Police in a Pennsylvania community recently arrested and filed ten counts of abuse of a care-dependent person against two direct support providers in a Pennsylvania group home. The women are accused of forcing a developmentally disabled resident to chase after and eat pieces of chicken that the accused workers threw in the group home’s yard, basement, and on the bathroom floor.
Ten separate videos of the abuse have been recovered by police, and one of the women admitted taking the videos and sending them to her boyfriend. The women told police they never intended to harm the resident, and they admitted the videos were made in poor taste.
The director of the organization that operates the group home condemned the two employees for their actions, saying, “This is not who we are, certainly not who we are.” The director went on to explain that the organization does background checks on all of its employees. She added, “So, no, this is certainly not what we would expect. Yet there’s an element of trust. We can’t be there 24 hours a day. We trust that our staff will provide proper care.”
Both of the accused workers resigned from their jobs as professional direct support staff in the group home and are being held in the county prison. Their bail has been set at $50,000.
Compliance Perspective
Failure by a facility to ensure that staff members are trained regarding residents’ rights to privacy and prohibited from committing abuse and taking of abuse-related photographs and recordings may be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the facility has developed and implemented written policies prohibiting all forms of abuse, including mental abuse and protecting residents’ rights to privacy from unauthorized photographs and recordings.
- Train staff on the facility’s polices prohibiting all forms of abuse and the taking of abuse-related photographs and recordings.
- Periodically audit to ensure that the facility is performing background checks on staff prior to hire, and that all staff members have been trained on the facility’s policies prohibiting abuse of residents, taking photographs/videos, and making recordings.
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