State cuts off gambling treatment center

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By Tom Saul | Saturday, August 30, 2008 6:25 PM CDT | () comments

An agency that provided counseling and treatment for problem gamblers in Scott County misused state money, hired unqualified counselors and failed to provide adequate oversight of spending, according to a letter cutting off state funding for the agency.

Eastern Iowa Center for Problem Gambling closed abruptly at the end of July. It served nine counties in eastern Iowa with offices in Davenport, Clinton, Washington and Cedar Rapids. It received more than $700,000 a year from the state’s share of lottery and casino revenue to provide transitional housing and outpatient treatment and education.

But a July 29 “notice of denial of awards” from Kathy Stone, director of the Division of Behavioral Health for the Iowa Department of Public Health, cited 34 instances in which Eastern Iowa allegedly misused money, failed to live up to terms of its contract or did not provide proper oversight.

Jan Meisenbach, former executive director of the agency, disputed the deficiencies cited by the state. Instead, she said, there were explanations for each of them, but neither she nor anyone else from Eastern Iowa was given a chance to talk with state officials about them.

“I will defend to the end what we were doing,” Meisenbach said. “If they thought we were doing something wrong, shouldn’t we have been given a chance to offer an explanation? We’ve been using the same practices ever since I’ve been there, and nobody ever questioned them before.”

Mark Vander Linden, coordinator of the gambling treatment program for the state public health department, said the deficiencies found were severe and numerous enough to justify cutting ties with Eastern Iowa. While there were no face-to-face meetings to talk about the items contained in the July 29 notice, Eastern Iowa was given sufficient opportunities to submit information to clear things up.

“At different points, we tried to gather more information, and they were given an opportunity to explain, but the information they submitted was inadequate,” Vander Linden said. “There were attempts to negotiate the deficiencies, but that did not work out.”

Technically, the public health department did not cancel Eastern Iowa’s contract, Vander Linden said. The contract lapsed June 30 at the end of the department’s 2008 fiscal year. The department gave Eastern Iowa a month extension as it dealt with the problems found at the operation and then decided that it no longer wanted to do business with the agency.

Vander Linden declined to say whether the state is looking into violations of the law at Eastern Iowa, but he said the department is working with its legal staff to determine what, if anything, to do next.

Treatment in Scott County is now being provided by Alcohol & Drug Dependency Services of Southeast Iowa, or ADDS, based in Burlington, Vander Linden said. The agency, which also has offices in Keokuk, Mount Pleasant and Wapello, is looking for office space in Davenport.

“They are scouting out potential locations and are attempting to open another office,” Vander Linden said.

Richard Swanson, director of ADDS, said current plans call for the agency to open an office in Davenport by the end of October. But, he added, he has reservations about having a permanent presence in Scott County because he is uncertain about what the state will do about problem gambling treatment in the county after the end of the fiscal year in June.

ADDS has two counselors “on the ground” in Davenport for a total of five days a week, but the agency has not yet seen a surge in those seeking help, Swanson said. Still, with three casinos in the area, the potential demand for treatment is likely to be great.

“It’s only logical that, with three gambling venus in the immediate area, the number of problem gamblers is probably going to be high,” Swanson said. “But, to open an office, you’re probably looking at $170,000 a year and a long-term lease. As things are now, we would be reluctant to get into a long-term lease.”

The abrupt closure of Eastern Iowa tore its clients away from counselors they had built relationships with and had grown to trust, Meisenbach said. That may present an obstacle to re-establishing viable treatment in Scott County.

As for the allegations of misspending, failure to be a good steward of state money and failure to live up to its contract, Meisenbach said state examiners in several instances jumped to conclusions that were erroneous, ignored documentation that showed Eastern Iowa acted properly or ignored long-standing practice at the agency.

The numerous examples of inappropriate spending cited by the state could be explained, Meisenbach said. Many of the bills from area retailers were for emergency needs for clients or the office, overnight stays as she traveled the agency’s nine-county service area or other expenses that were documented and had been approved by the state in the past.

An allegation that Eastern Iowa hired an unqualified counselor without notifying the state also was false, Meisenbach said. The state was notified of the hiring. Eastern Iowa clients wanted to continue meeting with her even after her contract ended.

As for her own personal travel expenses, Meisenbach said, she followed practices that have been in place at the agency for as long as she has been there that allowed her discretion on hotel stays and other travel-related matters. The state never complained about them in the past and never cited Eastern Iowa for them.

“We are audited every year, and no questions were ever raised,” Meisenbach said. “If they were changing the conditions under which we are suppose to operate, don’t you think we should have been told? They never complained about those things in the past.”

Illinois funding of problem gambling services pales compared to Iowa

Iowa Department of Public Health arrangements to treat problem gambling in Scott County makes up the bulk of services available for the Quad-Cities, with Illinois earmarking only $25,750 a year for treatment in Rock Island County.

Before the state cut ties, the Eastern Iowa Center for Problem Gambling received $700,000 a year from the state for treatment and education for nine counties in eastern Iowa, including Scott County.

Statewide, the Illinois Department of Human Services spends only $900,000 a year on problem gambling treatment and education, spokesman Tom Green said. That compares to Iowa, where $4.5 million a year is spent from revenue collected from casinos and the Iowa lottery.

In Rock Island County, state funding goes to the Robert Young Center, an arm of Trinity Medical Centers. Since the start of the year, it has seen five clients for gambling problems, said Art Gillen, clinical manager. Most of its addiction clients have drug or alcohol problems.

“As you can imagine, that amount of money doesn’t go very far,” Gillen said. “It doesn’t begin to deal with the problem of problem gambling. Not nearly.”

The Rock Island County Council on Addictions gets no state funding for problem gambling clients but offers free group sessions and individual counseling at $25 an hour, said Angela White, a clinical evaluator.

Many who seek help come from Iowa, White said. The council began offering the services more than a decade ago. Those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol sometimes also have gambling problems. Before the advent of casino gaming in the Quad-Cities, gambling problems were more hidden.

Gamblers Anonymous also offers meetings in Davenport and Silvis, Ill. The Davenport meeting is held on Tuesdays while the Silvis chapter offers two different meetings on

Fridays. All the meetings are closed, meaning only those with gambling problems or who think they have gambling problems and who want help are allowed to attend. No spokesman for either chapter could be located for comment.

Tom Saul can be contacted at (563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.