Roundtable Explores Solutions To Abuse In State Facilities
By Andrew Carden Legislative Gazette April 30, 2012
Sen. Roy McDonald last week hosted a roundtable discussion on the abuse and neglect of developmentally disabled persons in state facilities.
The event, which drew an array of mental health advocates and state agency representatives, was marked by controversy after a New York Times article reported that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration had pressured the Senate to disinvite one participant, Jeffrey Monsour, from appearing.
Monsour, a whistleblower who claims to have witnessed numerous cases of abuse in state mental health facilities, has been critical of his employer, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, or OPWDD. The agency’s commissioner, Courtney Burke, reportedly did not want to attend if Monsour was present at the roundtable. Ultimately, however, both Monsour and Burke participated in the event. Burke attributed the situation to “miscommunication.”
McDonald, R-Saratoga, who chairs the Senate Mental Health Committee, said the roundtable was geared to bringing “all advocates,” including whistleblowers, to address concerns regarding the treatment of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
“We’re focusing on an issue here that a lot of folks don’t want to pay attention to,” said McDonald. “But focusing on this issue makes you a better, more caring person.”
The senator said the governor is “very dedicated to and supportive of” mental health causes and called New York state a “leader” on issues of mental health. McDonald said, however, both caregivers and law enforcement need to be better trained in dealing with instances of abuse and neglect.
“Right now, you can’t call up an officer or district attorney’s office and expect to speak to an expert on mental health issues,” said McDonald.
McDonald endorsed the idea of an independent hotline for persons to report cases of abuse. Under current law, the state Inspector General monitors and investigates allegations of abuse by state employees, but some advocates have argued their efforts have proven insufficient.
“I want to pursue a common sense plan, something that will get the support of the other 61 senators and of 150 Assembly members,” said McDonald. “It’s frightening for me to consider what’s happened in the past and happening now.”
The senator said he views those mental health employees who do “good work” as “angels.”
“I don’t want to overlook them,” said McDonald. “Without them, the situation would be even worse. Keep the angels and throw the criminals in jail.”
Burke said her agency “cares very deeply” about issues of abuse and neglect and wants to “make the necessary changes.”
“We have already used feedback to achieve a number of reforms,” said Burke, who has held her position since 2011. “When I came here, we didn’t have a good relationship with law enforcement but, as of late, there has been significant communication and reporting done.”
Burke said her agency has sought the termination of employees when there have been “substantive allegations” of abuse.
“We need to make sure we’re supporting employees who speak out every day,” said Burke. “I recognize that advocates believe the system has not transformed fast enough but we have made tremendous progress in the past year.”
Michael Carey, a mental health advocate whose son Jonathan was killed at the hands of a direct care worker in 2007, said there is “rampant abuse” in state facilities “and the statistics prove it.”
“There are major problems that have been going on since before Willowbrook, 40 years ago,” said Carey, in reference to the notorious Staten Island state school for developmentally disabled children, shuttered in 1987. “My own son was tortured at a facility and this facility has maintained the same director from that time.”
Carey said whistleblowers he has spoken with have suggested state facility abuse and neglect are “far worse” than what’s reported.
“There are hundreds of state caregivers who have abused people and are still in the system today,” said Carey. “When we found out 40 to 50 percent of Jonathan’s meals were being withheld, we were told it wasn’t abuse. They use different standards.”
Carey lavished criticism at Clarence Sundram, the former CEO of the Commission of Quality of Care, or CQC, who has been appointed by the governor as a “special advisor on vulnerable persons.”
“Sundram had 20 years to fix the system’s problems and instead, at CQC, he allowed all of this stuff to go on,” said Carey. “It’s our responsibility as human beings and a moral society to protect our most vulnerable.”
Monsour, who has reported numerous cases of abuse and neglect, said good staff members “need to be protected” upon reporting abuse.
“I’ve witnessed cases of abuse nearly every day at work,” said Monsour. “I’ve reported this to management and they’ll come to me personally to tell me it doesn’t rise to a criminal level.”
Monsour said the CQC, in its current form, is unable fix the abuse and neglect plaguing the mental health system.
“The CQC needs real teeth to impose sanctions, not just make recommendations,” said Monsour. “It is a functioning agency without any teeth and the governor needs to give them more power.”
Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State, endorsed the concept of one statewide independent hotline to be answered by trained staff in cases of reporting on abuse and neglect.
“Hotline staff would be trained to link to law enforcement when there is an immediate crisis,” said Liebman. “In addition, the staff would be able to triage calls to appropriate state agencies.”
Liebman also suggested New York state pursue an initiative that mirrors Philadelphia’s model Consumer Satisfaction Teams, or CSTs. These are teams, comprised of peers and families, who make site visits to licensed agencies to meet with agency leadership and compose reports based on their assessments.
“The CST team then meets with agency they visited to discuss corrective plans of action,” said Liebman. “The approach is collaborative and the outcomes have been very impressive in terms of better engagement and more appropriate service.”
Valerie Muratori, executive director at Saratoga Bridges, a community resource for persons with developmental disabilities and their families, said she has encouraged staff members to report instances of abuse or neglect.
“We need to continue to educate our staff, to remind them this is a career where they’re empowered,” said Muratori. “I have people who’ve been in this field for more than 25 years”
Local law enforcement, Muratori suggested, “wants to be involved” in cases of abuse and is “committed to following through” on reported cases. She also said there needs to be a “heightened system” that prevents bad caregivers from, after losing their job, getting back into the system.
“Right now, all we can do is tell future employers that we don’t recommend a certain individual for hire,” said Muratori.
Tammi Knight, a parent advocate whose son has a disability and was abused at a state facility, said if she abused her child like some state caregivers have, she’d be “taken away by Child Protective Services” and her son would be “placed in foster care.”
“Our most vulnerable are being left in filthy clothing,” said Knight. “They’re called losers right to their faces.”
Knight said her son has a service coordinator who is “very honest” with her about the neglect occurring in state facilities. She suggested it is perhaps the service coordinators who should be responsible for reporting cases of abuse to authorities.
Ed Snow, a Public Employees Federation Executive Board member who represents union members at OPWDD, commended Knight for bringing service coordinators into the discussion.
“I’m glad some people in this room value the service coordinators, who are an arms length away from our most vulnerable,” said Snow. “These are people who should continue to be active.”
Snow suggested more money be invested into the supervisors providing training to caregivers. He also noted overtime as a significant problem among state facility employees, though Burke suggested overtime has been reduced by 43 percent since October.
“When a person is working 12 hours in overtime, they should probably be going home, not back to more work,” said Snow.