Cass, state officials to discuss Title IV-E payments

WALKER -- A delegation of Cass County representatives will meet with Minnesota Department of Human Services staff and a state attorney to try to resolve the issue of Title IV-E payments to the county for 2001.

County representatives will include County Attorney Earl Maus, Probation Officer Reno Wells, Health, Human and Veterans Services Director Dorothy Opheim, Administrator Robert Yochum and Commissioners Jim Dowson and Dick Downham.

Cass was one of 19 counties the state audited last year on its Title IV-E records for 2001. Cass had the largest number of cases the state has disallowed for payments made that year.

The state audit of 98 cases in Cass where state reimbursements were paid to the county for children in out-of-home placements showed only eight to 12 court orders to be compliant with state criteria for submitting claims.

This could mean $90,000 to $100,000 paid to the county would not qualify for payment. The county received a total of $629,998 in Title IV-E payments in 2001.

"This is a huge item," Maus told the board Tuesday, but added, he believes if folks were eligible for the payments the county received and the disallowed amounts are only based on paperwork criteria, he does not see why the county should not be able to negotiate eligibility to let the payments stand as made.

Opheim said changes were made to ensure court orders were filed with the required language last year.