Reform sought in teen homes
http://http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2473546Key lawmaker reverses stand on regulation
By Kirsten Stewart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Panguitch Republican Sen. Tom Hatch is calling for more oversight of Utah's thriving teen-help industry.
But his draft bill, which would give state regulators more leeway to crack down on unsafe group homes and some other live-in programs for troubled teenagers, is a near-mirror of legislation he actively opposed last year.
"I am not a big fan of regulation or the heavy hand of government," said Hatch, introducing his bill at a recent meeting of the Health and Human Services Committee. And that hasn't changed.
What has changed is the growing appetite in Hatch's district for reform after the brutal slaying of a group home counselor at the Maximum Skills Life Academy in Cedar City.
"It's a subject that caught the attention of our entire state," admits Hatch.
Anson Arnett, 31, was at work alone when two 17-year-old wards of the academy attacked him with a baseball bat and left him for dead. They were later arrested and charged.
Arnett's father, Perry Arnett, later told legislators there still is work to be done to prevent similar tragedies.
"I could talk to you about the loss that the family feels. But I prefer to talk about the loss that you should all feel," said Perry Arnett, noting that his son was a "bright, literate, self-disciplined and talented contributor to society."
Blaming his son's murder on Utah's laissez-faire attitude toward regulation of residential treatment facilities, Arnett told legislators, "If you value the culture that we live within, then value life. And if you value life, enact appropriate legislation with enough teeth to ensure that deaths to employees do not occur in the work place. That's all I can say. You know your duty . . . Do your duty, please."
Hatch said his bill "walks a fine line between balancing the need for protecting the public and not being over-regulatory."
Among other things, it gives state licensing the power to categorize residential treatment facilities according to the services they offer and the clients they serve and to impose appropriate health and safety rules.
"If someone is coming in for a minor behavioral problem, that's not the same as a sexual predator who is a repeat offender," said Hatch. The bill also requires the state to notify city and county officials when a treatment provider applies for a new license, so they can weigh in with possible concerns.
But Cedar City officials and others say the measure walks too fine a line.
Cedar City Councilman Raymond Green wants lawmakers to pay to hire more inspectors. About 20 licensers are now responsible for 1,300 group homes and 1,200 foster homes statewide.
He also wants periodic inspections imposed and employee background checks required, and a limit placed on the number of group homes that can be established in a particular region.
"We're quite concerned about the proliferation of group homes in our community," said Green.
But Hatch fears the cost of adding more inspectors could kill the bill.
Hatch has made other concessions in an effort to get his legislation past the regulation-shy Legislature: His legislation would not regulate private boarding schools that cater to wayward youth.
"This is a big business in the state of Utah," Hatch said. "It seems California has gotten so heavy-handed in regulation, that it's losing its schools to other Western states."
But Fraser Nelson, head of the Disability Law Center, argues boarding schools don't deserve special treatment under the law.
"These may be private schools, but they hold themselves up as treatment facilities," said Nelson.
A bill that would have permitted regulation of boarding schools and group homes mysteriously disappeared in the late shuffle of bills during the 2004 legislative session after the founder of a chain of controversial schools lobbied key lawmakers.
Robert Lichfield, founder of World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, dumped thousands of dollars into key Republican campaigns shortly after the session.
One of Lichfield's programs, Majestic Ranch, has been investigated three separate times for alleged abuse, resulting in one criminal charge and conviction.
"If there is a school with a record that ought to have some oversight, it's Majestic Ranch," said Sen. Chris Buttars who sponsored the bill last year to crack down on the teen-help industry.
The West Jordan Republican was criticized because he was head of Utah Boys Ranch, a licensed competitor of Majestic. Buttars has since retired but plans to push again this year for regulation of boarding schools.
"Oversight should be for everybody, not just because they call themselves a group home," Buttars said.
The Lichfields donated to Hatch's 2002 campaign. But he denies that influenced his decision to exclude boarding schools.
"I'm just philosophically opposed to general boarding schools being regulated," Hatch said. "Nobody is really happy with the bill. And generally from my experience, that's pretty good legislation. Everyone got a little of what they wanted and no one got everything they wanted."
