Millions in Delaware opioid relief dollars at risk of ‘fraud, waste, abuse’

Code Purple awarded $570,000 for day center, wraparound services

In 2021, when Delaware began receiving the first wave of opioid settlement money, lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that created the fund and the distribution committee and made them part of the Behavioral Health Consortium.

The overarching goal, a synopsis of the bill said, was “to ensure that settlement money is used to remediate and abate the opioid crisis and is not diverted to other purposes.”

Code Purple Kent County applied for two grants from the fund.

The agency first sought and received $70,000 to provide a mobile van and wraparound services for people struggling with opioid addiction. Services included transportation to treatment, housing, job training, medical assistance and child care, as well as support groups, social events, computer access and a pantry with free items and furniture, according to Hall-Long’s government website.

The agency later was awarded $500,000 out of $980,000 it requested to operate a day center for people struggling with addiction, mental health issues, and lack of housing. Hall-Long’s website said the money would go toward “short-term term respite care, case management, individual and group therapy, job training and placement, COVID-19 testing, and other services that address the social determinants of health, such as food, transportation, clothing, and financial support” over a three-year period.

In August 2023, the agency received $290,000 of its allocation. Days later, Zaragoza contributed $1,200 to Hall-Long’s gubernatorial campaign.

Jennings and Susan Holloway, director of the distribution committee, said they received complaints in late 2023 and referred them to York. The auditor would not agree to an interview about the ongoing investigation.

Holloway also did not agree to an interview, but said in a written statement issued by Hall-Long’s office that the dozens of opioid settlement grant recipients are monitored by a staff member who “regularly communicates with grantees, conducts site visits, and assesses compliance. Funding is frozen if discrepancies are flagged and validated.”

Holloway’s statement said that in the case of Code Purple, her staff “noticed data inconsistencies, which triggered a manual review of the numbers. Unsatisfied with the review, funding was immediately frozen while staff conducted two site visits to gain more insight’’ from the agency.

“They were unsatisfied with their additional review and as a result, funding was then permanently frozen in December 2023, and the organization has not received money since.”

Holloway said her office notified Jennings’ office in December that funds to Code Purple were frozen.

Her statement emphasized that it was her office’s “monthly reviews that uncovered the potential issues at Code Purple, investigated further, and took immediate action to freeze funds and notify the proper state agencies for further investigation.”

Hall-Long’s statement piggybacked on what Holloway said.

“The commission employs a rigorous process in evaluating and ensuring compliance with all grantees, with grant awards being considered during public meetings first at the commission with final approval from the Behavioral Health Consortium,’’ she said.

“The disbursement of funds occurs in phases after thorough data reviews and site assessments. Non-compliance with these standards results in an immediate cessation of funding for the recipient. In addition to having funds halted, an awardee would be referred to the proper state agencies for investigation, ensuring that violators are subject to the appropriate consequences. This process worked recently when issues were raised.”