Lawmakers questioned officials from the California Department of Social Services on Tuesday about how the department can better monitor and regulate residential care facilities for the elderly.
The hearings in a joint Human Services Committee meeting were called after more than a dozen elderly, disabled and mentally ill people were found abandoned for two days at a residential care facility in Castro Valley.
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The Valley Springs Manor lost its license from the state.
The owner and all but three workers left.
"This is not working properly," said Will Lightbourne, the director of the Department of Social Services. "We are seeing misses that shouldn't be there."
Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed giving the Department of Social Services an additional $7.5 million in the upcoming budget and hiring more than 70 people, including investigators, to visit facilities.
As things currently stand, senior homes are only inspected once every five years and subject to periodic random inspections.
Advocates for the elderly say residential care facilities should be inspected more frequently than day care centers.
"They don't go home to their parents at night," said Patricia McGinnis, the director of the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. "They don't have frequent visitors. And they are often very frail and dependent."
Advocates are also asking lawmakers to change the penalties for caregivers who break the law.
"Whether it's imminent danger or death or serious bodily harm -- whether (it's) absolute neglect, it doesn't matter. The most you're going to get fined is just $150."
Full Article and Source:
Lawmakers Ask How Social Services Can Better Monitor Care Homes
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The hearings in a joint Human Services Committee meeting were called after more than a dozen elderly, disabled and mentally ill people were found abandoned for two days at a residential care facility in Castro Valley.
The Valley Springs Manor lost its license from the state.The owner and all but three workers left.
"This is not working properly," said Will Lightbourne, the director of the Department of Social Services. "We are seeing misses that shouldn't be there."
Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed giving the Department of Social Services an additional $7.5 million in the upcoming budget and hiring more than 70 people, including investigators, to visit facilities.
As things currently stand, senior homes are only inspected once every five years and subject to periodic random inspections.
Advocates for the elderly say residential care facilities should be inspected more frequently than day care centers.
"They don't go home to their parents at night," said Patricia McGinnis, the director of the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. "They don't have frequent visitors. And they are often very frail and dependent."
Advocates are also asking lawmakers to change the penalties for caregivers who break the law.
"Whether it's imminent danger or death or serious bodily harm -- whether (it's) absolute neglect, it doesn't matter. The most you're going to get fined is just $150."
Full Article and Source:
Lawmakers Ask How Social Services Can Better Monitor Care Homes
Watch the Hearing