Financial problems close mental health center in Austin

Feb. 17--AUSTIN -- An Austin-based nonprofit organization that provided mental health services to low-income people abruptly closed Friday, amid financial concerns and mystery surrounding the whereabouts of its executive director.

Staff and therapists with Community Technologies and Services Inc. say they were told Friday morning the agency was shutting down because it couldn't meet payroll. The news sent staff scrambling to find alternative mental heath services for an estimated 120 clients.

Employees say the agency's demise wasn't entirely unexpected. For at least a week before the announcement, there were concerns when Executive Director Carlton Frank failed to show up for work. On Wednesday, two days before its closure, staff were told that his wife and CTS's second-in-command, Gina Frank, had been named acting director.

On Friday, Gina Frank gathered staff together to tell them the agency and its two satellite offices in Albert Lea and Austin were closing, leaving a dozen people out of work.

"People were crying," said one staff member.

The agency's main offices were at 1403 15th Ave. NW in Austin.

Reached by phone Monday, Gina Frank said she wasn't in a position to answer media questions but denied any suggestion of wrongdoing by her husband. When asked about his whereabouts, she said, "He's unable to fulfill his duties at this time."

A message left on Carlton Frank's phone went unanswered.

The nonprofit, which officials say provided a substantial amount of pro bono work for its clients, had been in operation since 2003. Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen said the county's health and human services department is working to fill the needs of CTS's former clients.

"(Our clients are) pretty upset. They're angry, and they're hurt," said Lois Ylvisaker, a former CTS therapist.

The agency provided a wide range of counseling services, from psychological services to helping those with drug addiction and unemployment. What made the agency unique is CTS provided such services under one roof.

"I'm not sure there's any other agency that deals with all three simultaneously, and we often found patients needed help in two or three different areas to become employable," said the Rev. Robert Schneider, chairman of the CTS board and pastor at All Saint Parish in Madison Lake, about 25 miles northwest of Owatonna.

Far from being at the root of the agency's failure, Schneider said he had found Carlton Frank's skills and leadership essential to the organization's survival. "I mean, this is one of the most talented people I've ever worked with," he said.

Schneider said the agency strived to pay competitive salaries to its staff, but "it's always been a struggle." He said he was told by another board member that things had become so dire that last month Carlton Frank put $55,000 of his own money into CTS to make payroll.

"That sounds like somebody desperately trying to keep the organization going," he said.

Schneider said he's as much in the dark about what has happened to Carlton Frank as the staff. He has not been in contact with him, but he said he has been told Frank is in "good hands."

"I don't know what has happened," Schneider said. "I just know that he's unable to be the director at this point. That's absolutely true. He can't do the job at this point."

CTS funded its operations through an assortment of state public assistance, insurance claims and charitable donations. The United Way of Mower County reportedly allocated $45,000 to CTS, and the Hormel Foundation also has given money, but donations amounted to less than 10 percent of the agency's operational costs, Schneider said.

Ylvisaker, the therapist, said administrative issues at CTS were hurting clients. Critical paperwork was being held up with potentially harmful consequences. She said she filed a complaint with the Minnesota Board of Social Work when key documents were not filed, hurting patients' ability to get needed services.

Without any guarantee of compensation and even though technically unemployed, former CTS staff have spent days since their release trying to line up services and resources for their clients.

Normally, when a therapist leaves a job, they give a month's notice so the transition to a new therapist is as seamless as possible for a client. But given the abrupt notification, that has proven impossible, Ylvisaker said.

"People haven't had that opportunity, and they've just been kind of thrown out in the cold," she said. "All I can do is advocate for our patients and get them services elsewhere."

___

(c)2015 the Post-Bulletin

Visit the Post-Bulletin at www.postbulletin.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC