Supervisors Give Welfare Oversight to Grand Jury

In the wake of a stinging report alleging rampant welfare fraud in Los Angeles County, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to have the grand jury monitor the welfare agency’s attempts to combat financial abuse.

The change in oversight actually is weaker than that recommended by last year’s grand jury, which issued its report in June. The panel suggested that welfare fraud may cost taxpayers as much as $500 million annually and that an outside agency needs to monitor the county’s welfare department.

County officials struck back, alleging that the grand jury fudged its estimates and overstated the threat posed by welfare fraud.

“The manner in which the report was presented has left some of the public with the erroneous impression that welfare fraud is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said the county’s response, written by welfare director Lynn Bayer and county Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen.

“This is an area we’ve been very aggressive on and we’re pleased with our record to date,” added Bayer in an interview.

Though Bayer objected to some of the report’s more sensational findings--particularly the $500-million loss estimate--she said she agreed with most of its recommendations and has incorporated them into a comprehensive plan to combat fraud. That plan includes using the county’s new welfare computer to ferret out cheats, a pilot project to inspect recipients’ homes and a boost in the number of internal investigators.

But Bayer, Janssen and the board balked at the most radical proposal--hiring an outside company, which they estimated would cost at least $50,000 annually.

Instead, supervisors responded to a request from this year’s newly impaneled grand jury to be involved. The chief administrative office and auditor-controller will also monitor the agency’s efforts and report back to supervisors in a year on whether an outside company is needed.