A state legislative auditor's report found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) failed to ensure the eligibility of participants in large public assistance programs and that it did not always perform timely inspections of child care centers.
The findings mirror those of other recent auditor reports and could fuel calls to reform the way state administrators verify eligibility for programs that together cost nearly $7 billion a year in federal money.
For more than a decade, the legislative auditor has reported flaws in the way the state determines who qualifies for Medical Assistance, which provides health insurance to about 1 million low-income and disabled Minnesotans, and other public assistance programs. For instance, last year the auditor found that 17 percent of 193 people enrolled in public health insurance programs were not eligible for the benefits they received.
Frustrated legislators are proposing changes, such as the hiring of private companies to scrub the state's public insurance and welfare rolls to identify participants who are not eligible for public benefits.
"We absolutely have to crack down on this," said Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "If people make too much money and are not eligible, then I don't think taxpayers should be paying for them."
In a written response to the report, Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said that the department generally agreed with the findings and that it had taken steps to reduce errors through improved training and technical assistance to county workers. In addition, the state recently implemented a process for better tracking and monitoring of errors in determining eligibility for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), also known as welfare-to-work.
"While we have made significant progress over the last year toward addressing the issues raised in this audit, there is still much work left to do, and we remain committed to fully resolving all the issues," said Deputy Commissioner Chuck Johnson.
The audit found that the DHS, the state's largest agency, did not adequately ensure the eligibility requirements for Medical Assistance and four other federally funded programs for low-income families.