs at her mobile home in Cross Lanes.
"No one has ever been here," Hoffman said.
Peggy Coleman of Cedar Grove said a weatherization crew replaced her 33-year-old furnace late last year. The crew was supposed to return to install an air conditioner.
"They just never came back," the 79-year-old widow said.
Weatherization is meant to help cut the energy bills of low-income, disabled and elderly people. Crews can install insulation, seal ducts, and tune up or replace heating and cooling systems. The U.S. Department of Energy says families can save an average of $437 a year.
The federal stimulus package pumped $5 billion into the program, but across the nation, states have failed to meet goals set when the stimulus was rolled out. They've blamed complex federal regulations and other challenges.
West Virginia officials cite the same problems, coupled with troubles at the regional anti-poverty organization Capital Resource Agency, which serves Kanawha County and surrounding areas.
Kelly Davis, acting director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, acknowledged that some people have fallen through the cracks and said CRA's problems hurt the state's overall numbers. CRA also serves Boone, Clay, Fayette and Putnam counties.
Still, she said, "the feds are not unhappy with our numbers, compared to other states."
Last month, the state was selected to receive a $500,000 grant from the federal Energy Department to install high-performance hot-water systems and cool roofs throughout the state. A federal news release announcing the funds said they would be used to "expand West Virginia's successful weatherization program."
West Virginia planned to complete work on 3,000 houses between last April and this June. According to figures provided by the state, weatherization crews finished about 2,625 by late last month.
In some counties, crews have met goals, according to the state's figures, but in Kanawha County, only 93 houses had been weatherized, even though the state planned to do about 240.
In Boone County, crews finished work on 12 of 50 planned houses. Only two households had gotten help in Clay County, where the state had planned to improve 27 houses by the end of June.
The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity contracts with more than a dozen community-action agencies to provide services funded by federal grants.
Until this year, CRA was one of them, but the South Charleston-based organization became mired in a battle with the state.
In February, the state suspended CRA's weatherization program. In April, state auditors cited the agency for shoddy weatherization work, falsified documents, missing inventory and credit card abuses.
CRA defended its program. Some board members said the GOEO was trying to cover up its own problems. Last December, former GOEO director Ed Harper abruptly resigned without publicly giving a reason.
Davis replaced Harper as acting director, and Gov. Joe Manchin last month appointed Julie Alston of the Roark-Sullivan Lifeway Center in Charleston to head the office beginning Sept. 20.
Eventually, CRA relinquished the weatherization program while continuing to provide other social services.
Three other agencies -- MountainHeart Community Services, the Southwestern Community Action Council and the Coalfield Community Action Partnership -- are now handling CRA's weatherization work, but they must review all the applicants' paperwork.
"[CRA] didn't have a good application process," Davis said. "Honestly, people fell through the cracks. We're trying to recover those files now."
Tim Salmons, executive director of Coalfield Community Action, said his agency received the files of 400 people who had applied for help through CRA. His staff must work to re-verify all those applications, and has gotten through about 220, he said. They are prioritizing houses that CRA didn't finish.
Nationally, federal funding for weatherization grew 70-fold under the stimulus, said Chris Whatley, director of the Washington, D.C., office of the Council of State Governments.
State weatherization officials were expected to greatly accelerate their work, he said. At the same time, they faced intense scrutiny from federal auditors.
"If you know that you're under the microscope of scrutiny," he said, "you're going to make sure that every single 'I' is dotted."
Delayed federal guidance on how to pay contract workers also tied up the program, Whatley said.
The Obama administration is trying to put a positive spin on the program, despite its rocky start. At an event in New Hampshire last month, Vice President Joe Biden announced that 200,000 houses had been improved nationwide, saying, "We've hit the accelerator on the weatherization program."
Davis said her office has made administrative improvements since last year.
"We are better prepared now," she said. "We think we're going to be off to a much smoother, positive year."
Hoffman, of Cross Lanes, hopes that is the case. Over the past year, she has made countless calls to the state, the county, and social-service agencies to try to get help.
"It just seems to me that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand's doing," said Hoffman, who receives Social Security benefits.
After recent rate hikes, her electric bill now tops $125 a month on the budget plan.
"I really want them to get out here before winter," Hoffman said.
Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.
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