The Legislature created the Office of Fraud and Accountability (Office) within the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) in 2008. The purpose of the Office is to detect, investigate, and prosecute any act prohibited or declared to be unlawful in the public assistance programs administered by DSHS.

The Office is to:

• conduct independent and objective investigations into allegations of fraud and abuse, make appropriate referral to law enforcement when there is substantial evidence of criminal activity, and recover overpayment whenever possible and to the greatest possible degree;
• recommend policies, procedures, and best practices designed to detect and prevent fraud and abuse, and to mitigate the risk for fraud and abuse and assure that public assistance benefits are being used for their statutorily stated goals;
• analyze cost-effective, best practice alternatives to the current cash benefit delivery system consistent with federal law to ensure that benefits are being used for their intended purposes; and
• use best practices to determine appropriate utilization and deployment of investigative resources, ensure that resources are deployed in a balanced and effective manner, and use all available methods to gather evidence necessary for proper investigation and successful prosecution.

To increase accountability and transparency, the Office is to submit a report to the Legislature by December 1, 2024, and biannually thereafter, that includes at a minimum, the following information:

• racially disaggregated data on who is being investigated, compared with their percentage of the population on benefits;
• financial data regarding expenditures on investigations, recovered funds, and impacts to programs and caseload;
• findings regarding internal patterns of referrals which may be contributing to disparities; and
• any other information deemed relevant by DSHS, including potential recommendation to address disparities in program policy and practice.