Audit of The Administration of the Resettlement Assistance Program

Executive Summary

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) risk-based audit plan identified the need for an audit of:

  • the administration of the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP)
  • The Immigration Contribution Accountability Measurement System (iCAMS) – Phase II

Due to the subject matter of these audits and the resources available within the Internal Audit and Accountability (IAA) Branch, the conduct of these two audits has been combined for efficiency purposes. We also carried out an audit of the settlement programs during the same period.

Resettlement Assistance Program

RAP is a contribution program that falls under CIC’s second strategic outcome, namely to provide protection to refugees and others in need of resettlement.Once they are in Canada, RAP provides income support and a range of immediate and essential services for government-assisted refugees. RAP funding is divided into two activities, as follows:
  • Funds provided to protected persons (Income Support) – These funds are used to support a refugee’s income for up to one year or until that person becomes self-sufficient, whichever comes first. Support levels are based on provincial social assistance amounts and national RAP standards. In exceptional circumstances, income support can be extended up to an additional 12 months.
  • Funds provided to service provider organizations (SPOs) – Contribution agreements (CAs) are established to engage SPOs to deliver initial services to certain categories of protected persons arriving in Canada. These services include airport reception, temporary accommodation, basic orientation and links to broader-based services, and they are provided for the first four to six weeks after the recipient’s arrival.

Total contribution funding available to SPOs for RAP (outside of Quebec) has grown from approximately $40.4 million in 2003–2004 to $56.5 million in 2009–2010. Most of the RAP funds have gone to income support (approximately 75% in the last three fiscal years).

Table 1: Actual RAP spending for 2007–2008 to 2009–2010

  Spending (in millions)
Resettlement Assistance Program 2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–2010
Income Support $40.2 $38.3 $41.8
Contribution Agreements with SPOs $12.7 $13.3 $14.7
Total $52.9 $51.6 $56.5

About the Audit

The objective of the audit was to assess the adequacy of the following:

  • the governance framework for the Resettlement Assistance Program;
  • the performance measurement framework for the Resettlement Assistance Program;
  • internal controls in the administration of resettlement transfer payment programs to ensure compliance with applicable polices; and
  • progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous audits of the Resettlement Assistance Program.

The audit involved interviews with senior management and reviews of relevant documents. We also examined a sample of contribution agreements managed by the regions. In total, we looked at 13 CAs and 204 income support files.

The audit was conducted to be in accordance with the Government of Canada’s Policy on Internal Audit and the international professional practices of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

We found that:

  • the governance framework was appropriate, but additional structures had been introduced prior to the completion of our audit which served to further strengthen the framework;
  • the performance measurement framework was still under development;
  • internal controls in place over RAP were not as we expected, but the Department has begun to take the steps necessary to strengthen controls in place over CAs and income support payments. However, this audit found that further revisions were required for income support payments; and
  • progress toward the implementation of past recommendations did not meet our expectations but new recommendations, management responses and action plans have replaced these recommendations.

The audit of the administration of settlement programs made nine recommendations. Due to the shared governance structures of the settlement and resettlement assistance programs, however, many of the settlement audit’s recommendations also applied to RAP’s administration. The management response and action plan coming out of the settlement audit along with organizational changes in process at the time of finalization of that report resulted in an improved governance framework and internal controls for both the settlement and RAP programs. Given that these changes were implemented while our field work for the RAP audit was going on, the number of recommendations coming out of this audit is minimal.

Nonetheless, our RAP audit makes the following recommendation:

  • The Integration and Resettlement Program Delivery Division of the Integration Program Management Branch, along with the Grants and Contributions Directorate within the Financial Management Branch, review the control process in place for income support payments and ensure that the necessary approvals are documented as required and in accordance with delegated authorities.

 

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