The New Brunswick child and youth advocate says the previous provincial government fast-tracked funding to a private, Christian-based addiction recovery program with little oversight or accountability.

In September, the government led by Conservative Blaine Higgs announced almost $1.5 million for Village of Hope, a residential program in Upper Tracy, about 50 kilometres south of Fredericton. The money was meant to help the facility expand and to build a women’s dorm.

At the time, advocates for people struggling with addiction said funding religious-based programs is not in itself a bad thing, but it needed to be balanced with secular programs. Village of Hope remains the only residential 10-month recovery program in the province for adults.

On Thursday, child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock released a report after he reviewed the process of granting the funding. He said that while he found no wrongdoing by Village of Hope, cabinet had decided to fund the program before an application was made, and failed to consult experts on addiction and recovery or review due diligence reports.

“Significant public funds were spent on a scarce public resource without adequate efforts to ensure that the funds met the broader public interest,” Lamrock said in a statement. “Private services jumped the queue without adequate oversight to protect both people seeking treatment and the taxpayer.”

Lamrock said he decided to review the funding because his office represents adults with mental health struggles and disabilities. He also said with 300 people on formal waitlists for addiction recovery services, and many more whose names have yet to be added to a waitlist, his office needed to scrutinize this government spending.

Cabinet approved funding before application

Lamrock said the application for funding was made after the project was approved by cabinet, and after a meeting between Village of Hope and the former premier in May.

The money came from the Regional Development Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation that plans, co-ordinates and implements regional and economic development, according to the province’s website.

Lamrock’s report says after cabinet approved the funding, the corporation was “tasked” with getting an application from Village of Hope.

The report says in granting funding to Village of Hope, the corporation “did not even review Village of Hope Inc.’s own due diligence report, let alone invite commentary from experts.”

He said other addiction services that apply for government funding from the Department of Health have to go through regulatory hoops and commit to consistent reporting of results before they’re granted funding.

Lamrock said being faith-based should not mean the program gets less scrutiny.

“This is the very definition of a program jumping the queue, as it placed Village of Hope Inc. on a playing field much less regulated and monitored than the process applied to other treatment programs,” the report says.

Lamrock said the corporation is “politicized” and “has no place in the funding of social programs.”

He said services like addiction recovery involve vulnerable people, and need more oversight and stringent checks and balances.

‘Good faith’ approach from Village of Hope

Lamrock said Village of Hope staff acted in “good faith” when they applied for the funding through the Regional Development Corporation, and he is not recommending that the funding be reconsidered.

He said the responsibility lies on government to make sure the program serves the New Brunswick public as a whole.

“Currently, several government departments appear to refer vulnerable people to Village of Hope while taking no responsibility for oversight to avoid exploitation,” Lamrock said, noting that attending Village of Hope includes unpaid labour and supervised living conditions.

CBC News has asked the Village of Hope and the province for comment.

Lamrock said he met with leaders from Village of Hope, who explained that they do measure the success of their program and have conducted a five-year followup study with their attendees. But Lamrock said for an issue as complex as addiction, there should be a more formalized way to vet private programs, regardless of their faith.

In his report Lamrock recommends that the province develop a process to regulate and accredit any private facility it refers people to. He also said the province must address the growing waitlists for recovery, and clarify the role of the Regional Development Corporation.