Bonnie Brae Youth Center In Bernards Township Owes $1.5M After State Comptroller Audit

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Bonnie Brae, a Liberty Corner-based provider of residential treatment services for youth, must repay more than $1.5 million to New Jersey’s Medicaid program after a state audit found gaps in required care records and other problems tied to its Medicaid contracts.

The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller(OSC) said its Medicaid Fraud Division audited Bonnie Brae, at 3415 Valley Road in Bernards Township, and found the provider failed to adequately document contractually required clinical and other services.

In some cases, the audit found Bonnie Brae also failed to provide the minimum required services under its Medicaid contracts.

OSC recommended that Bonnie Brae return $1,528,109 to the Medicaid program.

According to the report summary, Bonnie Brae’s records were "unreliable, inconsistent, and in some cases implausible," which prevented OSC from verifying that the provider delivered required therapy, psychiatric care, and case management services to youth in its care.

Medicaid paid Bonnie Brae about $34.4 million during the audit period and more than $91 million over five years, according to OSC.

The audit found multiple recordkeeping and service issues.

Those included missing documentation for required service hours, records that suggested staff performed hundreds more service hours than appeared on employee timesheets, and individual therapy sessions that overlapped in time.

The differences would have required about 10 additional full-time staff to explain the gap, according to OSC.

OSC also reported nearly identical progress notes across multiple patients and sessions, services documented for youth whose other records showed were absent, and services documented for clinical coordinators during periods when those individuals were listed as absent.

The audit also found documentation showing Bonnie Brae failed to meet minimum required hours for clinical therapy and psychiatric services for multiple youth, and that the provider employed two unlicensed clinical coordinators.

"Accountability matters, especially when it comes to the care of some of New Jersey’s most vulnerable youth," said Acting State Comptroller Shirley U. Emehelu. "Providers receiving Medicaid funding must deliver the services they bill for and maintain accurate records to prove it. When they fail to do so, we will take action to protect both Medicaid beneficiaries and taxpayers."

Given the findings, OSC recommended that Bonnie Brae improve its documentation practices, meet its contractual requirements, verify that staff are properly licensed and reimburse the Medicaid program.

OSC also recommended that Bonnie Brae retain an independent third-party monitor to oversee compliance and reporting.

Bonnie Brae submitted a corrective action plan outlining steps it states it has taken and plans to take to address the findings.

Bonnie Brae told Patch it will provide a comment by the end of the day Thursday.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.