DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Spending for private consultants by agencies run by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has soared from $15 million in 1991 to $145 million in 1999, according to state records and officials.

The department, the state's largest with a projected budget between $11 billion and $12 billion, was created by Gov. Bob Taft in a merger of the state's Bureau of Employment Services and Department of Human Services.

In its analysis of state records, the Dayton Daily News combined consultants' bills for the two departments before their merger to compare to department spending by the Job and Family Services Department. Much of the spending has been for computer consultants. State officials say they will probably spend even more on consultants this year.

Jon Allen, department spokesman, said the agency has needed more outside help, especially since 1995, to cope with a heavier workload that included several new child support and welfare programs and extensive work to prepare for Y2K.

``The costs were project-driven, some were federal mandates and other work was going on here in this state,'' Allen told the newspaper for a Saturday story.

The spending increases come as the department is cutting its work force and planning to close Ohio's 56 unemployment offices. The agency is replacing the offices with a phone-in and Internet registration system to save about $10 million a year starting in 2003.

Gov. Taft said Friday that all the department's major contracts will be reviewed to make sure it's working efficiently.

The department has been criticized for computer mistakes that forced thousands of Ohio's neediest families to wait months for child support checks.

Of the 1,018 employees in the department's information technology division, more than 700 are consultants, Allen said. The department's work force has been cut from 4,200 workers in 1991 to its current 3,600. At least 300 more employees are expected to take early retirement.

Allen said the department has trained many of its own workers, but can't compete with the salaries being paid in the private sector for computer technicians.

``People can make more money on the consulting side,'' he said.

Ohio.com

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001