COLUMBUS – Auditors identified 19 findings and questioned costs totaling $242,787 among seven state agencies that administered federally funded programs in fiscal year 2023, according to an annual audit of spending released Thursday by Auditor of State Keith Faber.
The 2023 State of Ohio Single Audit, required under federal law to ensure federal funds allocated to the state are being spent appropriately, details financial activities from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
For the fiscal year, the state administered 347 federal programs from 25 federal agencies, with total spending of about $45 billion.
The total included $30.4 billion from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about $26 billion of which went to Ohio’s Medicaid programs, providing medical care and services for lower-income residents, older adults, individuals with disabilities, pregnant women, infants and children, and others.
Another $5.8 billion came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, mostly for assistance related to food and nutrition programs.
The total number of findings was the lowest it’s been in six years and down from 24 findings in fiscal year 2022, 25 in fiscal year 2021, and 38 in fiscal year 2020.
Questioned costs included about $96,000 in potentially improper unemployment payments, nearly $61,000 in improper payments to ineligible recipients of Childrens Health Insurance Program assistance through the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and about $86,000 in Emergency Rental Assistance funds not being spent within the allowed grant period.
The 2023 State of Ohio Single Audit included five findings for recovery against state employees, two of which had not been repaid.
Copies of the full report are available online at Audit Search (ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/search.aspx).