In our view: Tighter Controls

Top-down management styles seem to prevail throughout the mammoth bureaucracies of federal, state and local governments. Often, though, reversing the flow of leadership can benefit everyone in the chain. Last year, the state Republican Party’s website asked state employees (and the public) for suggestions on how to make state agencies more efficient. More than 7,500 responses were received, and now the top of the chain is taking action prompted by the rank-and-file workers.

State Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, is leading the legislative drive to intensify efforts to prevent fraud and abuse in Washington’s public assistance programs. He has introduced bills that would strengthen eligibility screening for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants by monitoring recipients’ financial data every six months, rather than every 12 months as currently happens. Also, use of electronic benefit transfer cards would be more tightly restricted to purposes clearly defined as “having a clear benefit to the children” of recipients. Cash withdrawals would be limited to $50 monthly and direct payments to any landlord, utility company or approved entity could be set up.

Zarelli is working with state Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, on other bills to reduce fraud and abuses. Carrell has introduced one bill that would establish a new Department of Social and Health Services investigation unit within the state auditor’s office. State Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, also has filed a bill with two ideas worth considering: offer incentives (a portion of funds recovered) for actionable information on fraud that is later successfully proved, and strengthen whistle-blower protections for public employees.

All of these legislative efforts are not to suggest that attention is not already focused on the areas of fraud and abuse in state public assistance agencies. In fact, as we reported in an editorial last fall, DSHS has its own Division of Fraud Investigation and the department is monitored by the state auditor’s office and the Joint Legislative Audit Review. Thanks to these efforts, hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments and fraudulent benefits have been uncovered in recent years.

But two factors lead us to believe Zarelli, Carrell and Benton are correct to lead this charge. The first is: What harm could it do? After last year’s accusations from state workers about abuse of welfare assistance, food stamps, subsidized child care and medical assistance programs, perhaps a stronger monitoring system is needed, even if it means higher administrative costs. Besides, if all of the ideas turned into the GOP’s website do not produce significant results, then these new efforts could always be abandoned. And in that case, the conclusion would be: Nice try, but not enough results to matter.

The second factor is rooted in the immense size of DSHS. The department has a combined annual budget of almost $10 billion. It provides services to almost one-third of the state’s residents. That’s a lot of money, spent on a lot of people. If the intensified scrutiny turns up only a small percentage of misspent money, it’s still a lot of money.

The need for a more efficient state government grows even greater during an economic crisis. Already in this legislative session, many Democratic budget writers are whacking away at vital programs and services that help the most vulnerable citizens. Before scooping more water out of the bucket, why not check the bucket for leaks?