Tag Archives: Tim Feeney

Feeney Charade Continues

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Timothy J. Feeney continues to present himself to the world as Tim Feeney PhD when his “degree” is not recognized as valid anywhere in these United States. Mr. Feeney himself has admitted his degree is not recognized as valid in the United States. But this hasn’t stopped him from continuing to present himself to survivors of brain injuries and schools as having a doctorate. His willingness and the willingness of those who know of the bogus degree and enable its use shows a hideous amount of disrespect for those who deserve honest and honorable health care services, it shows no respect for the thousands who’ve worked mightily to get real doctorates.

The following is an article from the Life Growth Blog published in February 2009. Mr. Feeney’s contract with the state expired the 31st of last year. It is wrenching to think that some of Mr. Feeney’s targeted customers are school children. There is a new website that is worrisome.

“Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TO DEGREE OR NOT TO DEGREE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

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To his credit, Timothy J. Feeney, a contract employee with the New York State Department of Health for nearly 15 years, recently acknowledged that his PhD was issued by a college that is not accredited in the United States.


In an unsolicited February 8 e-mail to readers of this blog, Mr. Feeney said he received his PhD from Greenwich University which, he writes, “functioned as an unaccredited institution in the US, moved it’s physical location to Australia, received legal accreditation in Australia for a two year period – period of time that my doctorate was conferred – and then lost that accreditation and closed) and no longer exists.”

Mr. Feeney appears to be partly correct. The Greenwich University Act of 1998 allowed Greenwich to function on Norfolk Island as a recognized university. However, according to a web-alert issued by the Australian Government, degrees issued by Greenwich were never recognized as valid on the Australian mainland and they have never been accredited anywhere in the United States.

According to an e-mail from Douglass Capogrossi, past president of Greenwich University and current president of Hawaii-based Akamai University (also non-accredited), Mr. Feeney is correct that his doctorate was issued when the Greenwich University Act of 1998 was in effect.

According to Mr. Capogrossi, Mr. Feeney’s doctorate was issued on June 14, 1999 and his masters degree, also from Greenwich, was issued on August 27, 1993, before Greenwich moved to Australia and five years before the Greenwich University Act when, according to Mr. Feeney’s e-mail, Greenwich was operating as a non-accredited school in the United States.
Greenwich University was located in California and Hawaii in the 1990s before relocating to Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia. It closed in 2003.

In his e-mail Mr. Feeney expressed concern that this writer was or is about to call him a fraud or accuse him of fraud. As I said to him in a subsequent e-mail, I have no intention of doing either.
In his e-mail Mr. Feeney further says I have drawn a conclusion about the academic integrity of degrees issued by Greenwich and “based (my) opinion on the fact that (his) Masters and Doctorate have been conferred by Greenwich University, which he has, in separate emails to myself and others, characterized as a Diploma Mill.”

Rightly or wrongly, Greenwich University is on numerous diploma mill/non-accredited schools lists on the web. The State of Oregon has compiled a comprehensive list of non-accredited schools and Greenwich is listed. It is also present on a non-accredited school lists that can be located by visiting the website for the U.S. Department of Education.

http://www.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/index.html

As one who lives with a brain injury and one who advocates for all people with disabilities, it is true that I wrote Mr. Feeney e-mails asking him to clarify his education. He never responded to any of my requests. In fact, his e-mail to the readers of this blog represents the first time I have heard him acknowledge his doctorate was issued by Greenwich University.

Moreover, in his unsolicited e-mail to readers of this blog, Mr. Feeney says he is “very careful never to refer to myself as a psychologist.” However, his profile in his company website says (italics are mine) “Tim has worked in a variety of capacities in human services including: special education teacher, program director of a state program for individuals with autism, coordinator of educational services, coordinator of behavioral services, staff psychologist, consulting behavior specialist, and an Assistant Professor of Special Education.“

The issue for me is whether or not someone who has worked in the field of brain injury in New York State and a wide array of other localities has degrees that are recognize as valid by accrediting and regulating agencies.

However, according to Mr. Feeney, the New York State Department of Health is satisfied with his degrees and the NYDOH is fully aware that they were issued by a school that is not accredited in the United States.

