Des Moines, IA- An investigation by the state auditor’s office has found a state contractor that provides outpatient mental health and addiction treatment services in southern Iowa misused tens of thousands of dollars in federal grant money.
Radio Iowa reports that Crossroads Behavioral Health Services has offices in Creston and Osceola. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services asked the state auditor’s office to review the non-profit after learning it had failed to pay a subcontractor based in Atlantic nearly $200,000.
The investigation found Crossroads deposited federal grants, opioid settlement funds and other payments into a single bank account and didn’t separate payments based on which program the money was supposed to support.
Auditors reviewed two years’ worth of records and found 11 checks written on the Crossroads account bounced and 77 checks generated more than $5,000 in overdraft charges.
The report recommends that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services increase financial oversight of the agencies it designates as regional providers of mental health and addiction services to Iowans.
