Future cloudy for drug clinic

Future cloudy for drug clinic

FRIDAY MAY 25 1979

Octagon House, the long range methadone treatment program for heroin addicts; has lost its local sponsor for state and federal funding and faces an ultimatum from the state to either shap up its administration or lose its license.

The Washtenaw County Mental Health Board, through which the program receives some $300,000 in state and federal operating funds, snatched those funds this week following charges of poor record keeping and accounting of time with clients.

Poor record keeping also threatens the programs license thought the state Office of Substance Abuse and unless Octagon House can meet state requirements, it will not be able to operate beyond July.

OCTAGON HOUSE has been under investigation by the county Department of Mental Health and the FBI since January as the result of fraud charges by a former employee.

A former Comprehensive Employment Training Act employee quit the program last December alleging he was asked to falsify clients records. A source close to the department’s investigation says the FBI found evidence to substantiate that claim.