Meredith Telus, director of DHHS’s Division of Program Quality and Integrity, told the committee on May 16 that the division conducts fraud and unethical conduct reviews, quality assurance and independent third‑party reviews, facilitates LBA audits and follows up on findings posted on Transparent New Hampshire.

Telus said the internal audit function has two staff members (the internal auditor and one staff member) and was created in 2018; much foundational work (policies, templates and compliance with Transparent New Hampshire reporting) delayed large review output until recent years. She described 2025 work including one fraud/unethical conduct review, one quality assurance review and one third‑party review in the fiscal year-to‑date. For 2026 she listed potential reviews and tasks: staff training on policies and procedures, pretesting of single‑audit compliance areas, a review of implementation of a new data retention procedure and invoice review process analysis.

Teresa Narrow, the department’s internal auditor, described the division’s fraud referral process: department employees may refer concerns to the ombudsman or to internal audit; the public is directed to the ombudsman. Telus said most referrals do not prove to be fraud but instead reveal training gaps or process improvements.

Telus also summarized metrics showing outstanding LBA audit observations since 2020 and noted the number of open findings has decreased as observations were remediated and tracked on Transparent New Hampshire, per executive order requirements.

Why it matters: The division is small but has a statutory and administrative role in improving controls, investigating serious referrals and tracking audit remediation across DHHS.

Telus said the division will expand training and proactive reviews to reduce risk areas and prepare for federal single‑audit compliance tests.