LINCOLN — The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging billed for services to dead clients and made questionable purchases of alcohol, veterinary services and jewelry, a new state audit shows.
The audit, released Monday, confirms allegations made by three former agency employees.
State Auditor Mike Foley said his office received complaints several months ago about various financial improprieties at the agency.
Since that time, the executive director, chief fiscal officer and other employees have been replaced. The trio of whistleblowers also were fired last summer.
According to the audit, the agency billed the state Department of Health and Human Services for about $800 worth of services to dead clients.
The services ranged from meals to health clinic visits.
In their response, agency officials said they are taking steps to tighten up billing practices. But they also said errors can occur.
For example, senior center managers have lists of people eligible for meals and can mistakenly check the box next to the name of a recently deceased person.
Among other audit findings:
>>The former executive director and former fiscal officer of the agency made several questionable purchases on agency credit cards. In many cases, there was no receipt or documentation for the expenditure.
Among the purchases questioned were $249 at the Cigarette and Snack Outlet, $84 at Spirit World and $112 at Borsheims Jewelry.
Foley also said there was no documentation for several thousand dollars worth of purchases at department, grocery and hardware stores and at restaurants.
Agency officials said they now require all spending to be reviewed and approved before payment can be made. They also are developing policies for use of agency credit cards.
>>The agency did not verify that recipients were old enough to qualify for services or that they had provided accurate Social Security numbers.
Agency officials said there has not been a requirement to do such verification in the past. They said they would follow the guidance of state aging officials on the issue.
>>The agency potentially overpaid two people for building maintenance and janitorial work based on the timesheets for their work. Neither had a contract and some payments were not properly reviewed.
Agency officials said they now require a signed contract for any work by nonemployees and are developing policies to govern contracted services.
The office on aging oversees a variety of services for the elderly, including home-delivered meals, housekeeping, bathing assistance and employment. It serves Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Dodge and Washington Counties.
Headquartered in Omaha, it has an approximately $10 million budget funded largely by local, state and federal governments.
The agency employs about 20 case managers, each with a caseload of about 125 clients. It bills the state $54 for each hour a case manager works on a client's case.
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