In light of recent failures at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) will chief-author legislation to divide the agency into smaller components. Draheim’s proposal follows recent reports that DHS officials overpaid tribal nations in Minnesota by over $25 million and improperly paid state chemical dependency treatment providers an estimated $48 million. In total, due to DHS errors, the agency owes the federal government $73 million.

“While the idea of “breaking up” the Department of Human Services is not new, the recent failures at the agency underscore the importance of doing so now,” said Senator Draheim, who serves on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. “Between state and federal funding, DHS is responsible for managing over $38 billion in taxpayer dollars, the largest agency in Minnesota government. Simply, it has grown too large. By separating the agency into separate, smaller parts, we can not only better oversee operations, but also better serve Minnesotans.”

Former DHS Acting-Commissioner Pam Wheelock, incoming DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead, and Senate Health and Human Services Chairwoman Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake) have all publicly stated an openness to separating the roles of the agency. Draheim will be introducing a bill when the legislature reconvenes in February 2020. Specifically, Draheim intends to ensure that separating the agency into smaller components, each focused on specific issue areas, would not grow the bureaucracy of the agencies nor increase the state budget. Instead, the measure aims to increase accountability, transparency, and efficiency in delivering services.

“While there might be different ideas on how we can specifically separate the department, there is a shared, bipartisan goal of doing so,” added Senator Draheim. “I look forward to working not only with my legislative colleagues, but also Commissioner Harpstead on creating a framework for “breaking apart” DHS. Further, as we investigate ways to separate the agency, we need to conduct a full audit of what we are funding, how we are funding it, and establish metrics for performance. We cannot continue to waste taxpayer resources on agency errors. We need to reform the process for measuring success at DHS, not just throw more money at the problems and hope they fix themselves.”