Community Care Resources, Inc. (CCR), a Middleton-based foster care placement agency, reached a $1 million settlement with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF had accused the agency of overcharging taxpayers by $6.1 million and using some of that money for personal travel, luxury cars, and excessive salaries. Both sides are claiming victory. CCR owners Dan and Mary Simon vehemently denied the charges and asked an administrative law judge to dismiss the case earlier this year, claiming double-counting and other errors on DCF’s part. They agreed to pay DCF $1.05 million in the final agreement.
According to a report in The Capital Times, an independent analysis by a forensic accounting firm showed all payments in the dispute were properly documented and that many of DCF’s claims were due to math and accounting errors by the state.
DCF has agreed the settlement is in no way an admission of wrongdoing on the Middleton agency’s part.
