[nfbmi-talk] Sound Familiar?

[Terry D. Eagle]

This sounds all too familiar here in Michigan.  The only difference is that
the responsible BEP Manager is no longer the BEP manager, unlike after the
2012 Michigan BEP state audit.  I wonder what state government program he is
now destroying?

 

Under the Dome   

 July 30, 2015 

Audit: Lack of oversight in program for the blind 

By Lynn Bonner 

lbonner at newsobserver.com 

 

A program that helps blind people set up businesses has spent $29 million
since 2000, but operates without goals or performance measures, according to
a state audit. 

The Business Enterprise Program uses federal money and set-aside fees
collected from the food and vending businesses they establish. Program funds
cover start-up purchases, equipment maintenance, and monitoring. 

Blind people are trained to run the businesses and are awarded sites based
on competitive bids. They run the businesses as independent contractors,
according to the audit. 

The audit said that 80 people have been trained since 2000, and of those, 53
have been placed in businesses. Since the program has not established any
goals or performance measures, there's no way for managers to know if they
are maximizing vendors' potential, the audit said. 

Additionally, program oversight was lacking, the audit said. More than half
the scheduled oversight activities weren't performed. 

The state Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the program,
agreed that oversight needed to be strengthened. The program director has
resigned, DHHS said, and the Division of Services for the Blind will develop
a "tracking tool" to ensure reviews and inspections are performed. 

NOTE:  This is about the North Carolina Business Enterprise Program (BEP).

 

Perhaps Donald Trump can make a positive change in bureaucracy!