Report: Dysfunction at agency led to overpayments to tribes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s legislative auditor says “troubling dysfunction” at the Department of Human Services resulted in $29 million in overpayments to two tribes for opioid treatment programs.

The auditor’s office said in a report Tuesday the agency lacked authority to make the payments, no one at the department takes responsibility for the decision, and no one can provide a rationale for making them.

The report says the dysfunction has caused serious financial and legal problems for the state, the White Earth and Leech Lake Band tribes. And it says those problems will be difficult to resolve.

Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead says the report confirms her assumption that her agency is at fault. She says it lacked internal controls to catch the problem and did not provide correct advice to the tribes.

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