As Republicans hold hearings today (Tues 9am) on problems in the state Human Services Department, they’ll likely ask Acting Commissioner Pam Wheelock why Inspector General Carolyn Ham — on leave and under investigation for questions about her job performance — was transferred to a different division in that agency. Wheelock says Ham has skills and qualifications to work in another area while the investigation is under way, “instead of simply having the option of being paid by the state while on leave and sitting in her living room. So it seemed like the prudent thing to do.”
Republicans also want to know why it took up to several months to begin an investigation into allegations against Ham. Wheelock says, “A state agency that’s hiring an investigation team to do an investigation of a unit that does investigations is unique, and that means that there are some issues about process that need to be addressed.”