ALSO
HUMAN
ERADICATE ABUSE AND NEGLECT of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities reliant on a just and benevolent society CREATE A PROTECTIVE SYSTEM OF CARE which includes accountability and consequences for abuse and neglect
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH IDD
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Group Home Abuse and Neglect Coverage
None of the evidence, testimonies, medical reports or the fact that she remains injured is enough,” she said. “They are looking for corroboration from the actual staff who neglected and abused her — that’s the lunacy of the whole thing.
Whether this was a systematic failure, a leadership failure or a staff failure or all three, any reasonable person would conclude she was recklessly and severely neglected, said state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, the chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. If it were my kid, my head would explode.
But changes must happen now, because DHS and the Department of Families and Children don’t seem to share the alarm that has been sounded repeatedly by the state’s Ombudsman for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. That official, Paul Aronsohn, is often the only connection for people with family members in privately-owned group homes, which are funded with public money and subject to DHS inspections.
A patient with severe disabilities suffered serious abuse at a group home in Ocean County, according to allegations detailed in a report recently published by NJ Advance Media.