A new audit shows the state agency charged with overseeing substance abuse programs needs treatment ? for financial misfeasance, at least.
And it?s not the first time. Two audits in a row of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, covering six years ending in March, criticized its mismanagement of taxpayer funds.
Among the reports? findings are that the ADAA did not properly monitor whether agencies under its supervision provided services they claimed and that it did not manage its cash receipts in a timely fashion. The ADAA does not handle pocket change ? it granted about $125 million last year for substance abuse programs. How much of that is not accounted for? The audit found that 80 of the 265 care providers it serves never received a site visit.
The agency?s response to each of the audit?s recommendations was “procedures are being implemented,” to fix this or that problem. What procedures? It provided no specifics. Are they the same ones it promised to implement in 2003?
The head of the ADAA since October 2001, Peter Luongo, did not return a phone call requesting an interview about the audit. But last week he told The Examiner the problems were a “resource issue.”
So, We the People should give an agency that can?t monitor the funds under its control more money? Is Luongo for real?
Before legislators vote to give the agency another cent, it must prove that the money it grants totreat those with addictions actually treats them. It must also show, through quarterly reports to the audit committee, its progress on monitoring each grant recipient and fixing its accounting.
At the very least, it is the only way taxpayers can be confident the agency and its recipients are not defrauding us. Maybe then it can start working on fulfilling its mission.
