The 2018-2019 Ventura County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) received a complaint regarding the Narcotic Treatment Programs (NTPs) in Ventura County (County) and opened an investigation into the oversight and administration of the NTP clinics by the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department (VCBH).
The Grand Jury investigation focused on Aegis Treatment Centers LLC (Aegis) and Western Pacific Med Corp. (Western Pacific), which contract with VCBH to provide services to people who are addicted to opioids. These privately owned providers offer initial assessments, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and counseling.
On December 4, 2018, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors (BOS) authorized VCBH to award contracts worth more than $5 million over a seven-month period to Aegis and Western Pacific. These entities operate a combined total of five clinics in the County.
VCBH has oversight responsibility over the administration of the contracted programs provided by these clinics. The Grand Jury concluded that VCBH does not provide data to the public on the performance outcomes of the NTPs. The Grand Jury also concluded that VCBH does not document all of its site visits, further indicating a lack of adequate oversight.
The Grand Jury concluded that VCBH defers a significant part of the oversight to State and federal agencies, and recommends VCBH more closely monitor these clinics as contracted.
The Grand Jury recommends VCBH evaluate security at the contracted NTP clinics.
The public is invited to review the entire report. It can be accessed at www.ventura.org/grand-jury; click on the Annual Reports tab and consult “Fiscal Year 2018-2019.”
June 18, 2019
Citizens Journal
By Debra Tash
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