Representatives from Colorado's 74 centers countered that the state issued the report to try to avoid paying its share of treatment costs.

The centers have long complained about funding levels, and they noted Colorado pays substantially less than other states cited in the audit.

In the report, auditors said that of 1,497 claims reviewed from May to November 2001, 30 percent had at least one error, which could amount to more than $1 million a year in inaccurate payments.

The audit also said that 80 percent of files reviewed from eight sample residential treatment centers lacked complete documentation to show youths got the treatment they were supposed to.

Failing to document treatment while billing for services could constitute fraud, the report warned.

Colorado's Human Services Department, which monitors the centers, also was criticized for failing to have a year-old, $47 million computer system working completely. The system is supposed to identify the cost of providing residential treatment and track every youth in the system.

Judy Rodriguez, state human-services manager of county and community supports, said the department was working on auditors' demands before the report was released.

The residential treatment centers offer around-the-clock care and mental-health services to mentally ill youths up to age 21. The youth may be placed by county human services workers or the state's youth corrections division. About 1,600 youth are in care at any given time, the report said.

Peg Long, director of the Colorado Association of Family and Children's Agencies, blamed the centers' record-keeping problems partly on the lack of standard definitions and standards of practice.

Representatives of various centers also contended that Colorado doesn't reimburse them enough, with no cost-of-living rate increases since 1994. Colorado pays $53,527 a year per youth, for example, while neighboring Arizona pays $71,540.

"I thought the state went to elaborate detail to come up with an excuse to avoid paying what it costs to provide treatment," said Skip Barber, director of the Denver Children's Home, which houses 64 youths.

Republican Rep. Brad Young said lawmakers have been concerned about low reimbursement rates for several years.

"My hope is we can start doing something to address that, but especially in an economic downturn, we can't turn things around overnight," Young said.

Yahoo!

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002