Posted on Wed, Jan. 17, 2007

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‘AN OUTSIDE SET OF EYES’

New unit to protect disabled adults

By RODDIE A. BURRIS

rburris@thestate.com

A special victims unit created to handle reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled adults should be up and running by the end of January.

The Vulnerable Adults Investigations Unit will function through the State Law Enforcement Division under a new law passed in 2006.

It aims to ferret out instances of abuse and even death that some advocates for the disabled and lawmakers fear state agencies have ignored or swept under the rug for years.

“There was interest in having an outside set of eyes looking at complaints and allegations, and that’s what we’ll be doing,” said SLED Chief Robert Stewart.

The agency has assembled and trained 12 experienced agents to staff the new unit, which will be headed by Capt. Patsy Lightle, who led child-fatality investigations for SLED for several years and has nearly 30 years of service with the agency.

Previously, the Mental Health and Special Needs departments have handled abuse investigations internally, using their own public-safety authorities.

In addition, Special Needs operated using a different definition of abuse than will be followed under the new law, in which the term simply refers to physical abuse or psychological abuse.

SLED now must investigate all suspicious deaths that occur within facilities operated by or under the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs and the Department of Mental Health.

The scope of the new law also covers adults who may be receiving care in private homes contracted through the agencies.

A special 24-hour hot line will be set up in all institutional homes and hospitals run by the two agencies to report allegations of misbehavior. “The most important thing is to make sure (incidents) get reported,” Lightle said.

Recent legislation has sought to secure for the disabled many of the same rights and protections enjoyed by other S.C. residents.

Advocates teamed up with legislators to get the unit approved by the General Assembly.

“Abuse, neglect and exploitation of vulnerable adults are crimes,” said Gloria Prevost, executive director of Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, which is charged with protecting the rights of the disabled in South Carolina.

“With the unit at SLED becoming operational, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs and their contract agencies will no longer be able to investigate themselves,” she said.

Lawmakers appropriated $1.3 million to get the new unit up and running and $780,000 in recurring money to operate it.

It will be responsible for determining whether allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation are criminal or civil.

The unit will investigate the alleged criminal activity reported or refer the allegations to appropriate local law enforcement agencies such as a sheriff’s office, local police or county prosecutor.

Reports the unit identifies as noncriminal will be directed to the state Long Term Care Ombudsman Program or the Department of Social Services.

The attorney general’s office will determine whether legal action is necessary in cases involving deaths, Medicaid fraud or financial exploitation.

The Special Needs and Mental Health agencies say they support the new law. Special Needs has issued a directive to its employees in light of the new law, and Mental Health plans to train its employees to comply with the law.

“We’re pretty optimistic it will work,” said Mark Binkley, legal counsel for the Mental Health Department, which operates three hospitals and four nursing homes and extends care to individuals in more than 200 private homes in South Carolina.

“We think the problem (with the old procedure) was one of appearance — that the department shouldn’t investigate itself.

“I don’t think the agency has ever covered up anything.”

Reach Burris at (803) 771-8398.