Minnesota's Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), a division of the Department of Human Services, has been found to have woefully inadequate oversight of its grant funds. According to a report by the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA), BHA failed to comply with basic requirements and lacked adequate internal controls over more than $426 million in state and federal funding.
The BHA's lack of oversight was highlighted during an audit that spanned from July 2022 to December 2024. Auditors found that nearly $1 million was paid to grantees for work performed before the grant agreement was even completed. A majority of the surveyed recipients were missing or late with progress reports, while one recipient was unable to provide detailed invoices and data to support a massive payment of nearly $700,000.
Staff training on managing grants was also deemed insufficient, with a majority reporting they did not receive adequate training. In addition, BHA paid out nearly $300,000 to 11 grantees for unsupported costs and reimbursement requests with errors. Site visits by BHA officials were also lacking, which raised concerns about the agency's ability to monitor grant funding disbursement.
The OLA report noted that some documents provided by the department were either backdated or created after the audit began, casting doubt on their accuracy. Judy Randall, state legislative auditor, described the findings as "unacceptable" and said she had never seen such blatant disregard for oversight procedures during her 27 years with OLA.
Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi acknowledged the flaws in BHA's grant management and promised to implement recommendations presented by the OLA to strengthen oversight and integrity of behavioral health grants. However, some lawmakers are questioning whether all grantees were providing legitimate services to those in need, citing concerns about potential fraud in other programs run by DHS.
The OLA's findings come amidst growing scrutiny of Minnesota's social service programs, with allegations of fraud surfacing in child care centers and concerns about the integrity of grant management practices. As one lawmaker put it, "We have another rogue agency that is acting not in the spirit and manner of the law but is rogue and working outside of the law."
The BHA's lack of oversight was highlighted during an audit that spanned from July 2022 to December 2024. Auditors found that nearly $1 million was paid to grantees for work performed before the grant agreement was even completed. A majority of the surveyed recipients were missing or late with progress reports, while one recipient was unable to provide detailed invoices and data to support a massive payment of nearly $700,000.
Staff training on managing grants was also deemed insufficient, with a majority reporting they did not receive adequate training. In addition, BHA paid out nearly $300,000 to 11 grantees for unsupported costs and reimbursement requests with errors. Site visits by BHA officials were also lacking, which raised concerns about the agency's ability to monitor grant funding disbursement.
The OLA report noted that some documents provided by the department were either backdated or created after the audit began, casting doubt on their accuracy. Judy Randall, state legislative auditor, described the findings as "unacceptable" and said she had never seen such blatant disregard for oversight procedures during her 27 years with OLA.
Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi acknowledged the flaws in BHA's grant management and promised to implement recommendations presented by the OLA to strengthen oversight and integrity of behavioral health grants. However, some lawmakers are questioning whether all grantees were providing legitimate services to those in need, citing concerns about potential fraud in other programs run by DHS.
The OLA's findings come amidst growing scrutiny of Minnesota's social service programs, with allegations of fraud surfacing in child care centers and concerns about the integrity of grant management practices. As one lawmaker put it, "We have another rogue agency that is acting not in the spirit and manner of the law but is rogue and working outside of the law."
I'm so worried about the $426 million in grant funds that BHA just mishandled... it's like, how do you even lose track of that kind of money? 
The fact that they paid out nearly $1 million to grantees for work not even done yet is just crazy! And with most recipients missing progress reports or providing dodgy invoices and data too... it's a recipe for disaster. 
I mean, I get that mistakes happen but this level of oversight fail is just unacceptable. The OLA report highlights so many red flags - from staff training being woefully inadequate to site visits being non-existent. It's no wonder some lawmakers are questioning the legitimacy of services provided by grantees... potential fraud is definitely a concern here 
. Like, who pays out nearly $1 million to grantees before a grant agreement is even done? 
It's clear they had some major oversight issues, especially with training and internal controls. It's not just about the money, it's about making sure services are being delivered effectively and efficiently. Temporary Commissioner Shireen Gandhi seems like a step in the right direction by promising to implement new recommendations, but I'm curious to see how these changes actually play out 
. The whole thing also got me thinking - if this is happening with behavioral health grants, what's going on with other programs run by DHS? Are we just gonna keep digging up more 'rogue agencies' or can we trust them to do their jobs properly? 
I mean, come on! $426 million of taxpayers' money and what do we get? A bunch of sloppy grant management and no one's holding anyone accountable 
. It's like they were just phoning it in and hoping nobody would notice. And don't even get me started on the fact that some of these grantees didn't even have their invoices and data straight 
, we need to see real change happen here ASAP 
. And what's with all the red flags around potential fraud? We can't just sweep these issues under the rug without investigating further 
. It's time for some serious oversight and accountability in this state 
So I'm reading this report on Minnesota's Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) and it's all about their grant funds 
. It gets worse, like $1 million was paid to grantees before the agreement was even done 
! And some of these grantees weren't even providing legit services 
. The state legislative auditor says it's unacceptable and promises to fix it 
. But some lawmakers are like, "wait a minute, how can we trust this?" 
. It's like they're saying, "okay, so we know there's some issues here, but what about the other programs?" 
. We need to make sure our social services are being used for the right people 
. I hope they can fix these problems soon 
.
. BHA needs to get their act together ASAP, like seriously what's going on with all these missing progress reports and payments without proper documentation? 
.
. The fact that some of these grants are like paid out for work not even done is just wild 
temporary fixes ain't gonna cut it here... we need real change from the inside out. and who knows, maybe all these scandals just give us an excuse to dig deeper into how our money is bein' spent 
. I mean, I'm not saying everyone who received funding was up to no good, but it's clear that there were systemic issues at play here. Temporary Commissioner Gandhi is trying to sweep this under the rug with some half-hearted promises, but we need real change 
. How can we trust that these funds are being used effectively and efficiently when we know that basic oversight just wasn't happening?
. But seriously, these findings are woeful 
and Judy Randall is right on the money - unacceptable is a huge understatement! What's worse is that some of these documents were even backdated or made after the audit started... how do you even fix that? 
Shireen Gandhi's plan to strengthen oversight is a good start, but we need to see actual change. And what about all those grantees who might be doing legit services or not? We can't just gloss over that 
. i think the commissioner promised to fix things and that's good, but we need to see actual changes being made 
. I mean, how are they supposed to keep track of all that money? It's like they're playing a game of financial roulette 
.
. I hope they do implement those recommendations and make sure everything is transparent and above board 
.
. But hey, at least Commissioner Gandhi is acknowledging the flaws and trying to fix them 
. Fingers crossed everything gets sorted out! 
. I guess you can never be too careful when it comes to taxpayer dollars 
.
this is just so frustrating to hear about the BHA's lack of oversight and how they wasted millions of dollars on grants... $426 million is a huge sum, and it's unacceptable that they didn't have proper controls in place. 