Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Protecting Ontario seniors from abuse in nursing homes

Excerpt from The Star: (click for entire article)

Ontario has strong legislation to care for and protect 77,000 seniors in its nursing homes. Now here’s the bad news: it’s “not enough to eliminate abuse and neglect in all long-term care homes.”

Indeed, that finding comes from a task force created in the aftermath of a Star investigation into abuse in nursing homes, which uncovered the shocking rape of a 71-year-old woman.

The group’s 18 recommendations, released in a report last week, range from increasing the role of residents and families in the operation of nursing homes to hiring more staff. That Health Minister Deb Matthews did not jump up and commit to fund additional staff in Ontario’s 634 long-term care homes is little surprise. She is struggling to keep health expenditures down in the face of a $15-billion provincial deficit.

Our view: Get tougher on those who abuse disabled people

Excerpt from Utica OD: (click for entire article)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to better protect the near-million New Yorkers with disabilities and special needs under state-funded care should move ahead, and legislators need to make it a priority before the Albany session ends next month.

Cuomo, noting 10,000 abuse reports last year alone, recently proposed creating a new agency — the Justice Center for Protection of People with Special Needs — that would include an inspector general, prosecutor with subpoena powers, and a 24-hour hot line where the public could report allegations of abuse or neglect.

The ramped-up effort comes on the heels of a New York Times investigation last year that revealed numerous problems in the care provided people with developmental disabilities. Some died as a result of the abuse. The investigation also found that the employees responsible for the abuse were shifted from one site to another instead of being fired.

New Md. law aims to halt financial abuse of the elderly

Excerpt from The Baltimore Sun: (click for entire article)

Maryland banks and credit unions are likely to be among the first to notice that an elderly customer is being financially exploited by a con artist or an unscrupulous relative.

So it makes sense that these institutions take part in an effort to protect older Marylanders from being ripped off. Thanks to a new state law, they will.

Starting in October, banks and credit unions here will be required to report suspected financial exploitation of Marylanders age 65 and up. They must convey their suspicions within 24 hours by phone to Adult Protective Services — part of the state's Department of Human Resources — or law enforcement and must follow up in writing. Financial institutions that fail to do so will face a penalty of as much as $5,000.

Stop electric shocks on disabled students, ex-teacher's aide says

Excerpt from U.S. News: (click for entire article)

A former teacher’s aide who says he used electric shocks on teens with special needs to control behavior is demanding that state officials ban the practice at a Massachusetts school.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 228,000 people had joined an online campaign condemning the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Canton, Mass., for administering electric shock treatments to its students with developmental disabilities.

Greg Miller said he launched the petition drive on Change.org last week after a 2002 video surfaced showing a Rotenberg student being shocked 31 times.

California Board And Care Institutions: Reforms Come Slowly In Patient Abuse Cases

Excerpt from The Huffington Post: (click for entire article)

State officials working to upgrade patient abuse investigations at California's board-and-care institutions for the developmentally disabled aim to overhaul the in-house police force while also directing the most serious cases to outside agencies.

The first part - implementing new law enforcement policies and retraining the developmental center force, called the Office of Protective Services - is moving at a deliberate pace.

Joe Brann, the independent overseer of the in-house force and former Hayward police chief, said he is still considering how to address officers' and detectives' shortcomings. Retraining might not start for months.

Lawsuit accuses Detroit teacher of chaining special-needs student inside box

Excerpt from Detroit Free Press: (click for entire article)

A Detroit teacher is accused of chaining a nonverbal student inside a chest-high box as a form of corporal punishment that led to bruises and suffering.

The law firm of high-profile attorney Geoffrey Fieger filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court on Wednesday on behalf of Andrea Talton, mother of Ashley Speight, who was a 20-year-old special-education student at Drew Transition Center last fall. She cannot speak.

The lawsuit accuses teacher Candace Wilson of chaining Speight in the box Oct. 7, causing the student to panic and topple the box over on top of herself. The student sustained bruises, according to the lawsuit. The school's principal, Robert Avedisian, as well as the Detroit Public Schools are accused of gross negligence for allegedly allowing the box to be used on students.

Leake & Watts boy's death: 'I can't breathe,' boy shouts after staffers piled onto him, witness says

Excerpt from lohud.com: (click for entire article)

The 16-year-old boy who died Wednesday night shouted, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!” as eight staff members piled onto him during a violent confrontation on a basketball court at Leake & Watts residential treatment center, a witness told The Journal News/LoHud.com today.

Corey Foster was being ordered to leave the gym with other students when he took a shot that ricocheted off the basket into the head of one employee. Another worker then pushed Foster against a wall, and Foster “went for his leg,” said witness William Green, 18. That’s when the staffers converged and took Foster down, Green said.

After Foster said he couldn’t breathe, one staffer replied, “If you can’t breathe, you wouldn’t be talking.” That same person then punched Foster in the head, Green said, adding “I saw the fist connect.” Green, as he was being forced out, said he saw foam coming out of Foster’s mouth.

Dad releases audio of teachers allegedly bullying autistic son

Excerpt from MSN: (click for entire article)

Watch this powerful video of a dad describing how his 10-year-old, autistic son was bullied at school -- not by other students, but by aides and teachers. Suspicious about why Akian was acting out, Stuart Chaifetz wired up his son and recorded 6-1/2 hours of classroom audio. He describes what he heard as "disgusting and vile ... an absolute disrespect and bullying of my son." He says the recording includes adults calling Akian a "bastard" and telling him to "shut your mouth."

State seeks dismissal of abuse lawsuit

Excerpt from Burlington Free Press: (click for entire article)

A lawyer for Vermont told a judge Monday that a disability-rights group can’t sue the state over the alleged failings of its Adult Protective Services Division, because the people named as bringing suit haven’t suffered any injuries.

“There’s no allegation of specific harm to the plaintiffs,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Daloz told Judge Michael Kupersmith.

The state has filed a motion to dismiss a suit brought against the state by Vermont Legal Aid for the groups Disability Rights Vermont and the Community of Vermont Elders.

State Strengthens Rules, Training and Oversight to Protect Disabled Residents from Abuse

Excerpt from East County Magazine: (click for entire article)

The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) announced new measures last week that will improve safety and strengthen protections for residents of the state’s developmental centers. These measures include independent oversight by a nationally recognized law enforcement specialist, new protocols for first responders to the scenes of possible abuse, new rules for investigations and additional training requirements for DDS peace officers.

These measures include actions recommended by Disability Rights California (DRC), which conducted an independent review of the department’s effectiveness in responding to incidents of possible abuse. The new reforms and measures will be outlined at a legislative hearing today. 

“Our department has zero tolerance for abuse. Several serious events in the past made review and revision a high priority for this administration. Just over a year ago, I engaged a consortium of experts to improve law enforcement protocols and training for responding to and investigating incidents, especially those involving possible abuse. We are moving forward to immediately implement the consortium’s recommendations,” said DDS Director Terri Delgadillo.