Last week the New York Times ran a chilling investigative account of what goes on at New York group homes for the developmentally disabled, where employees in hundreds of cases appear to have abused or mistreated residents with impunity. Per the Times:
…in 25 percent of the cases involving physical, sexual or psychological abuse, the state employees were transferred to other homes. The state initiated termination proceedings in 129 of the [399] cases reviewed but succeeded in just 30 of them, in large part because the workers’ union, the Civil Service Employees Association, aggressively resisted firings in almost every case.
Revelations like this should be front and center in the unfolding debate over public employee unionization, but often aren’t. [h/t: James Sherk, NRO “Corner”]
4 Comments
I don’t see why the police weren’t contacted in cases of abuse. Why discipline them through work when they should be in jail?
I agree, aren’t those mandatory reporting offenses? In any case being convicted of a felony committed while on the job should be should be grounds for firing without the possibility of appeal regardless of what the union contract says. And if the union contract allow for that appeal, it should be declared invalid on public policy grounds.
After Judy Miller and the War in Iraq, it would be foolish to take a sensational story from the New York Times at face value.
While the developmentally disabled deserve as much, perhaps more, protection from predators as normal kids, one has to aware that such children are subject to suggestion and might not appreciate the impact of their testimony. We had a case in Westchester county where a teacher foolishly tutored children in her home. One of the special ed boys boasted of receiving sexual favors from the teacher. The jury believed the boy, and the teacher spent some time in jail and lost her marriage. It was very sad. The jury, my neighbors, were baboons.
What goes on at New York group homes for the developmentally disabled, where employees in hundreds of cases appear to have abused or mistreated residents with impunity as per the Times, is only the tip of the iceberg. There is all sort of abuse and neglect happening almost daily, weekly, mothly and yearly at all the programs geared to help the disabled. Millons of dollars from the Medicaid and Medicare progams are being pais for underserved cases, o just fake services. There is fraud, there is abuse, theres overspending. CEO and other excecutive position are paid like if they work in wall street with bonuses include. A lot of these people does not really care in helping the disabled all they care is they money , their salary and perks.