STATE WANTS TO PULL SHELTER CHIEF'S LICENSE

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- The state will try to revoke the counseling license of
the director of a northeast Ohio women's shelter who allegedly abused the
women and violated their right to privacy.

The Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services said Darlene
Neudenbach, director of the Women's Wellness Center, breached professional
standards for drug and alcohol counseling. The department said it has
received four complaints.

The 16-bed center is not a state-certified drug and alcohol program, so
state officials cannot close it. But the state does have authority over
Neudenbach's license.

The department sent her certified letters last month listing alleged
violations of Ohio codes. If she doesn't respond, her license automatically
will be revoked.

Neither Neudenbach nor Laura O'Reilly, president of the center's board,
returned repeated calls seeking comment.

One complaint was filed by Patti Williams, a recovering addict from
Youngstown who lived at the women's center for six months. Williams said
Neudenbach directed her to design and lead counseling programs for the
other recovering addicts.

"I worked day and night, and I wasn't getting paid," Williams said. "And
eventually it became apparent there was some unhealthy stuff going on in
the way Darlene treated the clients.

"It was shame-based counseling," Williams said. "Every Monday we had to
scrub the floors on our hands and knees."

Ken Brown, who said he volunteered at the facility, told the state that
Neudenbach "screamed at the clients in such a way as to intimidate them."
He also said confidential records of four clients were left on a
dining-room table.

The state inspected the center in October, when it was seeking
certification to become eligible for state funds. But inspectors found 48
deficiencies and denied the request.

In November, the state sent a letter to Neudenbach saying she was operating
an uncertified treatment program, which is illegal. Neudenbach and O'Reilly
say the center is only a "sober living environment."

But the state says otherwise.

"There's no question they're misrepresenting themselves," said department
spokeswoman Stacey Frohnapfel. "They're raising money as a drug-treatment
program. They're bringing people in as a drug-treatment program, which
means in Ohio the clients are not getting appropriate treatment services."