Legislators Demanding Answers On DHS Contract

There are a lot of questions surrounding a $4.8 million contract between a software company and the Arkansas Department of Human Services, with lawmakers determined to find out the answers, several Northeast Arkansas lawmakers said Wednesday.

Sen. John Cooper, R-Jonesboro, Rep. Dwight Tosh, R-Jonesboro, and Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas – who each serve on the Joint Performance Review committee, said they want to know more about the contract with C.H. Mack.

Content partner KATV reported Tuesday that state officials were attempting to learn more about the issue.

The issue centers around C.H. Mack creating software to help the Division of Aging and Adult Services determine levels of care and need, KATV reported.

The company had the contract from 2011 to 2014, but the contract was ended by DHS in 2014 after issues arose.

“When the product was delivered, there were issues with its functionality and the ability to deliver the outcome for which it was procured,” DHS Division of Aging and Adult Services Director Craig Cloud said.

Once the contract was ended, DHS agreed to a $16 million contract with another company, CoCentrix, on the project.

Officials were also trying to find out who at DHS signed off on the C.H. Mack contract.

“It was a pretty bad mess, mishandled from the get-go,” Cooper said of the ordeal. “It was doomed from the start.”

Cooper said the project was not thought out well “with no end game in mind.”

“This is something you cannot do on the fly. With software, you can’t just shoot in the dark,” Cooper said. “Software is based on mathematical fact and not ranges.”

Baltz said he believes the way the issue was handled put the state in a precarious situation.

“Someone … dropped the ball big time,” Baltz said, noting he believes the work should have been spelled out before the contract was done. “You can’t even tell who signed off (on the contract). That is what is so horribly disgusting about all this.”

Tosh, who worked as a troop commander for the Arkansas State Police before becoming a state representative, said he thought the hearing Tuesday opened some eyes.

“We were dismayed by the fact of this, that the citizens did not get what they paid for,” Tosh said. “They deserve answers and I asked myself, ‘Where was the oversight?’ Someone needs to be held accountable on this.”

Tosh called the entire situation “unacceptable” and said the committee is working on a plan to call witnesses to get to the bottom of the issue.

“There is going to be some point-blank questions and we are going to get some point-blank answers,” Tosh said.

Baltz said the issue was “insanity to keep pumping out money for something that was not done.”

Cooper said the committee will find out who signed off on the C.H. Mack deal.

“We have to find out. Someone approved the contract and the purchase order,” Cooper said. “There will be accountability.”