Ohio officials are being accused of failing to adequately oversee the distribution of federal stimulus money and misspending nearly $400,000 on a workplace-training program designed to help minorities and women.
According to the
Columbus Dispatch, the Ohio Inspector General is questioning the expenditure on the Constructing Futures project, a pre-apprenticeship program that includes remedial education and work training for the plumbing, electrical, and construction fields.
A report issued by the inspector general detailed how two employees of the Northwestern Ohio Education Center, billed their salaries and wages to the program but spent most of their time on unrelated duties.
The report also detailed other instances of possible abuse of stimulus grants, including a private company employee who charged a third of her salary to job training grant funds without providing documentation.
In addition, the report questioned expenditures for such things as rents and phone charges.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the agency responsible for overseeing the federal stimulus money, was given 30 days to respond to the report, which is being sent to the U.S. Department of Labor for its review.
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