Forensic review underway as Idaho Vocational Rehabilitation receives $10M reallocation and hires contractor

The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR) briefed the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 24 on a continuing federal monitoring and financial-review crisis that auditors say stems from weak controls, inaccurate federal reporting and errors in period-of-performance accounting.

Brooke Dupree, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee that RSA (the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the program’s federal grantor) reallocated $10,000,000 to Idaho in September 2024 and the governor recognized that amount as a noncognizable adjustment. Dupree said the federal grant requires a state match; the division requested a $2.7 million one-time general-fund supplemental as the state match and the governor later recommended a $1.7 million one-time supplement for services the division expects federal partners may deem ineligible.

April Renfro, manager in the Legislative Services Office audits division, said audits and RSA oversight found the division failed to maintain adequate internal controls and did not have sufficient financial-management systems, leading to inaccurate federal financial reporting and failures…