Is third time a charm for Mental Health?

The Department of Mental Health has put another request for proposal for therapeutic group home management and services. Initially today marked the deadline for the agency to award a new bid for the program, but a third RFP has been issued and you'd be surprised at what we've uncovered about one of the potential bidders.

For the last two years Latte Treatment Center has been providing services for children with behavioral and emotional challenges, but earlier this year Mental Health decided it had to redo the procurement, despite the fact the original contract was not set to expire until 2009. Latte's physician, Luis Valdez, was unavailable for a phone interview, but released this statement to KUAM News:

"Latte Treatment Center is here to support and serve the families of Guam. With the efforts of many good people on the island these services were brought to Guam two years ago after 15 years of sending children off island. The staff at Latte have served well. We love the children and families that we serve. We are disheartened by the recent decisions by DMH not to exercise the renewal option on the existing contract. We do not know why. The procurement process has been difficult and is ongoing."

In late August Mental Health received two bids for the therapeutic group home, one from Latte and another from Illinois-based child psychologist Dr. Marc Zackheim. "To bring hospital quality care of service to the group homes but to do it in a way in which is a very easy transition for the children so that no one gets upset," he said. Zackheim - who has yet to obtain a business license on Guam - runs the Associates in Clinical Psychology, a therapeutic home for troubled teen boys based in Indiana.

Last year the psychologist was arrested and charged with practicing without a license and battery for allegedly touching the genitalia of boys who stayed at the group home. The charges were thrown out and Zackheim continues to run his business blaming the allegations on a disgruntled employee.

On Tuesday KUAM News spoke with Zackheim, who says he learned about Guam five years ago and even invited personnel from Mental Health and the Project I Famaguonta organization to visit his group homes in the mainland. "They liked them very much," he recalled, "particularly the concept of the transitional home...they told me that they might be interested in group home development and if there's an RFP, I should look for them in the papers." He added, "I paid for the differences in what it would be for them to detour to Indiana."

But that trip could be a violation of the law.

Guam public auditor Doris Flores Brooks says the law clearly prohibits government employees from accepting gifts, which includes travel. She clarified, "On its face value, now not knowing all of the facts, that would be contrary to law because if the trip was paid by the vendor the vendor's purpose is to influence the individual and how can we be insured that those individuals would not be influenced by what may have happened on that trip?"

That question can't be answered now, as acting Mental Health director Dr. Andrea Leitheiser is currently off-island.

In the meantime, a third RFP has been issued for the therapeutic group home. "I don't understand how these things work, I just do what I'm told," responded Zackheim, who, like Latte Treatment Center, intends to try his luck a third time. But he indicated a preference not to provide details or interviews until the RFP is decided.

In the meantime parents of children in the therapeutic group home have contacted KUAM, concerned about who will provide services until a new contract is awarded. Healthcare Committee chairman Senator Frank Blas, Jr. said, "I have been assured by OCI, Mental Health and the Lieutenant Governor's Office they've made an arrangement with the current providers to continue on with the services until the new RFP, the new contract is in place."

Or at least it is until September 30.