PA: Residential Abuse and Neglect: The Death of Brian Nevins

By Amy Caraballo, AWN Contributing Writer

http://www.autismwomensnetwork.org/article/residential-abuse-and-neglect

For years we have been told to not lock our pets in our cars even in cool weather. Public service announcements have flooded the media warning of the dangers that quickly arise causing heatstroke and suffocation.

• [1] It takes only minutes for a pet left in a vehicle on a warm day to succumb to heatstroke and suffocation. Most people don't realize how hot it can get in a parked car on a balmy day. However, on a 78 degree day, temperatures in a car parked in the shade can exceed 90 degrees -- and hit a scorching 160 degrees if parked in the sun!

But on July 24, 2010 a residential treatment facility in Eastern Pennsylvania left a 20 year old Autistic boy locked in a sweltering hot van parked in the facility's own parking lot for more than five hours in 97 degree weather. Brian Nevins' lifeless body was found in the van only after a staff nurse could not find him to administer medications.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that after an outing to Sesame Place in Langhorne PA, a Woods Services counselor dropped off a colleague and two of his clients on campus. She then drove a short distance to adjoining homes where her two clients lived. Only one of her two clients was taken into the facility. Brian Nevins was left in a back passenger seat with locked doors that could only be opened from outside. According to the Inquirer, the unnamed counselor returned to work and finished her shift, clocking out and leaving a few hours later.

While the unnamed counselor, who has been suspended, appears to be the primary focus of the investigation, many questions come to mind regarding the entire facility's treatment of residents. In November, a 17-year-old Woods resident died when he was struck by cars after falling from a highway overpass. The Bucks County Coroner's Office ruled that death accidental.

For the full article, please follow the link:

http://www.autismwomensnetwork.org/article/residential-abuse-and-neglect

TX: State Abuse - Despite reforms, abuse in state institutions remains high.

Excerpt from The Texas Observer:

http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/state-abuse#txlege

April 19, 2010

By Dave Mann

Despite reforms by state lawmakers, abuse and neglect of Texans with mental retardation in state-run institutions has increased the past three years, according to anObserver analysis of state data. Reforms enacted in response to a high-profile abuse scandal have left the facilities with fewer residents and more staff, yet confirmed allegations of abuse rose 57 percent between 2007 and 2009. However, the number of abuse cases has dropped slightly so far in 2010, indicating that perhaps the latest reforms are having some effect.

For the past four years, Texas’ 13 sprawling, state-run institutions for the mentally retarded—formerly known as State Schools and which the Legislature recently renamed State Supported Living Centers—have been the source of horrific tales of abuse. Since 2005, investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and numerous media outlets, including the Observer (see “Systemic Neglect,” May 1, 2008), have documented hundreds of instances in which Texans with mental retardation were beaten, neglected and, in some instances, killed by the staff charged with caring for them. In the most famous incident, workers at the Corpus Christi State School recorded a “fight club” video in which mentally disabled residents were forced to beat each other.

The abuse scandal was rooted in years of under-funding by the Legislature. Low pay and astronomical staff turnover, which ran as high as 70 percent in some facilities, led the institutions to hire low-grade employees—and in a few instances convicted felons—who never should have been caring for vulnerable, and often volatile, residents.

Despite reforms passed in the past two legislative sessions—including a 12-percent funding increase and nearly 3,000 additional caregivers—the number of abuse and neglect cases remains high.

Confirmed cases of abuse in State Supported Living Centers rose 57 percent between 2007 and 2009, according to an Observer analysis of state data, from 458 incidents in 2007 to 719 last year.

In the first six months of fiscal year 2010, which began in September, confirmed cases of abuse and neglect have dipped by 19 percent. State Supported Living Centers are on pace to report 580 cases of abuse in 2010, which while lower than 2007’s peak, is still historically high.

For the full article, please click on the following link: http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/state-abuse#txlege

MA: Lexington Public Schools to ease records release

By Emily Costello/Staff Writer

Thu Dec 10, 2009, 06:18 AM EST

http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/news/x187995295/Lexington-Public-Schools-to-ease-records-release

BURLINGTON - Lexington Public Schools have re-examined how they treat records related to child abuse or neglect, after a couple brought pressure on the school district for keeping some of their son’s records from them.

