• Clitheroe's Detox unit closed abruptly Aug 10, 2007 with no warning to staff, clients, or the state (with which the Salvation Army broke an $865,000 contract).
  More here
• 
  There were several potential scandals that threatened the Alaska Salvation Army, and apparently forced the closure.
• Two principle ones were: the EDU hoax, and a string of very unethical attempts to extract more funding from Juneau. One of those is illustrated below.
  
  

• Salvation Army Clitheroe's drug detox "maximum capacity" was 19 (i.e., there were 19 actual beds).
• Staff could have easily handled more than 19 clients, but Directors strictly limited the number of people who could Detox to 8. [Detox did go over 8 for insured clients and "Homeward Bound" clients. Homeward Bound paid a lot to the Salvation Army].
• With 8 clients, the workload was very light. Because the Salvation Army only accepted "low maintenance" clients, detox staff spent much of every shift doing work for the residential units. The majority of the nursing staff duties involved residential clients.

Why did Salvation Army Clitheroe refuse to accept more than 8 clients?

• The primary tool used in funding requests was the "turn-away" sheet. If Directors could prove that they had to turn away people, they would get more government funding.

• Turning away 3 people daily would (supposedly) lead to a funding increase of 3 beds.

• Numerous people were banned for reasons like incontinence or high-blood pressure. More than 90% of the people banned by Salvation Army Clitheroe would not raise an eyebrow if they asked for a hotel room.

• [A small percentage of people denied service die as a result. See website.]

• Each additional funded bed space was worth about $110,000 (i.e., $865,000 / 8).

• More about funding here.
  

In order to solicit more gov't funding, Detox's expenses were exaggerated.
Accounting practices were "creative", to the point of being criminal.
One technique for inflating expenses was... inaccurate client counts.

There is no-where that accurate client numbers have been publicly given by the Salvation Army. [One of my jobs in Detox was compiling the monthly client censuses].

 The Executive Director of Clitheroe says...
..." 81.7 percent of the 876 people were admitted to detox only one time last year." -- "(Sept. ADN Letter Click here)


Some facts.

• Detox is a 5 day process. One bed can Detox 73 people per year. There cannot be more than 584 successfully treated people, using 8 beds.

• Detox averaged about 6 people. Sometimes a few less or a few more.

• Up until Detox closed, the number of clients was altered to boost funding e.g. exaggerated upward in that letter to the editor but deliberately dropped lower on filings with the state, in a quest to make use of turnaway sheets.

• See note on bottom of Counseling page.