Tracking stimulus

Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich said recently that several state agencies have done a less than adequate job in tracking federal stimulus funds.

Schweich's comments on the tracking came after the first significant audit of Missouri's share of the federal stimulus funds. While the auditor found no obvious cases of misuse, he did note several examples of where the funds were not tracked or documented well.

"It's more than shoddy paperwork," Schweich said. "When there's inadequate documentation, you don't know if there's waste, fraud or abuse."

One example of poor tracking, according to Schweich, can be found in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The department has procedures in place for tracking the use of stimulus dollars, but according to Schweich the process has a one-year lag time.

A few of the other questionable areas for Schweich include: $29.6 million in foster care, adoption and guardianship costs that the state Department of Social Services charged to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program; more than 2,100 voided checks redeemed by individuals in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; and several dozen Medicaid cases where participant eligibility verification for personal care expenses such as bathing, dressing and cooking was not completed.

Tracking stimulus dollars goes beyond making sure taxpayer dollars are not wasted or abused. As the Associated Press reported last year, stimulus dollars sometimes have no effect on unemployment, a key indicator when evaluating the state of our economy. And if these funds are not helping our economy, what's the use?

Our state auditor should be commended for shedding light on this issue. Hopefully by doing so state agencies will do a better job at tracking stimulus dollars, assuring taxpayers that the money is being used as intended.