Topeka ? The state of Kansas tops the nation in “overpayments” of jobless benefits, with nearly half of the $256.1 million paid out in 2005 in question, according to a report released Friday.

But state officials say the numbers are misleading and that the overpayments are based on technical problems, and not related to jobless people getting paid through fraudulent means.

“I firmly believe Kansas’ UI (unemployment insurance) program is serving employers and employees across the state well,” Kansas Secretary of Labor Jim Garner said.

Some members of a legislative committee, however, were troubled by the findings of the report by the Legislative Division of Post Audit.

“It’s raised questions,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence. “It’s a large program and whenever you have payments that are inappropriate, you have to ask questions and put a stop to it.”

State Rep. Peggy Mast, R-Emporia and chair of the audit committee, said she was stunned by the report.

“The post audit findings lead me to believe we are failing Kansans who need our help the most, and failing Kansas businesses by not being good stewards of the money they pay into the unemployment insurance fund,” Mast said.

The federal Department of Labor, in its annual studies to assess the accuracy of unemployment benefit payments, has cited Kansas as having had the highest overpayment rate of any state in the nation from 2003 through 2005.

During 2005, the department reported, the overpayment rate was nearly 45 percent of benefits, while the national average was under 10 percent.

Almost all of the overpayments occurred because unemployed workers didn’t register for job services, as required by state law. So they weren’t considered eligible for jobless benefits even though they continued to collect them.

But Garner argued that the job-services requirement was outdated because most workers were able to find new jobs without the need of the services.

The average duration of jobless benefits in Kansas is shorter than the national average, and the state is the 16th best in the nation in detecting fraudulent overpayments, he said.

The state labor department has since changed the job services requirement to apply only to the “highest-need” unemployed workers.

“It is basic triage – focusing resources on those most in need,” Garner said.

But auditors said that wasn’t a good idea. While the refocusing of resources will make the error rate drop, the report said, that will be at the “expense of the broader goal of helping unemployed workers find jobs.”

The report can be downloaded by going to http://www.kslegislature.org/postaudit/ and then clicking on Department of Labor.