The Daily Astorian: Clatsop Care Mill Pond Village Assisted Living Facility Clears DHS Hurdle!!

DHS to pay Clatsop Care in Mill Pond Village issue

The Daily Astorian

Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2011 10:19 am

The Oregon Department of Human Services and Clatsop Care Center Health District have reached an agreement that resolves ongoing claims by Clatsop Care over the management of funds provided through the federal Money Follows the Person grant program.DHS will pay $125,000 to Clatsop Care, including attorney fees and costs over the Mill Pond Village development project. You must be logged in with the proper services to print this article. Prior to the settlement, which was agreed upon Monday, concerns surfaced in September 2010 over proposed funding for Clatsop Care's Mill Pond Village development project using state and federal dollars from Oregon's Money Follows The Person (MFP) program, On the Move.The On The Move (OTM) program was suspended pending an internal audit to review the overall management and operation of the program.On The Move was designed to provide community options for individuals transitioning out of institutions. The MFP project, which was administered in Oregon through the OTM program and funded by a federal grant under Medicaid, assisted in providing necessary supplemental services to ensure that individuals had the support, equipment and services to thrive in the community through a person-centered approach.Up until September 2010, Clatsop Care had been working on the development of an innovative proposal under the OTM program to serve seniors and people with disabilities with challenging needs in small community settings. Based upon representations from the OTM program on the availability of OTM funding, Clatsop Care incurred certain architectural and other development expenditures in order to secure financing for the project.Following the internal audit, DHS determined that use of MFP grant funding was not appropriate for the Clatsop Care Mill Pond development project and DHS halted disbursement of funding under the MFP program for this project. As a result, Clatsop Care was unable to proceed with the development of the Mill Pond Village as originally proposed.The settlement agreement reached Monday between DHS and Clatsop Care settles existing and potential claims by Clatsop Care against DHS and the State of Oregon, including those set forth in a May 26 Tort Claim Notice, three personal service contracts and an incompletely executed grant agreement arising from the Mill Pond Site proposal for an assisted living facility.