Red flags raised during state audit of foster care

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 26, 2007 at midnight

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One of the largest counties in the state paid foster parents almost $36 a day - 50 percent more than four years earlier - to cover costs such as food and shelter.

During the same period, another large county paid foster parents $23 a day - only a 1.5 percent increase from four years earlier.

This is one of a long list of funding discrepancies revealed in a state audit of foster care finances released Tuesday.

The audit examined foster care spending by the Colorado Department of Human Services during a 4 ½-year period ending in December 2006. Auditors found that the state has not examined how it allocates money for foster care services and cannot demonstrate that money spent on services matches the needs of the children.

Put simply, Colorado Department of Human Services has no effective system in place to track whether it is spending money efficiently.

"You see all these discrepancies and the department hasn't evaluated what is causing them," said Cindi Stetson, deputy state auditor.

In all, the audit made 15 recommendations to address funding problems, and DHS agreed to implement most of them by the next year or two.

Sen. Stephanie Takis, D-Aurora, said the report contains many red flags. But the agency's financial accounting is better than in years past.

kimm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2361

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