SEATTLE — King County’s Department of Community and Human Services is attempting to downplay a damning forensic accounting investigation by arguing over the exact dollar amount of improperly spent public funds.
But it’s difficult to shrug off a forensic evaluation that, following on the heels of last summer’s damning internal audit, exposes not only a lack of reform, but new findings of forged documents, nepotism, and public funds routed to personal bank accounts.
The independent King County Office of the Ombuds released a programmatic contract evaluation conducted by forensic accounting firm Clark Nuber.
The report examined 19 contracts within the county’s 1.87 billion youth services grant pipeline, concluding that waste, fraud, or abuse in some cases likely occurred.
Clark Nuber identified $690,617 in questioned costs across 224 transactions, categorizing $446,703 as potentially improperly paid.
Instead of taking accountability, acting DCHS Director Susan McLaughlin shrugged off the findings,
