# Legislative Auditor *Minnesota's legislative audit office, as documented by its own financial audits, evaluation reports and special reviews* The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) is [[Minnesota]]'s legislative audit office.[^1] In this record its work takes three forms: Financial Audit Division reports, evaluation reports, and special reviews. The record runs from a January 1985 evaluation of the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]] to a 2026 financial audit of Department of Human Services grants.[^2][^3][^4][^5][^6] The State Auditor is a separate office, with its own provisions in Minnesota Statutes chapter 6.[^7] The office's findings on the Metropolitan Council form a dated sequence. - **1985.** Report 85-03 recorded that the Council's staff grew from 78 in 1969 to 222.5 in 1984. It noted a "lack of active external oversight" and did not recommend electing members.[^5] - **2011.** In January 2011 the office found that the Council's transit planning role "has been hampered by how members are appointed." It recommended both appointed and elected members on staggered terms.[^8][^9] - **2023.** In March 2023 the office found that the Council "obligated funds it did not have." The Council answered, inside the same report, that it "is a reasonable choice to manage the construction of light rail lines."[^10] - **2023–24.** A Metropolitan Governance Task Force forwarded six proposals without a consensus selection. Its minority report called itself "the latest example of many previous reports to the legislature that failed."[^11][^12] The office's June 2024 special review, *Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, covered the [[Minnesota Department of Education]]'s oversight of [[Feeding Our Future]]. It concluded that "No additional authority would have been needed." It also found that the department's obligation ran "regardless of a threat of litigation or negative press."[^13][^14] The project's at-issue record sets several of the office's findings beside federal anti-fraud policy. These are described below. ## Who - The project's claim:link catalogue lists the office as a state-side audit source in validated pairs across fourteen legal theories. Both its homepage and its Special Reviews archive are cited this way.[^1][^4] - The office's Financial Audit Division issued Report 09-18 on the Metro Gang Strike Force on May 20, 2009. It also issued report fad2601 on Department of Human Services grants in 2026.[^2][^6] ## What - **Evaluation reports.** The record includes: - *Child Protection Screening* (February 2012)[^15] - *Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders* (March 2011)[^3] - *Safety in State Correctional Facilities* (February 2020)[^16][^17] - *Minnesota Teacher Licensure* (2016)[^18] - *Charter School Financial Accountability* (2003)[^19] - **Prison safety.** The 2020 evaluation found that "chronic shortages of correctional officers and the increasing use of overtime at several prisons have affected the safety of prisoners and staff." It also reported that "In some state prisons, female staff endure repeated sexual offenses by some male prisoners."[^16] - **Charter school lease aid.** Chapter 3 of the 2003 charter report addressed lease aid and affiliated nonprofit building corporations.[^19] Minn. Stat. § 124E.22 now caps charter building lease aid at the lesser of 90 percent of approved lease cost or building-lease-aid pupil units multiplied by $1,314. The aid may not cover custodial, maintenance, utility or operating costs.[^20] - **Special reviews.** - *Child Care Assistance Program: Assessment of Fraud Allegations* (March 13, 2019)[^21] - *Oversight of Feeding Our Future* (June 2024), which found that inadequate oversight "created opportunities for fraud"[^13] - **Metro Gang Strike Force audit.** The 2009 audit covered July 1, 2005 to March 31, 2009. It found that the Strike Force "did not develop basic internal controls" and "frequently did not follow the state's statutory forfeiture procedures."[^2] - **Cannabis director hire.** In January 2024 MinnPost reported the office's account of a state cannabis-director hire, under the headline *Legislative auditor details what went wrong with botched MN cannabis hire*.[^22] ## When - **January 29, 1985:** Report 85-03, *Metropolitan Council*.[^5] - **April 26, 2001:** financial-compliance audit of St. Cloud State University, FY1999–2000.[^23] - **2003:** charter school report, chapter 3 on lease aid.[^19] - **May 20, 2009:** Report 09-18, *Metro Gang Strike Force*.[^2] - **January 2011:** *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*.[^8] - **March 2011:** *Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders*.[^3] - **February 2012:** *Child Protection Screening*.[^15] - **March 13, 2019:** Child Care Assistance Program fraud-allegation assessment.[^21] - **February 2020:** *Safety in State Correctional Facilities*.[^16] - **March 2023:** *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making*.[^10] - **June 2024:** *Oversight of Feeding Our Future*. The office's meeting materials on that review are dated June 13, 2024.[^13][^14] - **January 2026:** report fad2601. MPR News covered it on January 6, 2026.[^6][^24] ## Where The office's reports in this record reach: - state agencies, including the Departments of Human Services and Education;[^6][^13] - a regional body, the Metropolitan Council;[^8] - the state's 84 county and 2 tribal child-protection agencies;[^15] - state prisons, including Stillwater;[^16] - a state university, St. Cloud State;[^23] - a multi-agency enforcement unit, the Metro Gang Strike Force.