In his February 8 e-mail he writes “I have been the Project Director for the NY State Neurobehavioral Resource Project for nearly 15 years, representing 3 distinct 5 year award periods. I have this job as the result of responding to a Request for Applications on three separate occasions. Each application required that I present my credentials for review. In each project award period I have been identified as the “key person” as a result of the DOH’s recognition of my experience and success as a clinician supporting individuals with brain injury and challenging behaviors. The Department of Health, the state office responsible for the Neurobehavioral Resource Project, is well aware of my educational history, the source of my degrees, and knew that I was undertaking graduate studies while working as the Project Director.”

I have offered more than once to sit down with Mr. Feeney and when he forwarded me the e-mail he sent to readers of this blog I again offered to sit down and talk with him. There has been no response.”

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Feeney Era Ends

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Timothy J. Feeney’s reign over the New York Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver has likely come to an end.

Sources say the New York State Department of Health has chosen not to seek proposals for the contract now held, for all intents and purposes, by Timothy J. Feeney. If correct, Mr. Feeney’s contractual relationship with the DOH, which made him the director of a project that was arguably the most powerful influence over the implementation of New York’s Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver, ended on September 30.

While the Feeney era may be over now, there is concern the DOH will send out requests for proposals and the company awarded the contract will turn around and hire Mr. Feeney. This advocate would urge the DOH to send out a request for proposals because Waiver Providers and those receiving services from these providers deserve a highly trained team of experts to turn to for support and guidance. However, this time I would urge the DOH to set a higher bar in its proposal request and make sure that those involved in the project are truly qualified and represent the spectrum of experience best equipped for the job: neuropsychologists, family members, survivors and so on.

For 15 years Mr. Feeney misrepresented his credentials to brain injury survivors, their families and waiver providers. He claimed he had a masters then a PHD  when, in fact, he had neither. In print publications and on the net he falsely refers to himself as Dr. Feeney or Timothy J. Feeney, PhD.  His “degrees” were issued by Greenwich University, a diploma mill that was located in Hawaii and California in the 1990s before moving its operation to Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia in 1998. Greenwich University, not to be confused with the prestigious University of Greenwich in England, graces numerous diploma mill lists on the net. It closed its doors in 2003.

However, even though his false credentials have been thoroughly exposed and documented, it appears shame and conscience have little impact in Mr. Feeney’s decision making. Last week I gave a speech for St. Lawrence NYSARC in Canton, New York (NYSARC, by the way, is one of the shining stars in healthcare from where I sit). My speech was in the morning. Mr. Feeney gave a speech that afternoon. When I opened the program I saw it;  he was listed as Timothy J. Feeney PhD and, in several places was referenced as Dr. Feeney. Some people never learn.

Last week I received two letters pertaining to this situation. One came from the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. They have referred the Feeney matter to Dr. Richard Daines, the New York State Health Commissioner, for investigation. The second was from New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office. They too are carefully considering the matter.

And the beat goes on.

NY DOH Official Says Bogus Degrees Irrelevant

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A New York State Department of Health official this week said it’s irrelevant that one of the department’s high-ranking contract employees misrepresents his credentials to the public he is being paid to serve.

When asked why a September 16 letter to this advocate did not address the fact Timothy J. Feeney continues to refer to himself as Dr. Feeney or Timothy J. Feeney PhD when he is neither, the DOH’s Lydia Kosinski said: “It’s irrelevant. People can call themselves reverend, honorable, the divine Miss M, the point is what he does.”

Kosinski said the contract does not require the director of the Neurobehavioral Resource Project (NRP)  to have a PhD or Masters degree, a disturbing fact in and of itself. Asked about the fact Mr. Feeney’s continues to present himself to the public as Dr. Feeney or Timothy J. Feeney PhD, Ms. Kosinski said, “He signs his name Mr. Feeney when he communicates with us,” and admission of sorts that the DOH know only too well the kind of “game” Feeney is playing.

For 15 years now Feeney has headed up the NRP for New York State’s Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver. Several million in state tax dollars have funded the project The NRP is arguably the most powerful influence over the TBI Waiver, a Medicaid program designed to provide services to brain injury survivors across the state. Mr. Feeney’s contract expires September 30 and the question is, will it be renewed, directly or by awarding it a company that then hands the reigns back to Mr. Feeney.

