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IWG’s Maysa Akbar: Continuing to negotiate with the schools is “untenable.”
A contractor is pulling its business with the school district, after being subjected to questioning by a finance committee earlier this week about controversial no-bid contracts.
Integrated Wellness Group, a for-profit psychology practice in Westville that has been awarded at least $1.4 million worth of no-bid contracts over the last four years, most of it under former Superintendent Garth Harries, said it’s withdrawing from all present contract negotiations with the school board.
In an email to Superintendent Carol Birks and Board of Education President Darnell Goldson on Thursday afternoon, Maysa Akbar, IWG’s founder and executive director, said her company is done working with the schools.
That meant immediately pulling a $150,000 contract for Veterans Empowering Teens Through Support (VETTS) that the board planned to take up on Monday.
The school board has begun more closely scrutinizing “sole source” contracts that have traditionally gone out without bids. Akbar’s have become the most visible example of that scrutiny.
At a Finance & Operations Committee meeting on Monday, board members asked Akbar to provide a report on the effectiveness of the VETTS program and to disclose the average hourly pay that its workers received. VETTS is a nonprofit arm of Integrated Wellness. (Read more about that here.)
Near the end of Monday’s meeting, Akbar asked the committee members if they think Integrated Wellness Group is still “a good fit for this district.”
“Emotionally, having to be on what feels like a witness stand, being tried and sentenced, maybe we’re just not a good match anymore. Maybe you want a different kind of services. Maybe we’re not providing what you want,” she added later. “I’ve got a lot of lives I have to worry about, and this really affects them. Maybe I’m tired, tired of fighting maybe. Let me just go places where people really like what I do and enjoy it and want to bring me back year after year.”
In Thursday’s letter, Akbar said that she felt her reputation was “being unfairly and repeatedly called into question.” She said that the board’s current procurement process is “excessive and unequitable,” because there are no clear guidelines for contract awards nor clear expectations for program outcomes.
In the past, Integrated Wellness Group has paired troubled youth with mentors from the armed services, evaluated teens in mental-health crises, ran after-school reading programs and evaluated pre-kindergarten teachers.
Dwain Schenck, a spokesman for Akbar, said in an email on Thursday night that Integrated Wellness Group would also be pulling a program called Rapid Access to Therapy from contract negotiations.
Integrated Wellness Group and VETTS might not pick up any contracts themselves going forward, but it might still find school district business through another entity.
VETTS has entered what’s been described as a “strategic partnership” with the New Haven Family Alliance, and the Family Alliance is still trying to win school business, including an $85,000 contract for a Street Outreach Worker that the board will consider on Monday.
“To the best of Dr. Akbar’s knowledge, the current New Haven Family Alliance contract is still awaiting Board of Ed approval and her decision is not connected to its outcome,” Schenck wrote in the email.
President Goldson did not respond to an email on Thursday afternoon, and Superintendent Birks did not return a phone call on Thursday evening.
IWG “Cannot Continue”
Here is the full text of Akbar’s letter:
Dear Dr. Birks and President Goldson,
This letter is my formal notice to inform you and the Board of Education that Integrated Wellness Group and VETTS are withdrawing from all contract negotiations with the Board. This decision was made after painstaking consideration and soul searching. Both Integrated Wellness Group and VETTS will continue to provide our community with the highest quality of innovative services and dedication which we are known and respected for. For me it has come down to having a moment of truth and realizing that the position I have been put in by the Board of Ed and contract procurement process has become untenable and cannot continue.
As the CEO of a women and minority-owned psychology practice, there is always an expectation of quality, effective and evidence-based services with the foundation of cultural responsiveness and competency. At present, my reputation is being unfairly and repeatedly called into question. I have made the decision to take action to put an end to the harassment and defamation.
Ten years ago, I began a path to de-stigmatize mental health for everyone, especially people of color like myself. This path led me to have some amazing people on my team that are in alignment with the goals set forth.
On our journey, we have established extraordinary relationships and partnerships, quantitative and qualitative results, and an overwhelming impact on the clients we have served and continue to serve. The decisions I make as the leader of many will always be in the best interest of those we serve and my incredible staff.
In my view, trying to manage the contract process you and the Board endorse has become excessive and unequitable. The contract process is disorganized and fraught with unclear guidelines surrounding the contract procurement process, lack of procedures to measure and evaluate program outcomes, and unmanageable delays in payment that can last 120 days or more. All of these matters hinder important service delivery to our most vulnerable population — our children and youth.
We will continue to work in our community, nurturing and building positive collaborative partnerships. We will move forward in our mission to advance the fulfillment of emotional wellness for everyone.
Thank you for your time and understanding in this matter. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.
Very best,
Maysa Akbar