Oregon probably spent greater than $10 million in federal cash on impermissible bills and didn’t precisely report information associated to a number of federally funded social companies packages throughout the 2021 fiscal 12 months, state auditors mentioned this week.
Auditors from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Workplace recognized $4.8 million that was spent in violation of federal guidelines and one other $5.2 million which may have additionally been misspent primarily based on a random pattern of expenditures for 18 federal packages, in response to the annual Statewide Single Audit launched in July and a abstract of the audit outcomes launched this week.
The federal authorities makes use of the findings of Oregon’s annual statewide single audit to make sure compliance with program necessities, decide whether or not any cash used for impermissible bills have to be repaid and determine if any sanctions must be imposed.
Roughly 85 p.c of the questionable spending occurred when the Oregon Well being Authority and Division of Administrative Companies probably misused Coronavirus Aid Funds allotted by the federal authorities, the experiences mentioned. Auditors discovered that the well being authority offered grants to over 400 authorities and non-government organizations, however didn’t conduct well timed or enough monitoring of these recipients to make sure compliance with federal rules or confirm that grantees weren’t leaving cash unspent.
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The Oregon Well being Authority agreed with the findings and promised that unspent funds could be returned to the U.S. Division of Treasury.
Auditors additionally decided that there weren’t enough safeguards in place to make sure that two packages administered by the state – Non permanent Help for Needy Households and Low-Revenue House Vitality Help – complied with federal tips.
The Division of Human Companies remained out of compliance with federal necessities associated to the Non permanent Help for Needy Households program for a fourth consecutive 12 months, auditors discovered. This system supplies money help and companies to assist low-income households with kids turn out to be self-sufficient.
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Auditors discovered a number of issues with the experiences that the division submitted to the federal authorities. The division improperly excluded a number of hundred instances a month that ought to have been included, included 1000’s of instances a month that shouldn’t have been included and, in a single month, solely reported 44 precent of the kid welfare instances they had been alleged to report, auditors mentioned.
In addition they discovered that the division didn’t confirm family earnings earlier than offering the advantages, rising the danger of offering advantages to ineligible people.
The defective experiences and the problems with earnings verification seemed to be a product of the state’s transition in 2021 to the Oregon Eligibility system, an built-in utility for medical, meals, money and youngster care help. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported final month on one other downside – misguided denials of long-term care advantages to low-income folks in dire want – created by the Oregon Eligibility program’s defective operations.
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In response to auditors’ findings, the Division of Human Companies mentioned it might develop a workgroup with coverage and enterprise analysts, workers members who labored with the company’s earlier expertise system and workers from Deloitte, the lead developer for the Oregon Eligibility system, to make sure that the system, often called ONE, produces correct information and experiences. They mentioned they’d additionally replace insurance policies to make sure the earnings verification course of is accurately applied.
Auditors additionally recognized important deficiencies with different packages now administered by the ONE system, which was deployed statewide in February 2021.
They discovered that the division didn’t confirm the accuracy of the ONE system’s calculations and eligibility determinations after the Supplemental Vitamin Help Program was built-in into the system. They discovered that workers sometimes overrode the determinations that the ONE program made relating to household meals help, which they mentioned may point out errors within the system’s calculations. Auditors discovered that the division finally overstated its SNAP federal income and expenditures by roughly $2.9 million throughout fiscal 12 months 2021, a mistake that they mentioned possible occurred as a result of transition to the ONE system.
Auditors additionally discovered that Oregon Housing and Neighborhood Companies was out of compliance with federal tips as a result of it didn’t submit experiences on grantees who acquired funding by the Low-Revenue House Vitality Help Program. The company agreed with the discovering and mentioned it might rent extra workers to make sure that it’s adhering to reporting necessities.
No. 9 Oregon State put on a show in its first 2025 home gymnastics meet Saturday, scoring 196.40 points to easily beat Brigham Young at Gill Coliseum.
Senior Jade Carey, performing in a home meet for the first time since winning two Olympic gold medals last summer, scored 39.725 in all-around. Carey had scores of 9.95 on bars and floor, 9.925 on beam and 9.90 on vault.
Carey had the highest score in each event on either team. The best scores by a Beaver gymnast aside from Carey were 9.85s by Natalie Briones (bars), Sage Thompson (bars), Lauren Letzsch (beam), Savannah Miller (floor) and Sophia Esposito (floor and beam).
Brigham Young scored 194.2 points. Kylie Eaquinto led the way with an all-around score of 39.050.
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— Nick Daschel covers the Oregon State Beavers. Reach him at 360-607-4824 or @nickdaschel. Listen to the Beaver Banter podcast or subscribe to the Beavers Roundup newsletter.
On Saturday morning at the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, three-star prospect T’Andre Waverly announced his commitment to Oregon State over Washington and Notre Dame.
The product of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington, is ranked as the nation’s No. 96 athlete and No. 18 player in the state in the 2025 class by 247Sports. Once he arrives in Corvallis, he’s expected to play tight end.
“I believe in [offensive coordinator Ryan] Gunderson for the future,” Waverly told 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman. “And I’m excited to get to know the new tight ends coach [Will Heck].”
“[Head coach Trent] Bray seems like a real get to business guy and I like that. I don’t want a coach who will pamper me. I want someone who will tell me what I need to do and what to do.”
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Despite seeing the in-state prospect going elsewhere, tight ends coach Jordan Paopao has pulled in a promising batch at the position after signing four-star Baron Naone and three-star Austin Simmons in December.
For an athlete, a loss can shake even the strongest mental foundation. For Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, those feelings bubbled up after losing to the Oregon Ducks 32-31 at Autzen Stadium in early October.
While interviewing with ESPN before Ohio State’s semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns for the College Football Playoffs, the quarterback reflected on that feeling of loss.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. Some of the ups and downs that we did go through are why we’re sitting here today in the semifinals and probably playing our best ball right now,” Howard said. “There have been some tough moments. I’d say that Oregon loss early on in the season was rough.”
Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) walks off the field after losing 32-31 to Oregon Ducks during the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Howard, who went 28-35 passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns, remembers what he did after that fateful quarterback keeper turned slide that sealed the fate of the Buckeyes during that regular season encounter with the Ducks.
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“Coming out of it I felt like I played a good game but it was really just the ending. I sat there and stewed over just how could I have done that differently. But when we got back here I think it was about six in the morning. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was kind of at a loss. I went into the indoor and I just laid there for about an hour – hour and a half. I was in a dark place. I just wanted another crack at them so bad. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the next chance I could get,” Howard said.
It wasn’t too long before Howard got his second chance with Oregon. After winning the Big Ten Championship, the No. 1 ranked Ducks were seeded for the Rose Bowl. With the Buckeyes easily beating Tennessee at home the previous week, Ohio State faced the Ducks once more.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) motions at the line of scrimmage during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Before every game, I listen to two voicemails that my late grandmother sent me and I’ve been doing that every game for the last three years now,” Howard said. “I listened to the voicemail and it just brought this immense peace over me. This year for the playoffs it actually probably got me going even more. It really helped.”
Those voicemails helped Howard correct his headspace before facing Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Howard went 17-26 in passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes completely shut out Oregon in the first quarter, with the Ducks only responding at the end of the second quarter with a touchdown and two point conversion. Howard reflected on the point in the game where the Buckeyes were up 34-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation.
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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) holds a rose following the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Ecstatic. I mean, at that point it felt like it was almost not real. It was like ‘Man, are we really up on the No. 1 team in the country right now that we were in a dog fight with at their place?’” Howard said.
The Buckeyes won against Oregon 41-21, advancing to the Cotton Bowl Classic against the Texas Longhorns, where Howard and the Buckeyes are knocking on the door of a National Championship.
“You take a big National Championship ring and hoisting the trophy up. It takes a lot of the hardships and bad things that happened this year and kind of go out the window,” Howard said.
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