On Monday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) released a report detailing more than a dozen instances where the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) “did not comply with legal requirements and state policy.” The report comes in a long line of documented cases where the Department has failed to follow the law and wasted taxpayer dollars.  

Senate Health & Human Services Committee Chair Senator Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) released the following statement regarding the report.  

“Without the funding provided by Senate Republicans in 2017 for the auditor to conduct this work internally in DHS, we would have never known it was this bad,” said Benson. “The department was sending payments before conducting a performance evaluation, they didn’t examine for conflicts of interest, and prioritized spending funds over making sure the program succeeded. We all want to help Minnesotans, but taxpayer dollars are precious resources and need to be treated carefully to ensure they are there for those who need the help the most. It’s a disservice to taxpayers to simply send out money without basic oversight and compliance checks in place.”  
 

“Leadership changes from Commissioner Harpstead are a start, but we need to see a culture of change from managers, accountability measures as part of the standard operations, and total transparency with the legislature to fix the problems that plague DHS,” Benson said. “We are going to keep demanding better of those who are charged with managing taxpayer dollars so we can ensure those dollars are there for the Minnesotans who need and deserve it most. I will continue to be a champion for both the Minnesotans who pay for and those who rely on the critical services provided by DHS and work with Commissioner Harpstead to implement needed reforms.”  

Watch: Senator Benson held a media availability to discuss the report’s findings.