‘Troubled Nonprofit’ Courts Rely on Knocked for Shoddy Operations

Those hoping to bring their criminal cases to an easy conclusion may not have a La Mesa life skills counselor to turn to anymore.

That's due to a Voice of San Diego report which found that the Corrective Behavioral Institute, which takes referrals from courts for classes for those who have committed minor crimes, has poor record keeping and lax supervision.

Though the business has failed for nearly a decade to file proper forms with the state, local officials with the San Diego City Attorney's Office and the San Diego County Probation Department continue to send clients to the Palm Avenue office.

Both agencies told Voice of San Diego they would review their associations with the institute, which is in business as a non-profit. The city said prosecutors would be told not to refer defendants to the business pending the results of the review.

The institute and other businesses like it offer group counseling, supervision of community service and classes for those who have committed minor offenses such as shoplifting and tagging.

It's a largely unregulated business, according to the report, though courts increasingly rely on such firms to dispatch with minor cases. To register with San Diego Superior Court to provide the service only requires filling out a one-page form, and there are no standards for such businesses to meet.

The Corrective Behavioral Institute has been the target of a lawsuit regarding a $85,000 loan, the report said, filed IRS forms that lacked crucial information about the debt and has employed officials who are unclear on the business' operating structure.

The current head of the institute, Lauren Dunlap, told Voice of San Diego the discrepancies would be looked into, but provided no further information.