In April, the school district filed a report with the state’s Department of Children and Families about Jean and Michael Morrisey’s son, who was in the eighth grade at the time. The state’s mandated reporter statute requires school officials to file such reports when they have concerns about abuse or neglect.

The state agency “screened out” the report, meaning it chose not to pursue a detailed investigation.

The Morriseys requested to see the records filed by the school, including the notes compiled by a child protection team made up of school administrators and staff members, and were repeatedly turned down by the district.

Lexington Superintendent Paul Ash said that although student records are always accessible to parents in the school system, the requirement to release the mandated reporter records was less clear-cut.

The district appealed to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for a recommendation in the matter. It recommended that the records be released once the child protection agency concludes an investigation or decides not to investigate.

Ash said this week he felt the DESE recommendation was well reasoned and that he has since turned all of the Morriseys’ son’s records over to his father. He said the district would comply with similar requests from other parents, if any came forward.

Michael Morrisey referred questions about the case to Mary Jean, founder of Children First Advocacy in Leominster, who helped the family during their dealings with Lexington Public Schools.

Jean alleges that the school filed paperwork with the state Department of Children and Families to create a “reversal of positions” — similar to filing a counter lawsuit.

NY: Officials report record number of child abuse cases

BY MICHAEL AMON michael.amon@newsday.com
February 12, 2009
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-licps116032429feb12,0,4175893.story

A record number of child abuse and neglect cases were reported on Long Island and across New York state last year, child welfare officials said yesterday.

Child Protective Services conducted 9 percent more probes last year in Nassau, up to 7,193 from 6,621 in 2007, and 8 percent more in Suffolk, up to 9,538 from 8,847 in 2007. Statewide, abuse and neglect reports rose 7 percent, officials said.

Child welfare officials disagreed on what drove the spike. Nassau blamed the recession, Suffolk cited a statute that broadened who is required by law to report abuse, and the state said the flood of calls came mostly from a series of high-profile child deaths - including, in Nassau, a mother, Leatrice Brewer, who killed her three children.

Most officials cautioned the numbers did not necessarily mean more or worse child abuse took place last year but the additional cases means much more work for 150 caseworkers in Nassau and Suffolk.

"It's put a lot of stress on the child welfare system," said Laura Velez, deputy commissioner for child welfare and community services of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

The percentage of allegations where investigators found credible evidence of child abuse or neglect in both counties remained roughly the same from 2007 to 2008 - 27 percent in Nassau and 31 percent in Suffolk.

Nassau and Suffolk police said there were not more criminal cases of abuse last year.

Child-welfare experts said caseworkers with high workloads can miss signs of abuse and neglect. Without mentioning workloads, a state report released this week on the Brewer case said the woman's parenting problems were repeatedly given too low a priority by caseworkers.

"Now, the system is far more overloaded, so the chances of the same thing happening again are greater than ever," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform in Alexandria, Va., referring to the Brewer case.

Theo Liebmann, director of the Child Advocacy Center at Hofstra University Law School, said heavy workloads have taken a toll on workers dealing with children he represents. "What you mostly see are caseworkers who are so overwhelmed that they can't follow up on referrals they give to families," Liebmann said.

Long Island agencies say they've hired new caseworkers - about 30 in Nassau and three in Suffolk - and shifted around staff to cope with the spike.

"If way down the road we still see massive increases in our numbers, we may have to re-evaluate our staffing patterns. Right now we're managing," said John Imhof, commissioner of the Nassau Department of Social Services.

Suffolk and Nassau officials said caseloads were between 15 and 18 per caseworker per month. The state recommends an average of 12 to 15 a month. Union officials say county numbers don't reflect the workload of the busiest workers who have more than 30 cases a month.

Neglect and abuse tips can be called into a state hotline by anyone but most come from professionals such as social workers and police who are mandated by state law to report abuse and neglect. Imhof said his caseworkers were seeing more children abused by parents out of work, a "warning sign" of the recession's effects.

"The worsening economy is placing great stress on the county's families," Imhof said.

To Suffolk officials, the deluge of reports was actually prompted by an Oct. 1, 2007, state law change requiring teachers, nurses and doctors to personally report suspected abuse or neglect. Previously, they had to tell their institution's social worker.

Dennis Nowak, a Suffolk Department of Social Services spokesman, said reports from school and medical personnel accounted for the county's increase, shooting up 30.7 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Those reports also tend to be more reliable than calls from neighbors and family because they are trained to look for signs of abuse, Nowak said.

