Ark. center mismanages disabled residents' money (UALR Public Radio) - Mismanagement of a spending account maintained for developmentally disabled residents at the Alexander Human Development Center has contributed to residents being charged $100 for lunches and for items such as tobacco that they did not use, a newspaper reports.

The state Department of Human Services, the Arkansas State Police and the state Legislative Audit Division are each reviewing the records of the so-called client trust fund set up at the center with money from each resident's Social Security check or payments for work they've done, such as stuffing envelopes. The residents use the money for small expenses, such as snacks or entertainment on off-campus outings.

A draft report of DHS auditors says they have been unable to figure out exactly where money in the fund went because of missing and inaccurate records, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Thursday. The agency has had to transfer $61,500 into the account to keep it in the black.

Records that do exist from 2007 show a pattern of mismanagement that violates multiple agency policies and left residents with "exorbitant charges," the report states.

The center's business office handles money for the 115 men who live at the center. There is only one bank account for the money, and the center is supposed to keep ledgers detailing deposits, withdrawals and expenditures for each resident.

When the residents want money for shopping or entertainment, a center employee is supposed to fill out a form at the business office to get the cash. If there is any money left over, the employee is supposed to return it to the business office along with a receipt showing how the resident spent the money.

DHS spokeswoman Julie Munsell said that while Developmental Disabilities Services Division cannot account for the money as well as it should, the money apparently was used for residents.

Also, she said, the money transferred into the spending account came from an "incidental account" made up of profits from recycling, shredding and envelope-stuffing businesses at the center. That money is to be used to benefit residents, Munsell said, adding that the center is allowed to transfer it into the client trust fund.

"The concern now is the account for the client was being managed so poorly that it required large amounts of money from the (incidental) account to shore (it) up," she said.

Agency auditors began looking at the client trust fund in February after the center's new business manager found that the residents' ledgers did not reconcile with the bank account balance.

An internal review has been going on since then. As a result, the account technician in the center's business office, Jody Spears, was transferred to another office pending the outcome of the investigation. The previous business manager, James Helton, left in 2007 before problems were uncovered.

Munsell said DHS auditors are now reviewing residents' trust funds at the other five human development centers in the state. State police began a criminal investigation in March. Legislative auditors are expected to present their findings to lawmakers in October.

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