Report on Nursing Home Employees with Criminal Backgrounds
Last week the Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General released a report on the percentage of nursing home employees with criminal backgrounds. The report, Nursing Facilities' Employment of Individuals with Criminal Convictions, found that "92 percent of nursing facilities employed at least one individual with at least one criminal conviction" and that "overall, 5 percent of nursing facility employees had at least one criminal conviction." For a full discussion of criminal background checks for long-term care workers, AARP Public Policy Institute published a report entitled Safe at Home? Developing Effective Criminal Background Checks and Other Screening Policies for Home Care Workers. While the report has a particular focus on home care, most of the data and policy issues are equally applicable to nursing homes. The report discusses:
--existing federal and state laws on background checks
--the federal pilot (now expanded in the ACA)
--efficacy of background checks in reducing risks
--disqualifying crimes and length of disqualification
--self-directed workers
--promising practices and policy options
Elder Justice: Stronger Federal Leadership Could Enhance National Response to Elder Abuse
Report GAO-11-208, March 2. Complete report and highlights are both available.
Partners in Justice
The Arc of North Carolina was part of an innovative project to ensure justice for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. Partners in Justice (PIJ): Bridging the Gap Between the Justice System and People with Cognitive Disabilities ended in 2007 but was a project of The Arc of NC and the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities. The program was dedicated to ensuring that people with intellectual or cognitive disabilities had the same rights, privileges and services that people without disabilities receive while involved with the justice system.
PIJ developed numerous training materials for various groups which are still available at www.arcnc.org/services/pij/.
NCVRW Resource Guide Available
The2011 National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) Resource Guide is available online. The guide was developed to help communities promote awareness of crime victim issues; it includes camera-ready art files, public awareness posters, the 2011 theme DVD, and much more. NCVRW will be observed April 10-16, 2011.
Colorado-Specific Web Training Archived
The Arc of Aurora, through its work with our local Collaborative to Address Crime Victimization of People with Developmental Disabilities, recently archived the Just the Facts: Using Documents and Other Resources to Support Victims of Crime Who Have Developmental Disabilities it hosted. The first part of the webinar offers a brief overview of the State of Colorado Human Services' Delivery System by way of establishing a framework for the documentation that may exist related to a person with developmental disabilities who is part of that system and becomes a victim. This information is most pertinent to those of you who are from Colorado.
