OKDHS Praised for Error Free Federal Audit

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- The Oklahoma Department of Human Services was praised recently for passing a federal audit with no mistakes and for the agency’s collaboration with the courts and judges in the review process.
 “We passed the audit with no errors,” said OKDHS Director Howard Hendrick. “That means that the tens of millions of dollars of federal funding we claimed for qualifying children was correct and justified as we claimed that it was.”

OKDHS received a perfect score during the audit in February, an unusual distinction for any state.

The audit report from the federal government highlighted the inclusion of the Associate Judge Mike Warren as a state reviewer who participated in the review process conducted by the federal government’s Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families.

The audit process looks at title IV-E eligibility requirements for federal payments made to the state on behalf of eligible foster children.

“Often, states fail these audits primarily because states are unable to document that the children qualify for the federal funding because to do so requires a court order in each child’s case with specific findings of fact for each qualifying child,” Hendrick said.

The Harmon County judge said he is very aware of the importance of court orders and the role they play in the lives of some vulnerable children in the state.

If it isn’t established from the very beginning that a foster child and the family that takes the child into their home qualifies for a subsidy, then the federal money can’t be made available for care of the child at any time during that child’s placement in foster care, Hendrick said.

The audit process involves a team of auditors who review the eligibility requirements for a sampling of 80 cases from the workloads of OKDHS child welfare workers.

Half of the examiners – or a total of eight – are designated by the federal agency. A matching number are named by OKDHS.

Having a judge who routinely deals with court orders and eligibility provides a needed perspective as the team reviews the files during the audit, Hendrick said.

“Judge Warren’s assistance in drafting model orders for the judges across the state was invaluable,” Hendrick said  “and his working with our legal division to be sure that the cases selected for the audit did in fact comply was an effort that went above and beyond what we could realistically expect of a person in his position.” 

OKDHS files are audited for IV-E compliance every three years and non-compliance in more than four cases calls for probation and a re-evaluation in 12 months. If the problem has not been corrected, OKDHS would be required to refund money received on all cases in the proportion of noncompliance found in the cases reviewed.

“Judge Warren’s participation in the audit and his committing a week of his time shows a real passion and dedication to the children and families of Harmon County and all other counties in the state,” Hendrick said.

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