MNTC HQ in Minneapolis. Photo: Andy Birkey, MnIndy

Last December, after the Minnesota Independent ran an article about Minnesota Teen Challenge and the federal earmark the Christian drug treatment center is receiving, the group wrote in to challenge the Independent’s characterization of their programs, as well as that of Huffington Post health reporter Maia Szalavitz.

But a review of documents obtained by the Minnesota Independent from the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Hennepin County calls into question the merits of MNTC’s complaints.

MNTC took offense to the link made between the national Teen Challenge program and Minnesota Teen Challenge. In our Dec. 2008 story, we reported on testimony at a 2001 congressional hearing by Teen Challenge Executive Director John Castellani, who said all faiths are welcome to participate in the programs. For instance, some Jews come out of the program “completed Jews,” he said, in reference to a conversion to Christianity. Minnesota Teen Challenge distanced itself from that statement — along with the national organization.

“Minnesota Teen Challenge is a leading and respected treatment center in Minnesota, part of a large network of Teen Challenge centers across the United States,” MNTC’s Rich Scherber wrote to the Minnesota Independent and the Huffington Post at the time. “Each program is independently controlled and autonomous in operation and methodology. As such, it is entirely improper to attribute alleged incidents and practices at one center as being common to all.”

But state documents show — in MNTC’s own words — that they aren’t so autonomous. The treatment center maintains compliance with the National Teen Challenge, is accredited by the National Teen Challenge, reports monthly to national headquarters and uses the National Teen Challenge curriculum in its programming.

According to the documents, the position description for the MNTC’s administrative assistant includes “prepare and submit monthly National Teen Challenge reports.”

Another position description, for the director of programming, says that the director will “ensure MNTC is in compliance with… National Teen Challenge.”

And a history document submitted to Hennepin County as part of its contract with the county says that MNTC is “certified” by the national headquarters. “Minnesota Teen Challenge was incorporated in 1984 as a nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) and is part of a network of 400 Teen Challenge centers worldwide, which are certified by National Teen Challenge in Springfield, Missouri. Thus, Minnesota Teen Challenge is engaged in a national and international effort to rehabilitate individuals with drug, alcohol, and other life controlling problems.”

And in MNTC’s Affirmative Action Plan submitted to Hennepin County, the document states that the philosophy and background are based on the National Teen Challenge’s founders: “The Teen Challenge program began in 1958 in New York as a result of David Wilkerson, a Pennsylvania minister’s work with New York gangs. The program is based on religious and spiritual guidance. For additional information on Philosophy and background, see Philosophy of Teen Challenge by Dave Batty, Teen Challenge Therapeutic Model by Douglas Wever, History and Philosophy of Teen Challenge by Frank Reynolds, and Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson.”

On the National Teen Challenge website, it lists curriculum that is “taught in every residential center” [emphasis theirs], which is called “Group Studies for New Christians.”

The Group Studies for New Christians classes are fundamental tools in the process of developing a deeper relationship Jesus Christ. The 14 classes teach Biblical principles and give the tools to apply them to the student’s lives. While these courses are designed with new believers in mind, they are a great refresher for those who are more mature in their faith. These classes provide practical hope for living in today’s society.

Among the topics discussed in the curriculum: How Can I Know I’m a Christian, A Quick Look At the Bible, Successful Christian Living, Christian Practices, Obedience to God, How to Study the Bible, and Spiritual Power and the Supernatural.

The Minnesota Independent has recently learned that Minnesota Teen Challenge returned the donation to Bachmann two weeks later.

“We didn’t want to be involved if it was dirty money,” Rich Scherber, executive director of Minnesota Teen Challenge, told MnIndy.

Bachmann’s close ties to Vennes became public before the election, when it was revealed that she had written a letter requesting a presidential pardon for the convicted money-launderer and drug-smuggler. She withdrew the letter when Vennes’ name became connected to the Petters multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme scandal. But she gave back only a portion of the tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions she has received from Vennes and his family since 2005.

Scherber says that when Bachmann’s office made the donation, it explained the connection between the campaign’s charitable contribution to them and Vennes’ campaign contributions to Bachmann.

“Some way (the explanation) either came with the check or they notified us beforehand,” recalls Scherber. “At that time, we were just concerned — this whole story with Petters broke, and we were concerned about what Frank Vennes’ role was at this point.”

Scherber’s staff brought the matter to the organization’s chairman, and he brought it before the board.

“The board had decided they weren’t going to take the check,” Scherber continues. “They sat on it for two weeks and we just returned the check.”

Minnesota Teen Challenge also had close ties to Vennes, who had been one of the charity’s board members. Vennes also was involved in the nonprofit Fidelis Foundation, which has served as a fiscal agent for — and donated millions of dollars to — many evangelical ministries and other religious organizations, including Minnesota Teen Challenge.

Vennes is alleged to have been used by Petters to lure primarily Christian organizations into investing in Petters’ companies through Metro Gem — one of Vennes’ companies — or through the Fidelis Foundation. Among those investors was Minnesota Teen Challenge, which allegedly lost $5.7 million in investments in Petters companies.

