Audit blames state officials for mishandled taxpayer money

Dena Levitz, The Examiner
2007-08-18 07:00:00.0
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Washington, D.C. -
A new audit of Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene blasts officials for letting nearly $1 million worth of taxpayer donations for cancer research sit unused and for failing to properly keep track of vital records like birth certificates.

The report by the Office of Legislative Audits also found that 73 percent of the state's assisted living facilities had not been inspected. And nearly $400,000 in federal fund reimbursements for state programs were lost to taxpayers because officials put in repayment requests too late.

Marc Kilmer, a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, which analyzes Maryland's health care, said the audit demonstrates that there are overarching problems in the way taxpayer money is safeguarded by state health officials.

"The fact that they're not spending money as they should is something to be concerned about," Kilmer told The Examiner Friday. "I don't want to say that this is par for the course, but this doesn't necessarily surprise me for an agency that tries to do too much."

Perhaps most striking about the audit is the scathing criticisms of the handling of vital documents.

Auditors noted that original birth certificates were not always secured and that citizens did not always have to show proper identification getting the record, both of which could have dire consequences.

"The control and accountability of these documents, especially birth certificates, is critical because false documents could be a major factor in many types of crimes, including illegal immigration and flight from justice," the audit states. "Also, falsified or stolen vital statistics could allow the holder to obtain other critical documents such as passports and driver's licenses and improper benefits such as Social Security."

In terms of the $890,000 meant for - but not spent - on cancer research and education, the hope is to begin distributing those funds within the next year, according to Dr. Diane Dwyer, medical director for the center for cancer and surveillance within health and mental hygiene.

Dwyer said the state established the program, in which taxpayers can check off a box to give to the cancer fund, in 2005 but that it took an extra year to come up with regulations about how to administer the money.

Guidelines have now been set and an expert hired to run the program, she added.

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com

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