Jessica Thomason, executive director of the Human Services Division at HHS, briefed the appropriations committee on audit findings related to child welfare face‑to‑face visit timeliness and on the division’s quality assurance response.

Thomason said the state operational audit for 2022–23 included findings about timely face‑to‑face child protection visits and workforce retention grants. She presented internal quality‑assurance data showing improvement in fiscal 2024, but she acknowledged the audit finding remains a concern: the federal performance metric for timely face‑to‑face visits was not met during the audit period.

Why it matters: Timely face‑to‑face contacts are a federal compliance measure tied to child safety oversight. Failure to meet federal benchmarks can trigger corrective actions and must be addressed in implementation and budget plans.

What the agency said: Thomason described factors behind the low timeliness during the audit window — pandemic disruptions, staff turnover and the implementation of a new practice model — and showed zone‑level trends indicating progress in many areas. She noted that a small number of high‑volume zones (Cass, Grand Forks, Burleigh and Ward) have outsized influence on statewide metrics and that improvements in those zones materially change the state totals.

Thomason said the division performs internal quality assurance every six months, reviews every case and tracks continuous improvement. She also said some cases that miss a strict 24‑hour benchmark may be compliant under policy exceptions and that different audit methodologies can lead to different compliance counts. "When there's not progress being made, we will show you the data either way," Thomason told members.

Committee members asked about the feasibility of meeting strict timelines when practical constraints (school schedules, locating caregivers) exist. Representative O'Brien requested that auditors and the department collaborate on the narrative and methodology for future audit reports so the committee and public see both the compliance result and the contextual improvements.

Ending: The agency committed to ongoing quality assurance reporting and to providing the committee with more detailed reports on timeliness and corrective steps; no legislative action or vote was recorded during the briefing.