Records show state agency broke law 200 times over past year
Published 5:48 am Thursday, November 7, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS — Public records show the Minnesota Department of Human Services violated state law more than 200 times over the past year as it awarded $52 million in contracts and grant commitments without proper documentation, the Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
The records obtained by the newspaper show that employees sometimes allowed vendors and grantees to perform work or services without finalized and signed contracts, while in other cases employees bought products such as software without the required permission.
Department officials said the agency has safeguards in place that prevent spending in such situations. But legislators said the violations put the agency at risk for misusing taxpayer dollars.
The newspaper reported that the records, taken together, suggest a pattern of financial mismanagement that goes well beyond some high-profile cases that have already been reported. Those cases include $29 million in overpayments to two American Indian tribes for opioid treatment programs.
“We shouldn’t have 200 of these (violations) sitting here at this point in the year,” Deputy Human Services Commissioner Chuck Johnson said. “We have a lot of room for improvement and a lot of work to do in order to live up to our trustworthy reputation.”
GOP Rep. Nick Zerwas, of Elk River, said the number and scope of contract violations was “absolutely startling” and reflected a breakdown in internal controls at the agency.
“DHS is putting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars at risk with no leverage to ensure the contracts are being fulfilled,” he said. “There is no accountability.”