[^2] The 2019 child-care review named the counties where prosecutions had taken place: "Prosecutions have occurred not only in Hennepin and Ramsey counties but also in Anoka, Blue Earth, and Stearns counties."[^21] ## How **Child-protection screening (2012).** The office found that the 84 county and 2 tribal agencies screened in about 32 percent of maltreatment referrals and screened out roughly 68 percent. Identical scenarios produced conflicting decisions across agencies. The office attributed this to "vague state law, varying agency perceptions of risk, and differences in the information agencies consider."[^15] **Metropolitan Council governance (2011).** The office reported that stakeholders "did not think that Met Council members are sufficiently accountable for their decisions." It concluded that "the structure of the Met Council must be addressed before other aspects of transit governance can be corrected."[^8] **Southwest Light Rail (2023).** The office found that the Council "was not fully transparent about project costs and delays."[^10] ## How much - **Metropolitan Council, 1985.** Report 85-03 recorded the Council's budget growing from $1.6 million to $11.6 million.[^5] - **St. Cloud State University, 2001.** The audit reported a projected deficit of approximately $4 million for FY2001, alongside fourteen findings. The findings included beverage-contract revenue routed to the university foundation without formal policy. They also included more than $930,000 left uncollected from a bookstore operator that later went bankrupt.[^23] - **Metro Gang Strike Force, 2009.** The Strike Force "did not account for at least $18,126 of seized cash."[^2] - **Department of Human Services grants, 2026.** A project dossier characterizes fad2601 as documenting $425 million in grant-oversight failures. MPR News reported the audit under the headline *Audit finds weak oversight, fraud risk in DHS grants*. The $425 million figure is the dossier's characterization; this record has not confirmed it against the report text.[^6][^24] ## How many - **Prison staffing.** At Stillwater in FY2019, the average correctional-officer shortage was 25 against 314 allocated positions. Forced overtime ran at 15–20 percent. Assaults producing disciplinary convictions rose from 112 in 2017 to 149 in 2018.[^16][^17] - **Sex-offender referrals.** The 2011 civil-commitment report found that "Over the 12 years prior to December 2003, DOC had referred 333 sex offenders to county attorneys, or about 26 per year." It also found that "In December 2003, DOC referred another 236 offenders," and that referrals then ran at "about 157 referrals per year" from 2004 to 2008.[^3] - **Seized vehicles.** The 2009 Strike Force audit could not locate 13 forfeited vehicles and one seized vehicle.[^2] - **Metropolitan Council staff.** Staff grew from 78 in 1969 to 222.5 in 1984.[^5] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue entries set the office's findings beside the March 2025 presidential action *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*.[^25] - **Child-protection screening, 2012.** The office found a roughly 68 percent screen-out rate and conflicting decisions across agencies on identical scenarios. The same report published no county-by-county rates. The entry notes that, as a result, there is no state-produced Dakota County benchmark.[^15] - **Prison safety, 2020.** The office's own February 2020 finding on officer shortages is the anchor for the entry. That finding includes the Stillwater shortfall of 25 officers against 314 allocated.[^16] - **Feeding Our Future programs.** The entry records that the office names the two programs involved: the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program, both administered by the Minnesota Department of Education. It also records that the Department of Justice's release uses only an umbrella term.[^13] - **Metropolitan Council structure.** The entry sets the office's January 2011 structural finding beside the Council's structure fifteen years later, which it records as unchanged.[^8][^11] ## Omissions in official accounts - **Child-protection screening.** The office's February 2012 report identified inconsistent screening decisions across Minnesota's county and tribal agencies. It did not publish county-level screening rates.[^15] - **Feeding Our Future.** The project's validation record finds that no published source, including the office's June 2024 special review, gives a county-level dollar breakdown of the Feeding Our Future losses.[^13] The record shows these absences. It does not establish why the figures were not published. ## Notes [^1]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Homepage* (accessed 2026) — the office's canonical site, listed in the project's validated claim:link pairs across fourteen legal theories. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ [^2]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Financial Audit Division, *Metro Gang Strike Force*, Report 09-18 (May 20, 2009) — period July 1, 2005 – Mar. 31, 2009; at least $18,126 of seized cash unaccounted for; 13 forfeited and one seized vehicle unlocated; internal-control and forfeiture-procedure findings. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/2009/fad09-18.htm [^3]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders*, Evaluation Report (Mar. 2011) — DOC referral counts: 333 over 12 years before Dec. 2003; 236 in Dec. 2003; about 157 per year 2004–2008. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/ccso.pdf [^4]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Special Reviews* (archive) — the office's special-review series. