WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About $200,000 in Justice Department funds ended up in the coffers of the activist grass-roots community-organizing group ACORN or its affiliated organizations in recent years, the Justice Department watchdog says in a newly released report.

"In total we found that ACORN and its affiliates received one direct grant and four sub-awards totaling approximately $200,000 between fiscal years 2002 and 2009," the report said.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine said his review was prompted by a request from congressional Republicans after controversy flared in September over "hidden camera videos allegedly depicting ACORN employees providing advice on operating an illegal business, tax evasion, and money laundering."

Congress has moved to cut off certain funds for ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- while investigations continue into the organization's activities. The Justice Department and FBI have declined to confirm whether they are conducting criminal investigations.

In the inspector general's 23-page review released Friday, there was no evidence that Justice Department funds were directly granted to ACORN. In fact, all five ACORN applications during the period were rejected.

However, investigators did find that department funds went directly to an ACORN affiliate, the New York Agency for Community Affairs. That $138,130 grant resulted from a congressional earmark for youth leadership training, including forming chapters of an "ACORN Youth Union."

In another case, a Justice Department grant recipient in New York City promptly sub-awarded $20,000 to ACORN for anti-crime activities.

The review also identified three other instances in which recipients of Justice grants sub-awarded funds to ACORN affiliates in St. Louis, Phoenix, and Chicago.

ACORN management and the group's oversight board have vowed to improve hiring and training in response to the allegations of wrongdoing.

The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta
TM & © 2009 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.