That's higher than the national average, which is just over eight percent. The mistakes will cost Wisconsin about $3.5 million. That's money it can either pay the federal government or reinvest in the state's program to make improvements.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture levied $2.87 million in fines against the state for errors in 2001. Those fines were figured into the state budget for the two-year period that begins July 1.
The state Department of Health and Family Services would have to find the money for the most recent fine in its budget. The state is already dealing with a more than $3 billion budget deficit.
