Having had both direct and indirect involvement with residential educational services provided through the Department of Education, I guess I'm confused by the apparent confusion. It is a fact that local district contract with facilities to provide residential educational services for their students. The Department of Education and sometimes other agencies share in the cost.
There seems to be an expectation that these services are fee-for-service (like a hospital) and that itemized bills are available. That's not true. Virtually all of these providers contract at a flat-fee rate for tuition (the educational component of the program) and room-and-board (everything else).
The contracts generally specify what services are included in each portion of the bill, in accordance with how the program is set up and operates. The contract might include medical monitoring, family therapy, individual and group therapy, and what-have-you, depending on the program. These services, however, are bundled into the overall rate, and not billed separately, with few exceptions.
Finding out "what you're getting for your money" is usually simply a matter of reading the contract (what you agree to pay for and what the provider agrees to supply) and cross-referencing this to the students record, to ensure the services are documented as they occur.
As the contractor, the local district has every right (and arguably the responsibility) to monitor this.
D. A. Lindemer, Ph.D.
Lewes
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