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/ [^5]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Metropolitan Council*, Report 85-03 (Jan. 29, 1985) — staff 78 (1969) to 222.5 (1984); budget $1.6M to $11.6M; "lack of active external oversight"; did not recommend electing members. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/1985/85-03.pdf [^6]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Financial Audit Division, *Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Grants*, report fad2601 (2026) — financial audit of DHS grants. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/pdf/fad2601.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. ch. 6 — State Auditor* (current) — the statutory chapter for the State Auditor. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/6/full [^8]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*, summary (Jan. 2011) — appointment finding; stakeholder accountability finding; recommendation of appointed and elected members on staggered terms; structure "must be addressed" first. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2011/transitsum.htm [^9]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region*, report PDF (Jan. 2011) — full report. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/transsum.pdf [^10]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Southwest Light Rail Transit Construction: Metropolitan Council Decision Making* (Mar. 2023) — Council "obligated funds it did not have" and "was not fully transparent about project costs and delays"; Council response inside the report. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ [^11]: Legislative Coordinating Commission, *Metropolitan Governance Task Force* (2023–24) — six proposals forwarded without a consensus selection. https://www.lcc.mn.gov/mgtf/ [^12]: Metropolitan Governance Task Force, *Met Council COG Minority Report* (2024) — "the latest example of many previous reports to the legislature that failed." https://www.lcc.mn.gov/mgtf/report/Met-Council-COG-Minority-Report-2024.pdf [^13]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — "No additional authority would have been needed"; obligation "regardless of a threat of litigation or negative press"; inadequate oversight "created opportunities for fraud"; programs administered by MDE. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^14]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Feeding Our Future presentation*, meeting materials (June 13, 2024) — presentation of the special review. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/meeting/mm/mm_Auditor_LAC-20240613-mdefof-Presentation.pdf [^15]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Child Protection Screening* (Feb. 2012) — 84 county and 2 tribal agencies; about 32 percent screened in, roughly 68 percent screened out; conflicting decisions on identical scenarios; no county-level rates published. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/screening.pdf [^16]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Safety in State Correctional Facilities*, summary (Feb. 2020) — officer-shortage finding; Stillwater FY2019 shortage of 25 against 314 allocated; 15–20% forced overtime; assaults 112 (2017) to 149 (2018); findings on female staff. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2020/prisonsafetysum.htm [^17]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Safety in State Correctional Facilities*, full report (Feb. 2020) — full evaluation. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/prisonsafety.pdf [^18]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Teacher Licensure* (2016) — evaluation report. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/teachers.pdf [^19]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Charter School Financial Accountability*, ch. 3 (2003) — lease aid and affiliated nonprofit building corporations. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/pedrep/0306ch3.pdf [^20]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 124E.22* (current) — lease-aid cap of the lesser of 90 percent of approved lease cost or pupil units × $1,314; excluded cost categories. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/124E.22 [^21]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Child Care Assistance Program: Assessment of Fraud Allegations* (Mar. 13, 2019) — prosecutions in Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Blue Earth and Stearns counties. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/ccap.pdf [^22]: MinnPost, *Legislative auditor details what went wrong with botched MN cannabis hire* (Jan. 2024) — news account of the office's review of the hire. https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2024/01/legislative-auditor-details-botched-minnesota-cannabis-director-hire/ [^23]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Financial Audit Division, *St. Cloud State University, FY1999–2000* (Apr. 26, 2001) — projected ~$4 million FY2001 deficit; fourteen findings; beverage-contract revenue; more than $930,000 uncollected from a bookstore operator. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/access/01-20.htm [^24]: MPR News, *Audit finds weak oversight, fraud risk in DHS grants* (Jan. 6, 2026) — contemporaneous coverage of fad2601. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/06/audit-finds-weak-oversight-fraud-risk-in-dhs-grants [^25]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos*, presidential action (Mar. 2025) — the federal instrument the project's at-issue entries cite as anchor. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/