According to the September 16 letter, the current contract is held by the Southern Tier Independent Living Center (STIC) in Binghamton and they handed the reigns to Mr. Feeney. Mr. Feeney’s resume says he received his masters and doctorate from a now defunct diploma mill called Greenwich University that operated in Hawaii and California in the 1990s before moving to Norfolk Island of the coast of Australia in 1998. Greenwich closed its doors in 2003. Degrees issued by Greenwich are not recognized as valid anywhere in the world.

Calls to Deputy Commissioner Mark Kissinger’s office and State Health Care Commissioner Richard Daines’ office have not been returned.

 

Paterson Says Equal Rights Too Expensive

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New York Governor David Paterson this week put a value on equal rights – it’s too expensive.

With the slash of his hard-hearted veto pen,  Patterson killed bills that would have required polling places to meet federal accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities within six months, another that would have protected people with disabilities from missing out on services from state and local governments, and another that would have made it a felony for caregivers to endanger the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person. On reflection, his vetoes represent the very kind of felonies the latter bill sought to address.

For  15 years now Timothy J. Feeney has headed up the Neurobehavioral Resource Project for New York State’s Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver. The NRB is arguably the most powerful influence over the TBI Waiver, a Medicaid program designed to provide services to brain injury survivors across the state.  What’s the problem? Feeney runs around the state, country and world claiming he is Dr. Timothy Feeney or Timothy Feeney PhD when he is neither. His masters and PhD were obtained through a now defunct diploma mill called Greenwich University. It seems the DOH accurately reflects the mindset of its governor. 

This is the second time this week components of the New York State Government have displayed despicable and unconscionable behavior. In actions that reek of narcissism, arrogance and greed, the New State’s  Department of Health issued a letter blatantly ignoring the fact  a state contract employee who has headed up a multi-million dollar project over the past 15 years isn’t who he says he is, and now the governor decides equal rights cost too much.

People like Paterson and Feeney need to remember a few things; the willpower of the human spirit and the innate drive for independence and equality is far greater and far more powerful than any one person, and the damage they have done and continue to do is temporary.

We shall overcome. We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again.

A NY State Department of Health Cover-up?

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A September 16th letter from the New York State Department of Health might lead some to think the DOH has no problem awarding several million dollars to a neurobehavioral project headed by a man who continues to misrepresent his credentials to those he serves. Timothy J. Feeney continues to represent himself as  Dr. Timothy J. Feeney or Timothy J. Feeney PhD when he is no more a doctor than Felix the Cat is.

Feeney presents himself to brain injury survivors and their families as having a PhD and master’s degrees when he doesn’t. He did get bogus degrees from a diploma mill located in Hawaii and California in the 1990s before moving its operation to Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia in 1998. Greenwich University, not to be confused with the prestigious University of Greenwich in England, was a non-accredited diploma mill that graces numerous diploma mill lists on the net. It closed its doors in 2003.

Despite the fact Feeney himself says the DOH new all along about his degrees, he has, for nearly 15 years now,  headed up the Neurobehavioral Resource Project for New York State’s Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver. The NRB is arguably the most powerful influence over the TBI Waiver, a Medicaid program designed to provide services to brain injury survivors across the state.   While there is no argument that the TBI Waiver is needed because it affords many with brain injuries the chance to live in the community, there is also no argument that those who live with brain injuries, their loved ones, and the hard working companies that provide waiver services,  have a right to expect people to be who they say they are.

Letters to DOH employee Patricia Greene-Gumson along with a second letter to Deputy DOH Commissioner Mark Kissinger raising the issue of Feeney’s false claims and calling for an investigation not only into Feeney and his conduct but into who wrote the three contracts that don’t require the head of the project to have so much as a master’s degree. The two letters resulted in the September 16th one-page response from a Lydia Kosinski , Assistant Director for the Division of Home and Community Based Services. In her letter Kosinski says  the DOH was more concerned with work experience than college degrees when it chose the director of the NRP. While Feeney’s resume does not reveal much experience with brain injury in the first place, the question of his misrepresenting himself still lingers and was left untouched in the letter.

While I will try to hold to the belief that the DOH  is not the villain here, the Kosinski letter has begun to loosen my grasp.

One thing is for sure, if Feeney’s contract, which expires the 30th of this month, is renewed, there will be every reason to conclude that the DOH is more supportive of the disingenuous Feeney than it is of those us who live with brain injuries..

It is flat out tragic when you get the message that asking people to be who they say they are is asking too much.