BISMARCK – An audit of the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has identified issues in a taxpayer-funded grant program for caregivers, according to a news release from the State Auditor’s Office.

The audit also reported additional issues in protection and safeguarding controlled substances at the State Hospital. The department is preparing a response, which was not available yet on Wednesday.

HHS administered a $7.26 million program called the Workforce Retention Program. This program offered workforce retention grants for caregivers across North Dakota who provide home and community-based services to people on Medicaid. The grant was intended to give up to $2,100 per eligible caregiver. The audit found ineligible caregivers received the money and businesses employing caregivers did not pay their eligible employees with that grant money, the auditor’s release stated.

There was also no way to measure the success of the grant program, the audit reported. While HHS paid third-party consultant $177,925 for services, including measuring the program’s success, the information provided by the consultant was limited and the information was not used by HHS, the release stated.

The audit identified weaknesses in safeguarding controlled substances at the State Hospital, including missed inspections of safeguards over medication inventory, controlled substances not secured, not disposing of controlled substances correctly and not tracking controlled substances.

The audit found children in extreme abuse situations not being checked on in the mandated time, based on HHS records. This issue was first brought up by the Auditor’s Office in 2016.

Face-to-face contact is required for victims of child abuse between 24 hours to 14 days depending on the severity of the child abuse report. This is required by HHS’s policy, which is consistent with national policies. The audit team found 83% of cases in their assessment did not have face-to-face contact within the required time frames. These errors occurred in all types of cases, including those that are classified as the most severe form of child abuse, according to the audit.