Protect Colo.’s disabled population

Three years have passed since it first became apparent that Colorado’s 20 nonprofit providers of care for thousands of individuals with developmental disabilities were vulnerable to mismanagement and graft.

A long-overdue audit of the systems released last week is disheartening.

Colorado Auditor Dianne Ray’s team repeatedly found that individuals weren’t receiving the services required by state and federal law, and in other instances, funds earmarked for supporting disabled individuals living independently in the community were diverted to other programs despite a large wait list.

However, it should also be noted Ray didn’t report any out-right misdeeds, missing money or abuse.

So what do we do now with news that these Community-centered Boards are falling short of administering nearly $200 million in public funds in adherence with federal and state guidance?

The answer is more oversight from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, and more oversight from the public.

In 2016, lawmakers responded to concerns that one care provider — Rocky Mountain Human Services had misspent large sums of money, including a $437,000 salary for its director — by requiring the entities to receive financial and performance audits from the state.

But also that year, lawmakers considered requiring the Community-centered Boards to be subject to the Colorado Open Records Act. They failed to take that step, and we still feel that was a mistake. These nonprofits are running almost exclusively on taxpayer money and they should be subject to intense scrutiny.

“We need a better way to manage these contracts so more money and services get to the individuals who have the disabilities,” Maureen Welch told The Denver Post’s Christopher Osher.

Welch is an advocate for the developmentally and intellectually disabled, and she described a system where clients and their families are too afraid to speak up when they have concerns about how the non-profits are operating.

For example, 19 of the 20 nonprofits were not meeting basic state requirements for case management according to a press release from the state auditor.

“This included not monitoring the services that were being provided to recipients, not updating their service plans and not documenting case management activities,” according to the press release. “Auditors also found instances where some program recipients were not receiving the services outlined in their service plans, which could put their health, safety, and ability to remain independent at risk.”

Transparency would make it easier for the public to track where public dollars are being allocated. One of the most concerning parts of the audit detailed how at least $2.5 million earmarked for supported living services were spent on other programs, despite waitlists for those independent living programs ranging from 130 to 206 individuals.

This audit, on top of serious issues found in 2015 and 2016 by the Denver City Auditor, tells us that is not happening. Colorado lawmakers have another chance in 2019 to crack down on these nonprofits and require more of them and better for vulnerable Colorado residents.