Orange County, Calif., will terminate its contract with nonprofit mental health provider Be Well after an audit found systemic failures, Voice of OC reported Sept. 9.
Be Well operated a campus in Orange, Calif. that served 3,500 people in fiscal year 2023-2024, according to LAist. Orange County paid the nonprofit more than $38 million to manage mental health services at its campus.
An audit found over three dozen alleged issues with Be Well's operations, according to Voice of OC. The investigation alleged Be Well failed to hire qualified contractors, did not answer crisis hotline calls and incorrectly billed for services.
The closure will lead Be Well to lay off over 100 employees, CEO Phillip Franks told Voice of OC.
The contract termination was unexpected, Mr. Franks told the outlet.
"It is normal process to do audits on a daily, weekly, monthly basis in healthcare," Mr. Franks told the outlet. "That’s normal due process. In healthcare, you find things, you fix them, and you make sure you improve. Rarely, if ever, it gets to the point of a termination."
Orange County will end its contract with Be Well to manage the Orange campus at the end of September. It is still working with the nonprofit to manage a second campus in Irvine, Calif., according to Voice of OC.
Read more here.