"Last month, as required by law, State Auditor Grant Parks published an annual report on state programs and agencies that his office deems to be at high risk of costly inefficiency, waste or fraud. The report reiterated concerns about seven situations, two of which have been on the list since 2007, including the bureaucracy's chronic inability to successfully employ information technology embarrassing for a state that is the global center for digital tools."
"Billions of dollars in fraudulent benefit claims were approved, almost all of which came in a federally financed expansion of the program. By happenstance, the high risk report was released just as a scandal was erupting in Minnesota over widespread fraud in a program meant to keep children fed during the pandemic. Dozens of people, mostly in Minnesota's substantial Somali population, have been charged with looting the program by setting up companies that billed the state for supplying food that was never delivered."
State Auditor Grant Parks identified seven high-risk situations in state programs and agencies, two present on the list since 2007. The state bureaucracy shows a chronic inability to successfully employ information technology despite California's leading role in digital tools. The Department of Social Service's CalFresh program was added due to an 11% error rate that could force roughly $2 billion in additional annual spending under tightened federal error thresholds. The Employment Development Department failed to effectively manage unemployment insurance, allowing billions in fraudulent claims during the COVID-19 expansion. A concurrent Minnesota scandal involved alleged fraud in a pandemic child-feeding program, with dozens charged for billing for undelivered food, creating political fallout for state leaders.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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