Auditor General DePasquale to Audit DPW Contract to Pay Personal Care Attendants
Delay in Payroll Payments Prompts AuditAuditor General DePasquale to Audit DPW Contract to Pay Personal Care Attendants
Delay in Payroll Payments Prompts Audit
HARRISBURG (Feb. 28, 2013) – Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today announced an audit of the Department of Public Welfare’s contract with a Boston-based vendor that failed to provide timely payments to direct care workers in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvanians with disabilities rely upon this program to provide the care they need to function in their everyday lives,” DePasquale said. “I commend DPW for this effort to reduce costs, but it seems clear that there was a disruption in payments to care workers after this contract was implemented. It is important that we conduct an objective audit to quickly identify what went wrong, so we can work with the agency to avoid similar issues in the future.”
Last year, DPW’s Office of Long Term Living consolidated payroll services for approximately 22,000 home care workers into a single contract with PCG Public Partnerships LLC (PPL).
The Auditor General’s Taxpayer Hotline and legislative offices were flooded with complaints from taxpayers who did not receive their paychecks from the vendor. People with special needs raised concerns that they would lose their personal care services as a result of attendant non-payment.
In a letter and phone call to acting DPW Secretary Beverly Mackereth, DePasquale said that the audit will be fair, constructive and thorough based on three initial objectives:
- Determine whether the compensation paid to PPL was reasonable compared to the previous financial management service vendors and provided an efficient and effective use of state and federal funds;
- Determine whether DPW provided adequate direction pertaining to the transition from previous financial management service vendors to PPL. Specifically, the audit will assess whether payroll checks issued to direct care workers were timely; and
- Determine whether DPW adequately oversees and monitors the activities of PPL and that services provided are in compliance with applicable law, regulation, contract and/or grant agreement.
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