Velez said the spike in calls statewide last year was due to counties with high-profile child deaths. "The public tends to have a heightened awareness when people see these issues talked about in the media."

INCREASE IN REPORTS

Social services officials said three factors are driving a big increase in reports of abuse and neglect to the state's child abuse hotline:

THE RECESSION. Tough times are causing more stress in families across Long Island.

PUBLICITY. Increased public awareness of abuse and neglect after the Leatrice Brewer murder case.

LEGISLATION. A state law that went into effect last year increasing the number of people who are required by statute to report abuse or neglect.

To report child abuse, call the state Office of Children and Family Services hotline, 800-342-3720.

Number of reports of abuse or neglect investigated by Child Protective Services in 2008, compared to 2007:

NASSAU
Up 9%, to 7,193

SUFFOLK
Up 8%, to 8,847

Washington D.C.: House Education and Labor Committee will consider legislation on Wednesday

From congressman miller's website:

Home » Press Releases » Miller, McCarthy Reintroduce Legislation to Stop Child Abuse in Teen Residential Programs

http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/02/miller-mccarthy-reintroduce-le.shtml
Miller, McCarthy Reintroduce Legislation to Stop Child Abuse in Teen Residential Programs

February 9, 2009 2:58 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) today reintroduced legislation to protect teenagers attending residential treatment programs from physical, mental and sexual abuse and to prevent deceptive marketing practices by operators of private residential programs for teens. The lawmakers also announced that the House Education and Labor Committee will mark up the legislation on Wednesday.

Investigations conducted by the Government Accountability Office during the 110th Congress at the lawmakers’ request have uncovered thousands of cases and allegations of child abuse and neglect since the early 1990’s at teen residential programs, including therapeutic boarding schools, boot camps, wilderness programs and behavior modification facilities. Currently, these programs are governed only by a weak patchwork of state and federal standards. A separate GAO report, also conducted last year at the committee’s request, found major gaps in the licensing and oversight of residential programs – some of which are not covered by any state licensing standards at all.

In addition, the GAO’s investigation revealed that many teen residential treatment programs have been using deceptive marketing practices and questionable tactics to lure vulnerable parents desperate to find help for their children.

“For far too long, these abuses, neglect and mistreatment of children – some of the most horrific violations of trust imaginable – have been allowed to go on completely unchecked,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Parents deserve every assurance that their children will be safe and protected when attending a program intended to help improve their lives.”

"It is no doubt a painful and difficult decision for parents to send their children to residential treatment facilities and the last thing they should have to worry about is the possibility of unknowingly putting their kids in harms way,” said McCarthy, chairwoman of the Healthy Families and Communities subcommittee. “It is crucial that federal standards are set in place to prevent the abuse, neglect and deceptive marking practices that have devastated so many children and families.”

To address these problems, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009, would:

• Establish, for the first time, minimum federal standards for preventing child abuse and neglect at teen residential programs. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to inspect all programs around the country every two years and to issue civil penalties against programs that violate the new standards. The bill also calls for states, within three years, to take on the role of setting and enforcing standards for both private and public youth residential programs.
• Strengthen protections for children attending these programs. The bill would require programs to provide children with adequate food, water, medical care and rest.
• Ensure that programs are transparent and provide parents with information about teen residential programs that enable them to make safe choices for their teenagers. The legislation would create a toll-free national hotline for individuals to report cases of abuse and a website with information about substantiated cases of abuse at residential programs, including programs locations, owners, and history of violations and child fatalities. Programs would also be required to inform parents of their staff members’ qualifications, roles and responsibilities.

The House passed similar legislation last June by a bipartisan vote of 318 to 103, with the support of the American Association of Children’s Residential Centers, American Bar Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Defense Fund, Easter Seals, Mental Health America, the National Child Abuse Coalition and many other organizations.

For more information on this legislation, click here.

For more information on the committee’s past hearings on these abuses, at which GAO released its reports, click here.

TX: Perry makes schools for mentally disabled priority

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press
Feb. 3, 2009, 8:46PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6245331.html

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday declared protecting residents of Texas institutions for the mentally disabled an emergency issue for lawmakers, a move that comes after a federal report found negligent and abusive care and conditions that contributed to dozens of deaths.

The state has "a duty to ensure the safety" of those living in those facilities, Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, working with Perry's office, filed a bill that would create a governor-appointed ombudsman to investigate injuries and deaths and oversee the institutions known as state schools.

