Denise Woodbury Weighs in on Pinto Study

[ZenAgent]

Extracts from the Comptroller audit of the Tennessee Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities, December 1998:


                            However, this registry does not comply with state law, which requires that the Department of Health establish an abuse registry containing the names of anyone found to have abused or intentionally neglected elderly or vulnerable individuals. But even if the registry listed all abusers, certified nursing homes are the only health care facilities required to check the registry before hiring, and no facilities are required to act on the information they find there. Furthermore, no facilities are required to periodically re-check the registry after hiring to ensure employees have not been placed on the registry after being hired. Finally, there is no national abuse registry, and little sharing of abuse registry data among states, to help ensure abusers do not simply move to another state and begin working with vulnerable persons again (page 22).[/i][/color]

It looks like the Board is scared of using the word "child".

[ZenAgent]

This is interesting, it shows a "willful disregard" on the part of the TN Health Dept to follow the directives of the Board:

No Central Database for Tracking Facility Surveys*

The lack of central databases to track facility surveys and complaints was discussed in the 1996 Sunset Audit of the board. Since that audit, the division has developed and put into use a central database for tracking complaints, but no such database exists to track facility surveys (page 25).

* This issue was also discussed in the 1996 performance audit of the board.
¨ This issue was also discussed in the 1992 performance audit of the board.[/color]

OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS

The audit also discusses the following issues that may affect the operations of the Division of Health Care Facilities, the Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities, and the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Tennessee: variations in numbers of enforcement actions and complaints among the division’s three regions and among Tennessee and other states; waivers of board rules; the lack of jurisdiction over unlicensed facilities and certain types of facilities; conflict-of-interest issues; communication between state long-term care ombudsmen and the Division of Health Care Facilities; the regulation of methadone clinics in Tennessee; and the new federal minimum data set requirements (page 5).

ISSUES FOR LEGISLATIVE CONSIDERATION

The General Assembly may wish to consider legislation (1) authorizing the Department of Health to enter and investigate unlicensed facilities in the state; (2) requiring emergency care walk-in clinics and dialysis clinics to obtain a license before operating; and (3) allowing the department to impose civil penalties against deficient facilities of all types, not just nursing homes, in order to encourage compliance with regulations and the law. The General Assembly may also wish to reassess those portions of the statute that require the state to prove “willfulâ€

[ZenAgent]

The Abuse Registry was implemented in 2002, but the 2003 audit exposed more incompetence and deceit from The Division of TN Heath Dep't and the facilities.

http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/rep ... a02082.pdf

THE ABUSE REGISTRY HAS BEEN IMPROVED, BUT WEAKNESSES STILL EXIST

he December 1998 performance audit of the board identified several weaknesses in the state’s abuse registry. Since that time, the registry has been improved by expanding its scope. A few weaknesses remain, however.

The 1998 audit found that the abuse registry did not comply with state law because instead of listing the names of anyone found to have abused or intentionally neglected elderly or vulnerable individuals, it only listed the names of certified nurse aides. Now, however, Tennessee’s Abuse Registry lists the names of all individuals who have been found to have abused or intentionally neglected elderly or vulnerable individuals, in accordance with both state 4 and federal regulations. As of June 6, 2003, the Abuse Registry listed 861 individuals. The chart below illustrates the various professions now listed on the registry.

Profession Number on Abuse Registry

Nurse Aide 639
Unknown 79
Developmental Technician 36
Nurse Technician 22
Licensed Practical Nurse 16
Housekeeper 14
Residential Technician 13
Nursing Home Employee 12
Community Living Specialist 7
Companion 7
Janitor 3
Locational Trainer 3
Psychiatric Technician 3
Registered Nurse 3
Community Living Assistant 1
Group Home Employee 1
Maid 1
Orderly 1

Total 861[/list]

The 1998 audit also reported that certified nursing homes were the only health care facilities required to check the abuse registry before hiring an individual to provide care to vulnerable persons. Legislation passed in 1999 corrected this problem by expanding the
requirement to all facilities licensed by the board. According to Division of Health Care Facilities personnel, however, the division’s surveyors are not required, as part of a facility’s annual survey, to check personnel records for evidence of abuse registry matching. Therefore, the division has no way of knowing if facilities are complying with the new legislation. The weaknesses described in the 1998 audit regarding the sharing of abuse registry information among states appear to have changed little. According to division staff, there is still no national abuse registry, and there is little sharing of abuse registry data among states. As a result, an individual found to have abused in one state could move to another state and continue working with elderly or vulnerable individuals. The ability to share information with other states would be especially beneficial in Tennessee, where we are within easy driving distance of eight states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia). For example, a facility located in Clarksville, Tennessee, could check to see if a potential employee had a substantiated case of abuse on record in Kentucky as well as in Tennessee.[/i]

[Deborah]

Lon has now labeled Miller's efforts as "Drama"
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... 833#289833

Wouldn't you love to have watched Lon give testimony and be shred to pieces. What's his worry? That he, as an Ed Con will also be regulated when it's all done? That he might actually have to divulge what he knows about programs he refers to?

[ZenAgent]

Lon has now labeled Miller's efforts as "Drama"
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... 833#289833

Wouldn't you love to have watched Lon give testimony and be shred to pieces. What's his worry? That he, as an Ed Con will also be regulated when it's all done? That he might actually have to divulge what he knows about programs he refers to?

He's worried he won't have any programs to sell kids into.

[hanzomon4]

Honzomon4 wrote:

You're the one that through out the public sector number 2,500 in 5 years(AP article). That's compared to 1619 in just one year(The GAO hearing on programs) with a much smaller population.

No, 2,500 kids were sexually abused in the last 5 years.  Your 1,619 number is all abuses (sexual abuse would be a subset of that number).

