AUGUSTA — State House Republicans say a recently released state audit shows a continuing pattern of poor recordkeeping by several state agencies.

The report, released last week by State Auditor Matt Dunlap, identified nine significant deficiencies, which are defined as issues meriting attention.

It also called out 62 deficiencies, which is when management or employees aren’t able to “detect and correct” noncompliance with federal programs in a timely manner.

The report found noncompliance in 10 out of 13 federal programs, including Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. 

House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) said he and other Republicans have been demanding improvements since last year’s audit showed deficiencies.

“We demanded changes, we talked about the lack of transparency, we talked about the deficiencies, and we talked about the failure of the government here in the state of Maine, and what did we get in this audit?” he said. “More of the same. More of the same from the government.”

Republicans have been especially critical of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, which administers welfare programs using more than $3 billion in federal funds. Recently, a federal audit raised questions about $46 million spent on autism services, with the federal government asking for about $27 million back from the state.

Prior to that, DHHS referred a case to the attorney general’s office for investigation after finding what it considered to be potential fraud by a Portland nonprofit. 

A spokeswoman for DHHS referred Spectrum News to the department’s responses to specific findings in the audit.

With regard to questions about the department’s administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps, the department said it “partially agrees with the finding.”

But it went on to say there aren’t current requirements for certain types of documentation and “the extent of the issues is far less than those cited” by the audit.

In another instance, the audit found that DHHS should do a better job making sure that those who have died no longer receive food stamp benefits. 

The department agreed with the finding, but said it “acted timely on all deaths that were reported correctly.”