ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – St. Johns County is among several Florida school districts cutting ties with an embattled company hired to supply schools across the state with behavioral health professionals to treat at-risk students.
The school district’s decision to terminate its contract with Motivational Coaches of America comes as the company faces a Medicaid fraud investigation and a federal lawsuit alleging it stiffed its employees.
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Spokesperson Christina Langston said the district notified MCUSA of its decision Tuesday, just hours after news broke that the company was under investigation by the Florida Attorney General’s Office.
In the termination letter, the district gave the company 30 days’ written notice, saying the contract would effectively end Aug. 30.
DOCUMENT: Read the termination letter
MCUSA CEO Julio Avael said he has not yet heard from Attorney General Pam Bondi or anyone from her office. He said the first he learned of the Medicaid fraud investigation was from a reporter Tuesday.
"We are not guilty of doing anything illegally," Avael told the I-TEAM.
St. Johns County isn’t the only district distancing itself from MCUSA. Manatee, Orange, Palm Beach and Pasco counties are also parting ways with company. Broward County is reconsidering its contract.
Those terminations represent a major shift from where MCUSA stood last year when it was operating in 13 school districts statewide. The company still has coaches in Clay and Duval counties, among others.
MCUSA places behavioral health professionals, known as “motivational coaches,” in public schools to assist students with known risk factors, such as depression, obesity and grief.
Most of the company’s profits come from insurance payments. In fact, state records show it collected more than $400,000 from Medicaid during the last two years alone.
MCUSA uses a points system to measure how much time employees spend with students. Once counseling is complete, parents submit paperwork allowing the company to bill Medicaid.
Several counselors are now suing MCUSA, accusing the company of withholding wages. The company contends those counselors didn’t file the paperwork necessary to get paid.
The I-TEAM learned Tuesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi has opened a Medicaid fraud investigation into MCUSA. A Bondi spokesperson confirmed the investigation without going into detail.