Other proposed changes include better background checks for staff, audits of the schools twice a year and other safety measures.

The bill does not call for a moratorium on enrollment or closing schools that some advocates for the disabled have demanded.

Texas houses nearly 5,000 residents in 13 state schools. Critics of the system say the state is stuck in an era when the mentally disabled were hidden away in large, impersonal facilities far from relatives and communities.

Nelson said while lawmakers will debate those issues, she intentionally left them out of the bill to help pass these changes.

"There are people who feel we should eliminate them, there are people who strongly believe they should continue to exist," Nelson said. "Emotions fly on that issue. We'll look at all that."

A Justice Department report released in December found at least 53 patients in Texas' large residential facilities died in 2007 from preventable conditions that were often the result of lapses in care.

It concluded that the Texas facilities violate residents' rights and called the number of injuries to patients "disturbingly high."

The report also noted hundreds of state investigations of allegations of abuse and mistreatment of residents, the danger of more than half of state facilities losing Medicaid funding because of care and safety problems and more than 800 workers fired or suspended for mistreating patients since 2004.

"We must never tolerate the abuse or neglect of our most vulnerable citizens," Nelson said. "These special Texans deserve to be protected and treated with dignity and respect."

Other changes proposed by Perry's office and Nelson's bill include moving residents charged with crimes to a special facility away from the rest of the population, creation of an abuse-and-neglect hotline and surveillance cameras in common areas.

Nelson also said the state should spend more on salaries and training for institution workers.

Some of the changes are modeled after sweeping reform made in the state juvenile prison system in 2007 when the Texas Youth Commission was wracked by allegations of staff abuse of inmates and a coverup.

Perry's chief of staff Jay Kimbrough, who was a central figure in the TYC reforms, is now tackling the state schools issue for the governor's office.

Susan Payne of College Station is the vice president of the Parent Association for the Retarded of Texas and a defender of keeping the state schools open. Payne's 47-year-old sister lives in the Denton school.

Payne applauded some of the proposed changes, saying they will help ensure residents get quality care.

"There will be a need for these state schools for the severely and profoundly retarded. That's just common sense," Payne said.

Richard LaVallo, interim legal director for Advocacy Inc., which has called for a moratorium on admissions, said his group supports the changes in the bill.

But Advocacy Inc. also wants a ban on use of mechanical restraints and straight jackets and restrictions on the use of psychiatric drugs on residents.

It also wants advocacy groups to be allowed better access to state schools to act as watchdogs.

"The more open and transparent they are could help enhance safety in those facilities," LaVallo said.

TX: Troubled state schools under information blackout

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6246139.html

AUSTIN — The agency in charge of Texas institutions for the mentally disabled has imposed a near blackout on information about the troubled facilities, which Gov. Rick Perry this week declared an emergency issue for lawmakers.

Facing federal pressure to correct widespread abuse and neglect in the facilities known as state schools, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services has quashed more than a dozen requests for information in the past two years, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.

The agency clamped down in response to a Justice Department investigation that found at least 53 state schools residents died in 2007 from preventable conditions that were often the result of lapses in care.

Open records requests ranged from statistics on abuse and neglect to staffing vacancies. A review of Texas attorney general's opinions showed DADS invoked the threat of possible litigation from the Justice Department in order to withhold information, the newspaper reported.

"People have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent, as well as how our most vulnerable citizens are being treated," said Jeff Garrison-Tate, president of the group Community Now! that advocates for the mentally disabled.

On Tuesday, Perry's office said the state has "a duty to ensure the safety" of those living in those facilities.

DADS releases reports that assess how well facilities follow a wide sweep of regulatory rules. Cecilia Federov, an agency spokeswoman, said family members can use those reports and other tools to gauge the risk of state schools.

For example, the agency posts online lists of state regulations that facilities have violated in recent years. But the Web site doesn't include any specifics about the allegations or incidents the agency investigated.

Government agencies must publicly disclose information after giving it to the opposing party in the anticipated litigation. But agencies aren't requested to let the person who requested the information know what happens.

Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said he thinks there is limited potential for state agencies to abuse the litigation exception because the records can only be withheld temporarily.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, working with Perry's office, has filed a bill that would create a governor-appointed ombudsman to investigate injuries and deaths and oversee the institutions known as state schools.