HARRISBURG - A new audit to examine problems with missing and late paychecks for direct care workers received a pledge of cooperation Tuesday from the incoming state public welfare secretary.
"I welcome the auditor general coming in and taking a look at it," Bev Mackereth, acting Department of Public Welfare secretary, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Ms. Mackereth responded to questions about state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale's decision last week to conduct an audit of DPW's contract with a Boston-based firm starting last January to consolidate payroll services for some 22,000 home care workers helping the disabled and elderly. Previously, several dozen local groups handled the paychecks. DPW's hiring of Public Partnerships LLC is described as a cost-cutting move in response to a federal directive, but the implementation has sparked a wave of complaints about workers not being paid or being paid late. Ms. Mackereth said the transition has been rocky and time sheets may be the problem. As of Monday, 96 percent of the workers had been paid, she said.
That leaves hundreds of workers still waiting for paychecks.
A panel member, Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., related how a care worker for a neighbor of hers who is disabled went without pay for six weeks. The neighbor would be in a nursing home without that level of care, she said. "That's not the kind of performance we want to see," said Ms. Baker.
Mr. DePasquale said the audit will determine whether payroll checks issued to the workers were timely, whether DPW gave proper direction to the firm, and whether DPW oversight of the contract is adequate.
"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," he said.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com