According to a section of the recently released 2022-23 Civil Grand Jury’s Final Report entitled “Elijah House: Here today, gone tomorrow,” the independent watchdog agency has been informed by a Behavioral Health official that Elijah House, the Oroville-based organization which ran Lake County’s homeless shelter at the old Juvenile Hall outside Lakeport for two years, will likely need to repay the county “five figures.”
As previously reported by the Record-Bee, the Grand Jury found that Elijah House’s nonprofit status was being questioned by the State when they applied to Lake County to provide services for the homeless population, and that they failed to disclose that information. According to the report, “neither did Behavioral health officials vet the organization thoroughly to learn of this ‘red flag.'”
During the watchdog organization’s interviews with former staff and residents, a number of allegations were made including that staff were recruited to work as roadside trash collectors for CalTrans, with most of the work being done in Mendocino County. The Grand Jury’s investigation determined that staff were paid $200 a day, but Elijah House, in addition was paid $800 per person/per day. Although similar allegations were made to Record-Bee reporters in the fall of 2022 leading to unanswered questions, as far as what’s been disclosed, these were never fully investigated by CalTrans and state officials, so we were glad to read that the Grand Jury also took an interest in the matter.
The report on Elijah house reads like a horror story and like a well-researched cautionary tale of the perils of failing to properly vet a subcontractor and its administrative actions. The organization concludes that “in retrospect, had Behavioral Health Services vetted the organization, it would have found out that it was out of compliance with the California Attorney General’s Office nonprofit filing requirements. The report goes on note that several financial and management irregularities subsequently came to light prior to and during the Grand Jury’s “as-yet incomplete investigation.”
So far, they interviewed Behavioral Health senior personnel, a former Elijah House manager, and several former residents at the facility, among many others. Other allegations that came out from these interviews include an assertion that “Elijah House was run more like a prison than a homeless shelter.” with residents not allowed to come and go as they pleased. According to the report, “they were often asked to use their EBT cards to pay for Elijah House groceries.” Perhaps most troubling on the fiscal side of things is a former manager claims that in early July of 2022, he was aware of more than $130,000 in available funds for Elijah House operations. According to the report, when the manager then discovered and mentioned that the funds were missing, he was fired.
“The allegations of former staff and clients, if true, raises potentially actionable legal issues,” notes the Grand Jury as part of their 303-page report. In their recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, they call for them to order an independent forensic financial audit of Elijah House during their time in Lake County and also recommend that the 2023-24 Civil Grand Jury continue its inquiry into the financial procedures of Elijah House during their time in the county. We concur with the latter but won’t hold our breath that the former ever happens, considering the BOS now has its hands full with the current nonprofit’s administration of the shelter, having apparently concluded an audit of Sunrise Special Services.
As per California Penal Code 933.05 (a)(b)(c), a response from the BOS is required by the end of September.
–The Editorial Board, Lake County Record-Bee
