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Legislative committee rejects reprimand for DHHS over delayed child-abuse contacts
Summary
The Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee debated audit findings that DHHS failed to timely contact suspected child-abuse victims and voted down a motion to send a reprimand letter; the chair asked DHHS to present a remediation plan at the next meeting.
The Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee voted on Dec. 3, 2024, in Bismarck and declined to send a reprimand letter to the Department of Health and Human Services after hearing that the department has an ongoing audit finding that it did not timely contact suspected victims of child abuse and neglect.
The committee considered audit findings reported by the State Auditor's office that flagged workforce retention grant monitoring weaknesses and an eight-year recurring finding that DHHS failed to timely contact suspected victims. Senator David A. Clemens moved that the committee send a letter of reprimand to DHHS; Senator Jeffery J. Magrum seconded the motion, which failed on a roll-call vote.
Why it matters: committee members said the child-protection finding raises public-safety concerns and warrants follow-up. Allen H. Knudson, legislative budget analyst and auditor, reminded members that North Dakota Century Code Section 54-35-02.2 gives the committee authority to recommend appropriation reductions for agencies that fail to correct critically important findings within two bienniums.
What happened at the meeting: proponents of the reprimand included Representatives D. Anderson and Austen Schauer and Senators Clemens, Jerry Klein, and Magrum, who voted "aye." Opponents voting "nay" included Representative Emily O'Brien, Representatives Bert Anderson, Mike Nathe, Dan Ruby, and Scott Wagner, and Senators Josh Boschee, Judy Lee, and Scott Meyer. After the vote failed, Chairman Emily O'Brien requested that a representative of DHHS appear at the next committee meeting to present the department's plan to address the audit findings.
Context and details: Senator Judy Lee noted some child-abuse cases are transferred to the judicial system, at which point DHHS no longer has involvement, and suggested the committee obtain additional information from DHHS to clarify the department's responsibilities and the scope of the audit finding. The meeting record shows the committee accepted numerous other audit reports at the same session.
The next step: DHHS has been asked to present a remediation plan at the committee's next meeting for members to review before any further action.
