How a Foster Care Agency’s Contract with Sweetwater Schools Went Down in Flames

Sweetwater officials allege New Alternatives violated students’ rights by not providing them mental health services. The foster care agency came under scrutiny earlier this year when Voice revealed it was stockpiling money in Montana to pay its CEO.

Until recently, Sweetwater Union High School District had a longstanding relationship with New Alternatives, one of the biggest foster care contractors in San Diego County.

The school district ran a school for children with intense mental and behavioral needs at one of New Alternatives’ facilities in Chula Vista. Sweetwater paid New Alternatives to use the facility, which allowed the district to educate foster children living there, as well as students who lived off campus.

But the relationship ended badly earlier this year when Sweetwater officials decided New Alternatives was breaking its contract in a variety of ways, according to emails obtained by Voice of San Diego.

New Alternatives, despite receiving tens of millions of dollars a year in government funds, manages to stay largely off the public radar. It is, however, a vital part of the network of care for foster youth in San Diego County. It runs group homes, as well as other programs designed to help foster kids. New Alternatives gained public attention earlier this year when Voice reported it had been stockpiling millions in a Montana nonprofit that did almost nothing — except pay New Alternatives’ CEO.

Sweetwater’s relationship with New Alternatives began to sour in 2023.

Over a period of months, Sweetwater officials accused New Alternatives of failing to provide legally-required mental health services to students, being a non-collaborative, non-communicative partner and preventing an after-school program from getting off the ground.

New Alternatives’ executives, through an attorney, denied this. They blamed Sweetwater for not providing an up-to-date list of students that needed mental health services, called Sweetwater workers non-communicative and said they were unaware Sweetwater decided to scrap the after-school program because of anything New Alternatives had done.

Before their falling out, Sweetwater and New Alternatives had worked together for years.

The relationship worked like this: Sweetwater paid New Alternatives roughly $1 million per year to use a New Alternatives’ facility to house Alta Vista Academy, a special education school.

Alta Vista was housed inside a group home called New Alternatives #16.

New Alternatives has racked up dozens of complaints and several citations from state investigators at the #16 facility in recent years.

In one case, investigators issued four citations during one visit.

An official “observed the carpeting was dirty, ripped and stained throughout; paint was peeling on walls, doors and ceilings throughout facility; there were holes in the ceiling, window sills and walls in most rooms; graffiti was present in nine of thirteen bedrooms on walls, cabinets, windows and shelves as well as in common areas,” the report reads.

Sweetwater officials chose to place Alta Vista Academy inside the #16 facility because they were responsible for providing a public education to the foster children living there.

Over time, Alta Vista also started taking in other students requiring serious mental health support who didn’t live at #16.

Some of the first signs of trouble started in summer 2023.

Sweetwater had received a state grant for $50,000 to run an after-school program at Alta Vista designed to provide literacy support and enrichment activities.

Sweetwater officials approached New Alternatives about implementing the program. They offered $30,000 to pay for a New Alternatives’ mental health worker to help support the program. But New Alternatives didn’t like the deal. They wanted $80,000, so Sweetwater could pay for other workers as well, according to emails obtained by Voice.

Ultimately, the deal fell apart and the district was not able to implement an after-school program (or take the state’s money) for some of the county’s most vulnerable children.

“I have been instructed to stand down on anything to do with [the after-school program,]” Alta Vista’s principal wrote in an email in January 2024.

John Clifford, an attorney representing New Alternatives, said he was unaware Sweetwater had to scrap the after-school program.

“New Alternatives had multiple meetings with Sweetwater to discuss the scope of the proposal,” he wrote. “No final decisions were made regarding the program.”

Around the same time, Sweetwater’s director of special education was also starting to take a closer look at the relationship with New Alternatives.

The director, Michelle Sturm-Gonzalez, learned that New Alternatives had not been providing mental health support, per the terms of its contract, with some of the students at Alta Vista. Providing students with certain special needs with mental health support is a legal requirement for children with Individualized Education Programs, or IEP’s.

On Jan. 24, 2024, Sturm-Gonzalez requested an emergency meeting with New Alternatives and sent a letter outlining the district’s concerns.

“Although we continue to pay the same nearly one million dollars for the use of the facilities, there has been decreasing amount of space provided to meet the needs of the students, [and] a decreased number of New Alternatives’ behavior staff assigned to the program,” Sturm-Gonzalez wrote.

“Furthermore, a review… indicates that students who were/are residents of your facility have not been receiving their federally required Education Related Mental Heath Services,” she wrote. “New Alternatives has withheld these services from students in violation of the MOU. This denial has resulted in multiple students potentially being denied a free and appropriate education” — jargon that describes a legal requirement — “and may lead to due process allegations.”

Klea Galasso, a high-level administrator for New Alternatives, responded.

“I am not clear where you are getting your information, as much of it is inaccurate. In addition, the contract states that [New Alternatives] will get paid within 45 days of receipt of undisputed invoices,” Galasso wrote. “This has been a yearly, ongoing issue for years, which probably needs discussing as well.”

John Clifford blamed Sweetwater for not providing an up-to-date list of students that needed mental health services.

“New Alternatives had struggles with some of the new staff at [Alta Vista] and obtaining necessary information regarding providing of services,” Clifford wrote in an email to Voice. “Sweetwater was delayed in providing up-to-date information on the need for services and New Alternatives is unaware of any violation of law.”

Sweetwater and New Alternatives went back and forth through the winter and spring of 2024.

At one point, Sweetwater officials asked for an invoice which broke down the costs for facilities and employees that New Alternatives provided to the district.

Galasso responded that she had spoken with New Alternatives’ CEO Michael Bruich.

“[New Alternatives] will not be providing this information to the district,” Galasso wrote.

In March 2024, Sweetwater officials met with officials from the San Diego County Office of Education.

From the meeting notes:

• “Concerns discussed about [New Alternatives] not being forthcoming with information, not collaborative.”

• “Concerns discussed about… the impact of [New Alternatives] not providing services to students per their IEP.”

• “[New Alternatives] reports business as usual, nothing changing, etc.”

• “Reiterated concerns about the lack of collaboration and communication from [New Alternatives.]”

  
  

Sweetwater officials decided they could no longer work with New Alternatives and decided to end the relationship. They moved Alta Vista into a district building and continue to serve New Alternatives’ residents.

“We are pleased to have moved those educational services on a district campus with district personnel and will continue to provide the requisite services to New Alternatives residents,” Nadège Johnson, a district spokesperson, wrote in an email.

Clifford wrote that the relationship deteriorated over time because of different administrators at Sweetwater who had different expectations over the years.

“There were numerous changes in management at Sweetwater and the new management did not have the perspective of the former managers,” Clifford wrote. “It was apparent that the new administrators at Sweetwater had unrealistic expectations and moving the school to a new location and out of the licensed children’s facility was best for Sweetwater and New Alternatives.”

Remember: New Alternatives is the same foster care agency that’s been stocking millions of dollars into a Montana nonprofit that does very little since 2015 in order to pay its CEO. You can read that story here.

Source: Will Huntsberry | December 10, 2024 | Voice of San Diego

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