COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has agreed to repay the federal government part of the money the state auditor said four private foster care agencies misspent in 1998.

        The department will pay more than $409,000 of the nearly $1.4 million in misspent money uncovered in audits of the agencies,the Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday. Only money tied directly to the federal government is subject to repayment.

        The state's debt to the federal government could grow.

        Auditor Jim Petro's office is reviewing seven more audits in which the federal government claims almost $1.7 million in misspent money. Another 14 audits are pending.

        The department asked Mr. Pe tro to audit the state's child welfare system in April 1999 after audits of private agencies in Franklin and Montgomery counties revealed misspending.

        Mr. Petro's office conducted audits of 25 randomly selected agencies and found misspending in contracts between county children-services agencies and private companies that find homes for foster children.

        Money for the debt will be deducted from payments the state would get from the federal government, said Barbara Reilly, deputy director of the Department of Job and Family Services.

        The loss of funds will hit a department that already has made two rounds of budget cuts. Under rules in place when the audits were done, the state cannot recover money from the counties or seek it from the private agencies.

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