According to Gary Hansen, Vennes’ court-appointed receiver, because the money was donated to Bachmann before Vennes’ assets were seized, it remains the congresswoman’s to do with as she pleases. If Bachmann had chosen to return the $9,200 to Vennes, Hansen notes, the money would be added to the rest of his seized assets, which are being sold off to compensate victims for his alleged involvement in the multibillion-dollar Petters Ponzi scheme.

Bachmann Chief of Staff Michelle Marston says the $9,200 will likely be donated to R3, a collaborative of Christian recovery groups that includes Minnesota Teen Challenge.

Bachmann delayed disclosure

Rep. Bachmann failed to report the money being returned to her campaign until her first quarter 2009 campaign filing, a possible violation of Federal Election Commission rules.

The $9,200 — the same amount Vennes and his wife had contributed to Bachmann’s campaign in 2008 — did not show up on Bachmann’s pre-election, post-election or year-end quarterly FEC filings. According to federal rules, the returned contribution should have shown up on one of these reports if it was returned to Bachmann’s campaign in October, as Scherber claims.

Bachmann’s first quarter report shows that the Minnesota Teen Challenge donation was returned to the campaign on Jan. 1, 2009.

“We reported it properly,” says Bachmann staffer Marston. “We reported it when it was received.” Marston confirmed that the contribution was received on Jan. 1, and she could not explain the discrepancy with Scherber’s claim that the funds were sent back in October.

The FEC prescribes financial penalties for “a failure to make the required disclosures … at the time and in the manner prescribed” or for “a failure to include any of the information required to be shown by such disclosures or to show the correct information.”

That simple point seems to be eluding Minnesota Teen Challenge (MNTC), the faith-based drug treatment program which secured a federal earmark in early 2008 arranged by Rep. Jim Ramstad and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, for its “Know the Truth” program which aims to prevent drug use.

Operating close to the border of church and state, the group’s members are unrealistic if they think their work is not going to get attention.

Klobuchar’s deputy chief of staff, Andrea Mokros, explains the senator’s role in requesting the earmark. “The Senator joined several members of the state delegation, including Jim Ramstad and Keith Ellison, in submitting the request for a Minnesota program to prevent drug abuse. As a former prosecutor, she has long been concerned about the impact of drug abuse on both individuals and the community, and she has worked with a range of groups that work to prevent and treat drug addiction.”

MNTC officials were upset by my coverage of their public statements, publicly available employment application materials and publicly available information about their ties to the national organization that spawned the local operation. Maia Szalavitz, a Huffington Post writer with expertise in traumatized youth, also wrote about the Ramstad earmark. While Szalavitz and I published similar articles on the same day, we haven’t ever communicated with each other.

In response, MNTC executive director Rich Scherber sent a nearly identically worded letter to both the Minnesota Independent and the Huffington Post.

The point of my article was not to suggest that MNTC was not successful or beneficial, as Scherber implies. Rather it was to point out the overtly religious nature of the organization and that the program has historically been controversial. In the interest of brevity, I left some examples out. For instance, MNTC’s stance on Halloween verges on the comical (“Halloween is a day set up totally for Satan … The more people who go out dressed as demons, ghosts, witches and goblins, the more glory Satan receives”). Scherber’s claim that the Holy Spirit told an MNTC bus driver to avoid the 35-W bridge on the day of its collapse in August 2007 is touching but, let us say, unverified.

I don’t question that faith-based programs can be very effective for those that share the programs’ faith. Faith is a huge motivator in people’s lives. I think MNTC has been very effective for the clients it serves. However, I don’t think it’s appropriate for judges, prosecutors or public defenders to suggest the program as an alternative to jail. (Szalavitz, by the way, vehemently disagrees with MNTC’s claims about its success rate).

I also wrote about a local media report that points to the possibility that Know the Truth staff have discussed their religious conversions in relation to their recovery at a local church. That’s not a bad thing in itself, except the Know the Truth program is paid for by people who don’t share that religious faith. Were those Know the Truth representatives telling the same stories in public schools? Scherber didn’t address the issue in any complaint letters.

At least one Twin Cities school has decided to pass on MNTC’s offer to appear. Know the Truth had a presentation scheduled at South High School in Minneapolis next month. The school canceled the appearance after tightening the restrictions on outside groups that speak at the school, a concerned parent told the Minnesota Independent.

One thing is clear. The pressure to keep a positive public image is important to MNTC at this time. As the group’s Web site acknowledges, MNTC invested money in Fidelis Foundation, an institution created by Christian philanthropist Tom Petters, who is now under investigation for organizing a Ponzi scheme and defrauding investors such as the Fidelis Foundation. MNTC lost a lot of money and Klobuchar’s proposed earmark will certainly help ease the burden a little. What else could explain sending form letters to every media outlet that runs an article critical of the organization?

Correction: The article previously read, “According to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s Web site, the senator is requesting (PDF) an additional $500,000 this year — a sum that would more than double the program’s budget.”

The document on Klobuchar’s site is for fiscal year 2009, although the document itself does not indicate as such. She requested the same earmark as Ramstad. Additional money is not being requested for FY2010.