Auditors for San Diego County have found no evidence of wrongdoing by Episcopal Community Services (ECS). The county was responding to several anonymous former employees who said ECS had: wrongly billed the county for renovation work to a downtown building; mismanaged a drunken-driving program; shredded bills to avoid discovery of financial impropriety; lost a line of credit; and failed to provide private meeting rooms for clients with AIDS or other diseases. The audit was conducted by the County Health and Human Services Agency in collaboration with the county counsel’s office.

The Rev. Amanda May, ECS’s executive director and CEO, said, “The county’s investigation was professional and thorough. It confirmed ECS’s position that these allegations are completely without merit. We will continue to do our work with the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill, and others in the community who are so in need of our services. We sincerely appreciate the continued confidence of our funding agencies, our community partners, and our donors during this difficult time.”

A separate investigation by an independent panel appointed by the Rt. Rev. Gethin Hughes, Bishop of San Diego, and the ECS Board of Directors is continuing a more comprehensive examination of these and other allegations of impropriety and mismanagement by ECS. The committee is expected to make its report at the end of the summer.

ECS provides a variety of social services to more than 3,000 clients each day in San Diego and Riverside counties. They provide emergency assistance for the poor, treatment and housing for people with mental illnesses and those who are homeless, Head Start childcare, drug and alcohol recovery programs and shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence. The organization employs more than 500 people, many of them former clients, and manages a $20 million annual budget obtained from federal, state, and local grants as well as private donations.

Rebecca Williamson