The agency's ED, Esther Lustig, brought in $400k in the last year alone. This has earned dubious recognition in a recent New York Times articl writeup: "Ms. Lustig, executive director of Human Care Services for Families and Children, a small organization in Brooklyn, which became the second-largest provider in the program, began working at the agency as a part-time assistant director who made $19,000 a year in 2003, tax records show. But as the agency expanded its home care services, its revenues swelled; Ms. Lustig, now 57, took on the role of full-time executive director in 2005 and now earns nearly $400,000. Ms. Lustig also used Medicaid money to hire her daughter at a salary of $67,000 just after she graduated in 2009 from New York University.
Last year, Human Care billed the state nearly $30,000 for each of its 257 clients. That is almost twice the state average, records show. Most of its clients are developmentally disabled children, which means that Human Care can, in some cases, simply pay a relative to teach the client the tasks rather than hire an employee to do so.
Ms. Lustig said her compensation had increased as a result of her performance and Human Care’s growth. Her organization is “very frugal,” she said, adding that its home care program is saving Medicaid the millions of dollars it would have cost to place participants in group homes.
She also defended the hiring of her daughter to fill in as the No. 2 person managing the provider’s 38 beds in group homes and apartments. The daughter, who had studied psychology and interned at a legal service for developmentally disabled people, held the job for a year until she entered Yale Law School.
“She was very highly qualified for the job,” Ms. Lustig said.
Last year, Human Care recorded a $2.6 million surplus on the $7.4 million it billed the state under the program. That increased its overall cash on hand to $8 million, about half its total annual revenue. Ms. Lustig said her accountants had recommended maintaining a surplus of that size.
But after months of inquiries from The Times, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities recently referred Human Care to the State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General for investigation, a spokesman for the development disabilities agency, Travis Proulx, said.
“Any surplus that is generated should be immediately reinvested directly into existing programs and services,” Mr. Proulx said. "
Review from Guidestar