ADVANTAGE COULD LOSE CONTRACT

Mental Health

An Athens agency that provides services for mentally ill, mentally retarded
and drug-addicted persons in Northeast Georgia could have its contract
yanked tonight. But members of a group called the Northeast Georgia
Regional Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Board may
instead vote at a special meeting this evening to give troubled Advantage
Behavioral Health Systems one last chance to shape up.

The group supervises the operations of Advantage, which provides services
in Athens and nine other surrounding counties, and Gainesville-based
Georgia Mountains Community Service Board, which provides services to 13
counties farther north.

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Commerce Civic Center.

Advantage, a quasi-governmental agency created when the state changed the
way it delivers services for mentally ill, mentally retarded and
drug-addicted persons seven years ago, has a budget of about $24 million
and more than 500 employees. It has been mired in a series of problems
since 1998, when a state investigation revealed that some of Advantage's
employees in Elbert County were taking out life insurance policies on some
of their mentally handicapped clients, then pocketing the money when the
clients died. Two people pleaded guilty to fraud in that case.

The agency has also been plagued with problems that include low employee
morale, bad record-keeping and budget shortfalls, and that has led to
losses of funding and sometimes questions of inadequate treatment for
clients, according to outside reviewers.

Most recently, a special review team from the state Department of Human
Resources -- called in at the request of Advantage administrators -- found
numerous violations of state policy, some as serious as drugs being
dispensed by people not licensed to prescribe drugs.

At a series of meetings earlier this month, consumer advocates, former
employees and an outside expert on this type of service delivery called on
the Regional Board to end Advantage's contract to provide services, and
instead call in Georgia Mountains to take over administration of the 10
counties for which Advantage is now responsible.

At a four-hour meeting last Thursday, however, a number of Advantage
administrators and other workers asked the Regional Board for another
chance, arguing that although the agency does have problems, things are
demonstrably getting better. But others argued that Advantage has had
plenty of time to fix its problems.

Wendy Parent, an outside reviewer who evaluated the agency in October 2000,
appeared at last week's meeting to recommend that Advantage be replaced,
because the same problems keep recurring.

"My recommendation is that the contract be revoked," she said.

But the board may adopt the suggestion of board member Fred Weil, who
suggested last Thursday that Advantage be given a specific list of
improvements to accomplish by June 1. If Advantage still can't show
substantial progress, the contract will be yanked, according to terms of
his proposal.