2006 Minnesota Statutes

256.9861 FRAUD CONTROL; PROGRAM INTEGRITY REINVESTMENT PROJECT.
    Subdivision 1. Program established. Within the limits of available state and federal
appropriations, the commissioner of human services shall make funding available to county
agencies for fraud control efforts and require the maintenance of county efforts and financial
contributions that were in place during fiscal year 1996.
    Subd. 2. County proposals. Each included county shall develop and submit annual funding,
staffing, and operating grant proposals to the commissioner no later than April 30 of each year
for the purpose of allocating federal and state funding and appropriations. Each proposal shall
provide information on:
(1) the staffing and funding of the fraud investigation and prosecution operations;
(2) job descriptions for agency fraud control staff;
(3) contracts covering outside investigative agencies;
(4) operational methods to integrate the use of fraud prevention investigation techniques; and
(5) implementation and utilization of administrative disqualification hearings and diversions
by the existing county fraud control and prosecution procedures.
    Subd. 3. Department responsibilities. The commissioner shall provide written instructions
outlining the contents of the proposals to be submitted under this section. Instructions shall
be made available 30 days prior to the date by which proposals under subdivision 2 must be
submitted. The commissioner shall establish training programs which shall be attended by
fraud control staff of all involved counties. The commissioner shall also develop the necessary
operational guidelines, forms, and reporting mechanisms which shall be used by the involved
counties.
    Subd. 4. Standards. The commissioner shall, after consultation with the involved counties,
establish standards governing the performance levels of county investigative units based on
grant agreements with the county agencies. The standards shall take into consideration and may
include investigative caseloads, grant savings levels, the comparison of fraud prevention and
prosecution directed investigations, utilization levels of administrative disqualification hearings,
the timely reporting and implementation of disqualifications, and the timeliness of the submission
of statistical reports.
    Subd. 5. Funding. (a) State funding shall be made available contingent on counties
submitting a plan that is approved by the Department of Human Services. Failure or delay in
obtaining that approval shall not, however, eliminate the obligation to maintain fraud control
efforts at the June 30, 1996, level. County agency reimbursement shall be made through the
settlement provisions applicable to the MFIP, food stamp or food support, and medical assistance
programs.
(b) Should a county agency fail to comply with the standards set, or fail to meet
cost-effectiveness standards developed by the commissioner for any three-month period, the
commissioner shall deny reimbursement or administrative costs, after allowing an opportunity to
establish compliance.
(c) Any denial of reimbursement under paragraph (b) is contingent on the commissioner
providing written notice, including an offer of technical assistance, within 30 days of the end
of the third or subsequent months of noncompliance. The county agency shall be required to
submit a corrective action plan to the commissioner within 30 days of receipt of a notice of
noncompliance. Failure to submit a corrective action plan or continued deviation from standards
of more than ten percent after submission of corrective action plan, will result in denial of
funding for each such month during the grant year, or billing of the county agency for program
integrity reinvestment project services provided by the commissioner or reallocation of grant
funds to other counties. The denial of funding shall apply to the general settlement received
by the county agency on a quarterly basis and shall not reduce the grant amount applicable to
the program integrity reinvestment project.
History: 1995 c 207 art 2 s 33; 1997 c 85 art 5 s 15-18; 1999 c 159 s 50; 1Sp2003 c 14
art 1 s 106