Two articles of investigative reporting that illustrate the same problem: those who seek care, support, and assistance for their own or someone else's disability; those rarely having resources to investigate, assess, and supervise; they cannot rely on either regulations, accreditation, licensing, or certifications to assure them of the safety, much less the quality, of a provider.
The outsourcing by locally or regionally run services to private, for profit, providers is often a way to circumvent a lack of resources for cash strapped districts. At the same time, while public funds are transferred to the private sphere, the same lack of resources often leads to a failure to ensure that the oversight and insight people would have had access to if services were provided by public providers, is transferred and extended to these private contractors.
"AdvoServ’s homes and tens of thousands of facilities like them were supposed to be an antidote to the ills of institutional care for society’s most vulnerable: children and adults with profound disabilities like severe autism. Tucked away in neighborhoods across the country, the homes are often a last resort for overwhelmed families and schools, as well as state officials who shuttered their public asylums over concerns about mistreatment.
But the sprawling system of privately run residential programs is quietly — and with few repercussions — amassing a record as grim as the institutions it replaced, a ProPublica investigation found.
Particularly haunting are the deaths of children in residential facilities, often far from their homes"
https://www.propublica.org/article/advoserv-profit-and-abuse-at-homes-for-the-profoundly-disabled
[A]ll states still struggle to provide the support that those with the most complex conditions need to remain in their homes. Families have little choice but to send their children to remote, for-profit facilities that receive scant oversight – unaware of their track records of abuse and fraud allegations.
“We do need a spotlight on these places and this trafficking of people,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. “There’s this crisscrossing (between states). This is what leads to, if not abuse, certainly neglect of these kids who have serious disabilities and need specialized services.”
In 2009, there were 32,909 Americans with developmental and intellectual disabilities living in public institutions across 41 states. As of 2012, another 56,303 lived in nursing homes and other large, private institutions.
Joan Beasley, a disabilities expert with the University of New Hampshire, said states have not only privatized the institutional care of the most vulnerable Americans, but also do not properly regulate these private facilities.
“We do not need more institutions. We need more community capacity,” she said.
...//...
...people who cannot obtain mental health services and other community support are the most likely to be institutionalized.
For example, a person with both autism and bipolar disorder needs to transition smoothly through a continuum of care, especially in a crisis. That individual may need to move from a psychiatric hospital to a rehabilitation center, then to a group home, then back to his or her family home or an apartment with support staff. All states have aspects of this care, but no state provides the full spectrum for everyone in need all the time. If one thread of the safety net breaks, the state is more likely to ship the person to a place like Lakeview or FINR.
...//...
Licensing aside, Lakeview and FINR both gained credibility through The Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit organization that accredits nearly 21,000 health care facilities nationally. Families looking for a place for their loved one can note the impressive-looking Joint Commission gold seal on the websites of both institutions. But that does not guarantee patients will receive good care, says Curt Decker of the National Disability Rights Network.
...//...
“We’re constantly finding fraud, people stealing money, who are licensed and accredited,” he said.
Lakeview in New Hampshire, for instance, remains accredited by The Joint Commission – even though it has now been shut down.
...//...
“States rely on the few programs in the nation such as Lakeview because of the lack of sufficient community based alternatives,” concluded a report from Gov. Maggie Hassan’s office. “States’ plans to use facilities such as FINR merely serve to ignore the lack of community capacity and continue families’ uncertainty.”
https://www.revealnews.org/article/corruption-runs-in-the-family-at-american-neurorehab-centers/
The outsourcing by locally or regionally run services to private, for profit, providers is often a way to circumvent a lack of resources for cash strapped districts. At the same time, while public funds are transferred to the private sphere, the same lack of resources often leads to a failure to ensure that the oversight and insight people would have had access to if services were provided by public providers, is transferred and extended to these private contractors.
"AdvoServ’s homes and tens of thousands of facilities like them were supposed to be an antidote to the ills of institutional care for society’s most vulnerable: children and adults with profound disabilities like severe autism. Tucked away in neighborhoods across the country, the homes are often a last resort for overwhelmed families and schools, as well as state officials who shuttered their public asylums over concerns about mistreatment.
But the sprawling system of privately run residential programs is quietly — and with few repercussions — amassing a record as grim as the institutions it replaced, a ProPublica investigation found.
Particularly haunting are the deaths of children in residential facilities, often far from their homes"
https://www.propublica.org/article/advoserv-profit-and-abuse-at-homes-for-the-profoundly-disabled
[A]ll states still struggle to provide the support that those with the most complex conditions need to remain in their homes. Families have little choice but to send their children to remote, for-profit facilities that receive scant oversight – unaware of their track records of abuse and fraud allegations.
“We do need a spotlight on these places and this trafficking of people,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. “There’s this crisscrossing (between states). This is what leads to, if not abuse, certainly neglect of these kids who have serious disabilities and need specialized services.”
In 2009, there were 32,909 Americans with developmental and intellectual disabilities living in public institutions across 41 states. As of 2012, another 56,303 lived in nursing homes and other large, private institutions.
Joan Beasley, a disabilities expert with the University of New Hampshire, said states have not only privatized the institutional care of the most vulnerable Americans, but also do not properly regulate these private facilities.
“We do not need more institutions. We need more community capacity,” she said.
...//...
...people who cannot obtain mental health services and other community support are the most likely to be institutionalized.
For example, a person with both autism and bipolar disorder needs to transition smoothly through a continuum of care, especially in a crisis. That individual may need to move from a psychiatric hospital to a rehabilitation center, then to a group home, then back to his or her family home or an apartment with support staff. All states have aspects of this care, but no state provides the full spectrum for everyone in need all the time. If one thread of the safety net breaks, the state is more likely to ship the person to a place like Lakeview or FINR.
...//...
Licensing aside, Lakeview and FINR both gained credibility through The Joint Commission, an independent nonprofit organization that accredits nearly 21,000 health care facilities nationally. Families looking for a place for their loved one can note the impressive-looking Joint Commission gold seal on the websites of both institutions. But that does not guarantee patients will receive good care, says Curt Decker of the National Disability Rights Network.
...//...
“We’re constantly finding fraud, people stealing money, who are licensed and accredited,” he said.
Lakeview in New Hampshire, for instance, remains accredited by The Joint Commission – even though it has now been shut down.
...//...
“States rely on the few programs in the nation such as Lakeview because of the lack of sufficient community based alternatives,” concluded a report from Gov. Maggie Hassan’s office. “States’ plans to use facilities such as FINR merely serve to ignore the lack of community capacity and continue families’ uncertainty.”
https://www.revealnews.org/article/corruption-runs-in-the-family-at-american-neurorehab-centers/