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:
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:
PRO: There is a pattern of the Office of Fraud and Accountability going after overrepresented populations and recouping very little, 15 percent. These are safety net programs and it appears the most marginalized populations are being targeted. Having this data and transparency within the Office of Fraud and Accountability will go a long way towards building trust in the community.