The Department of Mental Health violated procurement rules and regulations and must cancel its request for proposal for therapeutic group home services.  In a decision handed down today the Procurement Appeals Board determined that Mental Health not only failed to conduct an inquiry into whether Dr. Marc Zackheim and Associates in Clinical Psychology was a responsible offeror but also failed to keep a procurement record.
 
Latte Treatment Center filed a protest on numerous grounds alleging that Mental Health changed the RFP multiple times to cater to Zackheim, who also paid for a staffer to visit his group homes in Indiana.  The public auditor noted that there was the appearance of impropriety but ethical standards were not breached.
 
The parties now have two weeks to appeal the decision to the Superior Court.