Colorado’s fiscal fisticuffs with the Department of Human Services’ troubled benefits management system may have to go another round, a budget analyst told a legislative committee Wednesday.
The Colorado Benefits Management System, a $223 million computer system intended to streamline welfare processing, suffered problems from the start.
The federal government has slapped an $11 million fine on the state for food stamp overpayment as a result of the problems.
Another goof could cause the state to have to repay nearly $9 million in federal funding for the system.
Legislators set aside at least $18 million last year to help cover those expenses. But staff analyst Michael Cain told members of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday that money will likely revert to other uses before the costs for CBMS come due.
Cain said legislators will have to decide whether to extend the timeline for the previously appropriated cash or find another source of money.
