By Dave Ranney

The Legislative Post Audit Committee on Wednesday agreed to investigate costly delays in the development of a software program meant to prevent welfare fraud and streamline the web-based processes for applying for public assistance.

The post audit, due to begin in July, is expected to take four months.

According to the scope statement adopted by the committee, Kansas in August 2011 signed a $135 million contract with Accenture, an international consulting firm, for the design and implementation of the Kansas Eligibility Enforcement System (KEES).

Initially, state officials said the new system would be up and running in October 2013. Since then, the KEES rollout has been delayed several times. Appearing before the House Social Services Budget Committee last month, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Acting Secretary Susan Mosier said KEES was still being tested.

Its completion date, she said, was unclear. “It looks to me like we’ve spent a bunch of money and we don’t have anything to show for it — not yet anyway,” Rep. Will Carpenter, a Republican from El Dorado and chairman of the social service budget committee, said Wednesday. Carpenter encouraged the post-audit committee to examine the delays and their costs.

The Legislative Division of Post Audit’s investigation will analyze the delays, identify “potential threats” to the project’s completion and calculate its overall costs.

Dave Ranney is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.