Critics say the Harris County Children's Assessment Center, widely hailed for innovative work in streamlining child sex abuse cases through the legal system and reducing trauma for victims and families, benefits from tax money without accepting restrictions that come with it. County Attorney Michael P. Fleming's office is investigating allegations by the state's top child welfare official that Children's Assessment Center Director Ellen Cokinos inflated the number of children served last year.
Audits also are possible.
Children's Assessment Center Foundation officials dispute the debt, calling it a misunderstanding over what it and taxpayers pay for at the center. Records show Cokinos has failed to get proper approval for travel expenditures since 1995. Even trips not billed to the public were required to be cleared with Commissioners Court and booked through the county. Cokinos said she was unaware of the policy until two weeks ago. Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, a Cokinos supporter, said he wasn't concerned by her past practices.