A federal audit of adult foster care in Minnesota found licensed homes in which knives, pellet guns and other hazards were too accessible to vulnerable, elderly adults.

A report released Monday by the inspector general for U.S. Health and Human Services recommended immediate fixes to these hazards as well as caseload limits for county inspectors to make sure they have time to keep tabs on elder-care facilities.

"Not everyone was in a totally safe environment," said Sheri Fulcher, an HHS regional inspector general for audit services in Chicago. "They might have a [mental] capacity problem. They might have other issues and you wouldn't want them around some of these hazards. We just want to make sure they are getting the best care."

The audit is an extension of a report by the HHS inspector general published in 2015 regarding the safety of child care centers in the state. Similar inspections of adult day care centers are underway in Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Inspecting 20 homes, federal auditors found six in which kitchen knives were easily accessible. Four of those homes were sheltering elderly adults with histories of aggression or conditions such as dementia that increased the potential for danger. In one home, multiple pellet guns were sitting outside the room of a foster care resident.

The report listed no incidents of residents being harmed.

State officials agreed with some of the federal recommendations, including assessments for new residents to make sure their foster homes are tailored to their safety needs. But they disagreed with the recommendation of caseloads for county inspectors, because some large counties employ multiple inspectors while smaller ones have a single worker perform inspections along with other licensing and social services tasks.

Knives aren't prohibited from being accessible in adult foster homes, which are purposely designed to offer "home-like settings," said Emily Piper, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, in a written response to federal authorities. Still, she said foster care providers and inspectors must determine on a case-by-case basis when such items present hazards.

Minnesota has roughly 130 licensed adult foster homes that are funded through a federal Medicaid waiver program to give elderly adults a middle-ground option between living at home or moving to nursing homes or assisted-living centers.

The federal audit did not identify the 20 foster homes that were inspected.

Jeremy Olson • 612-673-7744