December 2025

News from DHS archive

Governor announces new program integrity director, statewide fraud prevention program

Governor Tim Walz announced Dec. 12 that Tim O’Malley will join the state as Director of Program Integrity.

A judge, former superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), former FBI agent, and reformer in the archdiocese, O’Malley will work across state government to strengthen fraud prevention and protect taxpayer dollars.

Governor Walz also announced a state partnership with third party experts at WayPoint to implement a statewide fraud prevention program.

“I’m proud to announce that Tim O’Malley is joining our team to lead the charge in fighting fraud against Minnesota taxpayers. Today we are building on the work of the last several years and strengthening Minnesota’s defenses against fraud,” said Governor Walz. “If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“I’m honored to have been asked by the Governor to assist with combating fraud. But know that I’m not here to serve the governor or any individual person or political party. I’m here to serve the people of Minnesota,” said Judge O’Malley. “Years ago, I served our state through an appointment under Governor Tim Pawlenty, and now I welcome the opportunity to serve under Governor Walz. No one has any tolerance for fraud. This issue must be addressed aggressively. Minnesotans must have trust in our public institutions.” 

Temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said she looks forward to working with O'Malley. “We are intently focused on solutions – strengthening program integrity, tightening oversight of services, and hardening our programs against attacks by criminals," she said. 

The appointment of O’Malley follows numerous actions taken by the state (PDF) over the last several years to detect and prevent fraud. Through executive action, bipartisan efforts at the state legislature, and collaboration with state agencies and outside experts, Governor Walz has and continues to take action (PDF) to identify fraud and hold accountable those who illegally take advantage of state programs designed to help Minnesota’s most vulnerable populations.

More information is in the Governor's news release.

Two-year pause on new licensing for some providers begins soon

DHS will soon implement a 2-year pause on new licenses of certain provider types in order to free up resources to focus on improving oversight of existing licensed providers.

DHS will pause new licensing of home and community-based human services providers beginning Jan. 1, 2026. 

The licensing pause will extend to adult day care settings beginning Feb. 1, 2026.

In both areas, current provider capacity exceeds current and projected needs for the services.

“The unprecedented increase in provider applications over the past five years far outpaces the increase in people receiving services,” said temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi about the home and community-based services licenses. “This has stretched our resources and created frustrating backlogs for people applying for licenses. Pausing will allow us to provide necessary oversight of existing providers and better protect the health and safety of people receiving services.” 

The Minnesota Legislature gave DHS the authority to pause licensing temporarily. 

The actions also align with Governor Walz’s Executive Order 25-10 (PDF) directing state agencies to take additional steps to continue combatting fraud. 

To ensure people across Minnesota can access the services they need, the department will work with counties, Tribal Nations and managed care organizations on exceptions for new licenses.

Learn more about the department's anti-fraud actions on the new Medicaid program integrity webpage. You can also sign up for email updates on our work to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.

In social media: ABLE account eligibility expansion

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Accessible formats

For accessible formats of this publication, write to [email protected], or call 651-431-2000 or use your preferred relay service.

Join 'Addressing Hearing Loss' webinar Jan. 14

Join our webinar from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, to learn more about how Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing State Services can help you address hearing loss, including:

• What we offer people with hearing loss, their families and providers.
• How we can make it easier to stay connected on the phone.
• How our mental health services can help.

Who should attend
Minnesotans statewide are welcome. You may find this discussion helpful if you:

• Are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing, have combined hearing and vision loss or have age-related hearing loss;
• Are parents, caregivers, family or friends of people with hearing loss;
• Work with people with hearing loss.

Register
Register online by Jan. 7: 

Accessibility
American Sign Language interpretation and real-time captions will be provided. If you need other accommodations to participate, please contact us by Dec. 31.

2025 Minnesota Student Survey results show improvements

This month, state officials released results from the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey, which show students reporting stronger connections to their schools and improvements in overall physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Minnesota students across the state reported encouraging improvements compared to 2022 when asked about school climate, bullying, out-of-school activities, healthy eating, mental health, substance use, connections with school and family, and many other topics.

The survey shows a heartening reversal of a decades long trend of declining mental health among Minnesota students. 

Learn more in a Minnesota Department of Health news release.

Fact sheet updates

The following fact sheet was recently updated.

Essential Community Supports Program (PDF)

In the news

Gov. Walz: We take fraud seriously. Here’s what we’re doing to stop it. In a recent op-ed in the Star Tribune, Governor Walz wrote, "We have turned the dial from prioritizing generous services toward greater skepticism. Any amount of fraud is too much and undermines the very programs that do so much to raise our quality of life."

DHS begins prepayment review of 14 high-risk Medicaid services in Minnesota: Medicaid claims for 14 high-risk services are now under enhanced prepayment review, which may delay payments to providers. Deputy Commissioner and State Medicaid Director John Connolly shares how providers can help make the process as efficient as possible. Learn more in a WDIO news story.

How the Minnesota Star Tribune analyzed alleged fraud totals in Minnesota: Fraud schemes have involved huge amounts of public money, but was it billions — with a b? The Star Tribune conducted its own accounting based on court records, criminal charges and convictions across dozens of cases. Learn how they got to a total of $217.7 million to date.

‘Crisis’ ebbs: Minnesota student mental health rebounds post-pandemic: Life for Minnesota students these days isn’t perfect, but it’s massively better than just a few years ago when the state sat in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more in an MPR article.