Like the Guest said the Public schools are monitored by many gov agencies allowing for more accurate numbers. Private programs have no such monitoring so we have to rely on self reporting from people that admit to wanting to "fly under the radar". Oh and no we don't want orgs like Natsap to continue protecting abusive programs like these teacher trade orgs have protected bad teachers. That's why the beat down Natsap got at the GAO hearings was so damn good.

We do want to force private programs to provide data on instances of fraud, neglect, abuse, and deaths among other bits of reporting data. How is that a bad thing?

Anyway back on topic.......

[TheWho]

Like the Guest said the Public schools are monitored by many gov agencies allowing for more accurate numbers.

And the numbers are a good thing, I agree, but it is not helping the kids.  I would have liked to see NATSAP step up and provide data or monitor the programs more closely.  Maybe this is what they need to get their ass in gear (or put them out of business) and let someone else step in, a more independent body of people.

We do want to force private programs to provide data on instances of fraud, neglect, abuse, and deaths among other bits of reporting data. How is that a bad thing?

I believe we all want this… I think we may disagree on the proper reporting method or vehicle.  I have been back and forth (flip flop) on the issue of regulation and I presently don’t see any value in it, except maybe as a means to collect information.  Besides that it only serves to increase the size of the government… there is no evidence that kids have benefitted from it in the public school system.



...

[hanzomon4]

Bump

[Anonymous]

I was in Challenger when Kristen died. No one will ever know how bad it really was.  I still can't believe I was in Utah.  At that I hate the whole fucking state.  To think that the piece of shit got away with everything makes me sick.  I had not thought about Challenger for many years i have no idea what made me look it up but i truly feel sick from everything I have read.  We must have the most ignorent fucking goverment in the world.  I truly can't believe it.  It is impossible to monitor a program like Challenger.  I remember thinking I was going to die.  It got to the point that I would pray not to wake up.  The hardest thing for me was seeing the cruelty and abuse.  I still can't believe they got away with everything.  My parents had no idea of what was going on.  I could go on and on with things that I experienced and saw.  I stll can't believe they happened.  They manipulated everyone.  Fuck Mormons at that. I saw Steve one time and it was because 20/20 had showed up because of Kristens death.  That fucker was never around, I never saw a doctor, and the fat piece of shit Darrell that talked to your parens he never fucking saw me.  I saw him once the fat pice of shit could not get to where we were.  So you can all write about what ever opinions you have.  I think they are all bullshit.

[Anonymous]

maybe the goverment does know and systematically they have been closing this society down.... we are almost a police state now! keep em fat and on drugs prescritions only!...keep em glued to a tv so we can tell the dumb f#$%s what to think.... dont want anyone to go using their own mind or to think they even could if they wanted to..."look what happened in the 60's, can't have the youth standing up to the government like that ever again!!!!damn it!" said cheyney

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry for what you went through Marcia

[Anonymous]

the police are corrupt. My freind called 911 to report abuse. They did nothing- they just turned around, and left her there to suffer.

the torturers should go to prison, and  the police who let them get away with it

[psy]

You don't "know a whole lot about it?" Then why are you constantly trying to juggle and cook numbers on violence in public schools vs. RTC's, completely avoiding one of the key reasons why parents pay an RTC to store their kids? They think they're paying for a safe environment and licensed, responsible caregivers. The newspapers are rife with stories of death, rape and abuse taking place in programmes, quite often due to unqualified, unlicensed staff. Staff who's experience, educational backgrounds and licensures the programmes fraudulently misrepresent to parents.

Oh, I forgot, juggling and cooking numbers is your thing.

Seems you are still learning yourself. I presented raw sewage, no one was cooking the data that I was aware of or at least not totally...  Well maybe close.  Ok it's total bullshit.  The results just present the version of the truth my clients want to hear.  That’s why I'm long on stories and short on data.

Parents are paying for a safe environment and that is what they are getting*.  20,000 kids a year attend these schools and we have hundreds, if not thousands of people who post here who had bad experiences, with the majority of the information dating back 30 years (when the industry was much smaller.  In another 30 years, there will be floods of people "snapping out" as often it takes time to realize teh full effects of a traumatic experience, especially when you were told, adn perhaps believed it was necessary to help you)

Not sure which papers you read but many of the schools are proven safe havens by totally non-biased research we fund.  All the newspapers are rife with stories about the public schools (2,500 kids sexually abused by their teachers out of millions upon millions nationwide., who are licensed by the way, over the past 5 years).  You don’t see numbers like that in the private schools (but you see far worse in programs in all senses).  Most of the data isn't required to be recorded anyway so there is no real idea of exactly how many deaths have occurred (which is good for marketing ! and the kind of industry lack-of-regulation we favor!).

*"safe" defined as "stripped of individuality, traumatized by or verbal gang-rape (sometimes literal) but still techincally alive...  most of the time."

...

[red lion]

Ah yes, psy - I always need to *translate* too - whenever the tools feel inlcined to open their yaps and babble. It's sometimes hard for the uninitiated to read through the rhetoric and true meaning.

Under the thin veneer and "civil" postings of wanting to "help troubled kids" is a sadistic streak aimed at punishing those who don't agree and those who speak out.

Invariably, they are always exposed for who and what they stand for - financial gain over kids welfare, abuse over help.

It's simple  - it's just a pity program tools continue to natter on as if everyone did not already know the truth about these programs.

I guess they are "running scared" ( :rofl: ) because it will have a begative on their bottom line (& in the TheWho's case the "bottom" is metaphorical as well pragmatic - the "bottom" line is always important to NAMBLA members......)


 :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:

[Anonymous]

YOU MAKE ME SO PROUD.

IF I HAD TEAR DUCTS, I WOULD USE THEM.