Breakup of Minnesota Department of Human Services is sensible and overdue

Lawmakers made the right decision this year by doing what has long been talked about: splitting up Minnesota's massive Department of Human Services.

The state's largest agency has for years been criticized for poor financial oversight, excessive bureaucracy, and inability to respond quickly and efficiently when needed.

The agency's largest division, Direct Care and Treatment, will spin off into its own agency taking roughly 5,000 employees along.

With an annual budget of more than $20 billion, DHS was simply too large to operate effectively. Last year the Legislative Auditor found mismanagement of a $130 million program that provided grants to local governments and nonprofits to support the mentally ill, homeless and those on public assistance. That was on top of other cases of mismanagement dating back several years. The agency doled out nearly $60 million in mental health grants without proper oversight. DHS overpaid tribal providers for medical programs, and back in 2018 the auditor found the agency hadn't calculated how much money they were losing to fraud in a child care program.

By breaking up DHS into different agencies, they should be able to be more nimble and responsive when quick help is needed. And the Legislature will be better able to apply the scrutiny to the realigned agencies.

DHS is vital for people in need and is relied on by local governments and nonprofits. It needs to be as effective as possible, something it can't be under the current structure.