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DCYF audit finds questioned billing entries; agency says no evidence of fraud, outlines fixes
Summary
DCYF officials told the oversight board that a state auditor sample found 14 questioned payments (59‑payment sample) totaling $6,100 in the sample and an extrapolated $37 million estimate; the department says the estimate is not confirmed, no eligibility problems were found, and corrective actions and training are underway.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families told its oversight board on May 21 that recent state and federal audits raised documentation questions but did not find fraud or eligibility failures.
“The auditors did not find any evidence of fraud,” DCYF Secretary Tana Sen said, describing a state‑auditor sample that reviewed 59 payments and questioned 14. DCYF staff said the questioned sample amounted to $6,100, and that the auditor used statistical methods to estimate a broader ‘‘question cost’’ of about $37 million — an estimate DCYF described repeatedly as not a confirmed finding.
Assistant Secretary of Early Learning Nicole Rose described how the audited payments fell into routine documentation gaps — missing signatures on attendance logs, unsubmitted receipts for field trips, or providers who could not produce records at audit time. “A question cost does not mean it is an improper payment,” Rose said. “It just means we might not have the paperwork at the time of the audit.”
DCYF outlined steps it has taken and plans to take: corrective action plans for specific findings, submitting written overpayments to DSHS’ Office of Financial Recovery where appropriate, strengthening internal controls, updating billing guidance, expanding provider training and hiring seven additional auditors funded in recent legislation to support more complex auditing and implementation of new billing rules.
Board members pressed for more methodological detail about the auditor’s extrapolation and whether the state sample stratified by provider type or region. DCYF said the state auditor selects a random sample from the population and that the department will follow up with the auditor’s office to clarify sampling methodology and provide more detail to the board.
