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Human services reports fraud-prevention savings; board approves co-responder supervision contract
Summary
Human Services described the regional fraud-prevention program’s results — about 195 referrals and $305,000 in savings region-wide (Benton County: 56 referrals and $93,500 saved) — and the board approved a contract with Kathy Legau to provide clinical supervision for a co-responder program after discussing insurance limits and liability tradeoffs.
Human Services staff briefed the board on two ongoing efforts: the region’s fraud-prevention work and a proposed clinical-supervision contract for the county’s co-responder program.
Ken Pawlenty, child support and fraud supervisor, described a four-county fraud-prevention program (Benton, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne) that is 100% state grant funded and administered by Benton County as the host county. He said the program aims to streamline referrals from eligibility workers and to investigate suspected intentional program violations within the region.
Jessica Shindell, the unit’s new fraud-prevention investigator, reported annual figures for Jan–Dec 2025: the region handled about 195 referrals and the total reported savings for the year were about $305,000; nine cases were referred to criminal authorities for further investigation. For Benton County specifically she said there were 56 referrals and about $93,500 in identified savings.
On a separate item, Human Services requested approval of a contract with Kathy Legau to provide clinical supervision for the planned co-responder program. Commissioners asked county attorney staff about the reduced liability insurance limits in the contract; the county attorney’s office explained the tradeoff between cost and the county’s exposure under Minnesota’s Tort Liability Act. Staff said Legau carries $1,000,000 per-occurrence coverage with a $2,000,000 aggregate and that raising coverage to the county-preferred levels could significantly increase contract cost for a single-provider arrangement. After discussion of risk and reward, the board moved, seconded and approved the contract by voice vote.
