Missouri auditor calls on USDA to address food program oversight issues 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KQTV)-- Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick is asking federal officials to step in and provide guidance to help protect taxpayers. 

Fitzpatrick sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking the agency to review and validate findings from his office that identified problems with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ oversight of the Child and Adult Care Food Program, also known as CACFP. 

A statewide audit found that DHSS, which oversees the program, does not have adequate controls and procedures in place to ensure child and adult care facilities receive the correct reimbursements. 

Over the past three years, the error rate has increased, with unsupported reimbursements accounting for 12% of the meal payments reviewed during the audit. 

DHSS adjusted later claims to recover overpayments and correct underpayments identified by the audit.

However, Fitzpatrick’s office warns that similar errors across the remaining $69.9 million in CACFP meal reimbursements could result in high unallowable costs. 

In 2025, Fitzpatrick also released an audit raising concerns about DHSS’s long-standing lack of oversight, which may have contributed to the misuse of millions of dollars in reimbursements to organizations, including New Heights and Sisters of Lavender Rose.

The cases later led to federal indictments.