By Patrick Tepoorten

Acquiring an advanced degree while on the job is expensive, and somebody has to pay for it.

In Chisago County the program designed to keep child social workers in the county while still advancing their education, has had results. But there are those who say the program is costing the taxpayers more than it is worth.

The Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at the Chisago County Health and Human Services Dept. (HHS) has come under scrutiny for the amount of money that it costs taxpayers. The county has had eight employees enrolled in the program, at a reported overall cost of $991,158.16. But what was originally reported to the board as a roughly $1 million bill for the education of a handful of employees now appears to have been reduced significantly.

The employee salaries encompassing the period they were in school, reported to the county board by Human Services Director Liz Dodge, did not differentiate between school time and work time. Once the salaries are broken into that which were paid for time spent in school and time spent at work, the total salaries drops significantly, as does the overall cost of the program.

The salaries paid out to participating employees strictly for time spent in school is $338,413.19. That is $462,975.68 less than the originally reported $801,413.19 figure. Other expenses too, like those applied to training, travel, and tuition, are reduced from $189,744.97 to $171,023.62 when only those expenses directly related to the MSW program were tallied.

The affect of these revised numbers provided by HHS, is to reduce the overall cost of the program from just under $1 million to $509,461.13.

Once the 75 percent reimbursements the county receives as part of the program are factored in, the total cost to county taxpayers adds up to $134,650.40, and not the almost $500,000 that had been reported.

While a significant reduction in county expenses related to the MSW program is certainly good news, the question of why the figures have changed is of concern to County Commissioner Ben Montzka.

ìI donít buy it,î he said on Monday.

Montzka is concerned that numbers have changed since the cost of the program was reported to the county board last month. While he noted that it is certainly possible HHS made an honest error, he has not ruled out the possibility that the department has amended the numbers because the original figures were ìtruthful but embarrassing.î

Which set of figures is correct, the first or the second, could be determined by reviewing what costs the county filed for reimbursement under the federal IV-E program. But, Montzka finds it hard to believe that ìtop staffî spent months compiling inaccurate data.

Dodge responded to those allegations by explaining that County Administrator John Moosey had asked her to provide a total of ìall expenses related to the contract periodî for presentation to the board. Subsequent to that presentation, Dodge had been asked to define those expenses further, so that MSW program expenses could be considered individually.

HHS Fiscal Supervisor Les Stromback insisted on Monday that the amount submitted to the IV-E program matches the $509,461.13 figure and not the much higher, earlier reported figure of $991,158.16.

MORE QUESTIONS

The confusion regarding the program and related costs has raised questions regarding the accounting practices of the HHS. For instance, one employeeís MSW contract is specific about what is a reimbursable expense, saying the employee will ìreceive a stipend for class and travel time and mileage reimbursement while attending the graduate program. The social worker will be responsible for any expenses other than tuition or books.î

Records however, indicate that this employee was reimbursed for expenses not covered in the contract. Hundreds of dollars in parking reimbursement, for instance, and even a ìyouth fishing licenseî in the amount of $27.50.

According to Dodge, though reimbursement for parking is not part of the MSW contract with employees, ìParking is included as a typical employee expense.î However, neither Dodge or Moosey were able to explain why a ìyouth fishing licenseî was claimed as part of the MSW program. Dodge did suggest that it is possible the expense was part of some fieldwork associated with the program, but she admitted it was also possible that ìit slipped through the cracks and I didnít see it,î she said.

At times, employee vouchers associated with the program are vague. Receipts for textbooks reflect money spent at various book stores, many of which carry items besides books, like clothes, food etc. Also, ownership of books paid for by the county, until recently, has been vague.

According to Special Project Consultant Michael Linder, HHS is now developing a policy that will insure the county collects all of the textbooks and other class related material.

As well, in several cases, Human Services was reimbursing tuition to the employee instead of paying a school directly. In one such situation, an employee paid their tuition with a credit card, benefitting from the program through the buildup of ìpointsî on that card. School records show the same student, as the payer of record for tuition, later received a ìcredit refundî from the school in the amount of $408.05, but there is no record that the refund was ever turned in to the county, which financed the tuition.

When asked if she was aware that an employee had received a refund and whether that refund had ever been collected by her department, Dodge responded ìI donít know, but Iíd like to know.î Dodge added that the county has discontinued the practice of reimbursing employees for tuition altogether in exchange for paying the school directly. ìThe state and the fedís reviewed the practice and advised that it shouldnít continue,î she stated.

The accounting mistakes have not escaped the attention of County Commissioner Rick Olseen who stated last week that, in the long term, ìthe department needs to straighten this thing out.î

Montzka insists that he will adhere to the original figures presented to the board until he is satisfied that the reported reduction in costs is justified, and called HHSís accounting ìwholly inadequate.î He also questioned the fairness of the overall program to other employees noting, ìevery other employee gets $500 a year. This is hundreds of thousands of dollars to educate a handful. Itís not how itís done.î

Dodge does agree that the accounting of the program is in need of improvement. ìAs we learn from the state auditor and as citizens bring things forward, checks and balances are being put into play.î But, she is concerned that questions regarding the accounting of the program will overshadow what she called ìan amazing success.î

ìThe county had a 100 percent turnover of child protection workers,î she stated. ìThat is why we started this program. It has improved things 100 percent and has been as successful on that issue as I had hoped it would be. We have gained 100 percent retention and we are night and day, reputation wise, with where we were 10 years ago.î

County Commissioner Bob Gustafson agreed with Dodge on Tuesday, calling the program a ìpositiveî for the county. He also stated he felt the expense revision was ìappropriateî and cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

ìItís something that some would love to blow out of proportion, and it wonít end with this program,î he commented.

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