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Citing LAist's reporting, an OC congressman raises alarm about misuse of taxpayer funds
Orange County officials demanded and got a refund from Mind OC following LAist reporting.
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Yusra Farzan
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LAist
)
Congressman Lou Correa sent a letter of concern Wednesday to the Orange County Board of Supervisors citing LAist reporting on the mismanagement of taxpayer funds given to a nonprofit mental health group.
Let's start with the backstory
LAist reported in October that the wife of a top aide to disgraced former Supervisor Andrew Do had been paid nearly $300,000 in taxpayer funds through a county mental health contract without turning in the required work. A month later, Mind OC, the nonprofit that received the contract returned the money to the county.
Why is Mind OC struggling?
In recent months, the nonprofit group, whose mission is to facilitate a “world-class mental health care system” in Orange County, has faced major problems, including the loss of more than $100 million in contracts with the county plus several contracts with O.C. cities. Mind OC, which does business as Be Well OC, is also engaged in a legal dispute with the county over control of the Be Well mental health building in Orange.
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Why it matters
Correa noted in his letter that he had secured $3 million in federal funding for a new mental health campus under construction by Mind OC in Irvine. The county recently canceled its $95 million three-year contract with the group to run the campus.
What are Correa's concerns?
Correa wrote: “While the County has terminated its contract with Mind OC to oversee the Irvine and Orange campuses, I remain concerned about the impact of the appearance or actual mismanagement of funds on future federal funding for this initiative and respectfully request your assurance that funding for the project is expended responsibly.”
Read the letter:
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One supervisor's response
In an interview with LAist on Wednesday, Orange County Board of Supervisors Chair Don Wagner said that although he hadn't yet read Correa's letter, he shared the congressman's concerns over public funding for Mind OC.
Regarding the county’s cancellations of its contracts with Mind OC to run the two Be Well mental health campuses, Wagner said “the county wasn’t getting what it was paying for.”
“We weren’t supposed to carry anywhere near as much as the financial burden as we’re carrying,” he said.
Go deeper
After audit raises dozens of concerns, OC cuts short a key mental health services contract
After LAist investigation, high-profile nonprofit refunds Orange County $275K in taxpayer funds for work never completed