Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Program Integrity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New children’s agency says fraud against public programs is ‘unacceptable’; inspector general functions to transfer in June
Summary
Commissioner Tiki Brown told the House Children and Families Committee that program‑integrity functions and investigations will move from DHS to DCYF in June, described tools used to detect and recover fraud, and faced questions about a recent KSTP report on childcare violations and requests for transparency on grant payments.
Commissioner Tiki Brown told the House Children and Families Committee that program‑integrity functions investigating fraud, abuse and error will transfer from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Children, Youth and Families in June and that the agency will prioritize continuity as those functions move.
Brown said the Office of Inspector General’s work includes data‑driven fraud detection, audits of childcare grants, recipient fraud investigations and referrals to law enforcement, including the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for criminal investigations. “Fraud against public programs is unacceptable,” Brown told the committee.
Brown described the administrative remedies used when investigators find problems — warnings, stipulated provider agreements, monetary recoveries, fines, payment withholds, suspensions and terminations — and said audits that reveal ineligible grant payments lead to recoupment and, where appropriate, criminal referral.
Representative Joe McDonald raised a recent KSTP report about a single childcare provider with many violations and asked whether those problems “slipped through” licensing or inspection. Brown said the investigations cited in the KSTP report were underway at the Department of Human Services and that those investigative and licensing functions remain at DHS until the June transfer; she said the transfer will include the OIG functions that investigate childcare licensing and program integrity.
Jennifer Summerfeld, government relations director for DCYF, told the committee that some data related to payments has been restricted under existing program rules and that the department intends to propose a policy change to make Great Start compensation payment data more transparent. Summerfeld said providers raised confidentiality concerns and that the department plans to bring a policy proposal to the legislature to clarify disclosure rules.
Lawmakers asked for counts of referrals and case outcomes; Brown said the department did not have a full tally available in the hearing and would request the data from DHS. Committee members also pressed for a clearer explanation of when payments stop during a fraud investigation; Brown said that detail is handled by inspector general staff and DHS systems and that the committee would be provided more detailed procedures when available.
Brown said the new inspector general would begin work the day after the presentation and would coordinate knowledge transfer with DHS ahead of the scheduled June transition.
