NJ's Tara's Law hopes to prevent abuse, neglect of people with disabilities

From Atlanticville in N.J.:

A local family’s quest for justice after the death of their young relative has resulted in landmark legislation signed into law that will protect developmentally disabled people who are in the care of the state.

“This is a great first step,” said Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District), a primary sponsor of the bill, in an interview on May 7. “It’s hard to believe that there was no formal system in place to prevent abusers from continuing to be part of the provider system until now.”

On April 30, Gov. Chris Christie signed the bill that creates an internal registry within the Department of Human Services (DHS) of caregivers who have been found to have abused people with developmental disabilities under their care.

“Abuse at the hands of a caregiver is a reprehensible action,” Christie said in a statement. “The legislation that I am signing today is an important tool to help safeguard those with developmental disabilities from harmful caregivers taking advantage of their position. Equally important, this new law will prevent these custodians from gaining re-employment or continuing participation in human services-funded programs.”

Senate Bill S-825, known locally as Tara’s Law, requires the DHS to maintain a confidential registry of paid caregivers and volunteers who have been determined to have abused, neglected or exploited any service recipient of the DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). This includes those employed as caregivers in facilities licensed, contracted or regulated by the DHS.

Beck, who has been involved in advocating for the legislation to protect the rights of the developmentally disabled since 2008, expressed her satisfaction with the bill.

Beck said the central registry will act as a listing for people who have abused or inappropriately cared for the developmentally disabled. Additionally, the registry would prevent those with an abusive past from entering the system in the first place, she added.

“The statistics on abuse of the developmentally disabled are interesting and horrifying,” said Beck. “Eighty percent of developmentally disabled women have been sexually assaulted. Also, the disabled are four more times as likely to be abused than those who are not.”

The law calls for the department’s Special Response Unit to investigate allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation. If the unit substantiates the allegations against a caregiver, it would forward the findings to the DHS commissioner to be considered for inclusion on the registry.

According to the bill, the department must maintain an emergency telephone line for the receipt of calls involving a report, complaint or allegation of abuse, neglect or exploitation against an individual with a developmental disability. The bill gives the person reporting a complaint immunity from civil or criminal liability.

The bill grew out of Beck’s intervention on behalf of the family of Tara O’Leary, a 29-year-old developmentally disabled woman who was allegedly grossly neglected while living in a state-licensed sponsor home in Hunterdon County.

“In 2008 my office was contacted by the concerned relatives of Tara O’Leary, who was living in a sponsor home,” said Beck. “Just weeks after Tara’s family contacted us, she passed away at the age of 29, weighing only 43 pounds.”

After calling for an investigation into the circumstances of O’Leary’s treatment, Beck introduced Tara’s Law, a measure that would protect developmentally disabled individuals living in sponsor homes.

O’Leary, who was born with multiple disabilities including brain deformities, scoliosis and two holes in her heart, spent the last 10 years of her life in the care of Debra Sloan, of Alexandria Township.

In the months leading up to O’Leary’s death, her cousins Eileen Devlin, of Little Silver, and Maureen Faletti, Tinton Falls, reached out to the 12th District legislators for help in becoming her guardians because the family members believed O’Leary was being mistreated. Devlin said at the time that the family was kept from visiting O’Leary by the caregiver and that efforts to get answers from the DDD were unsuccessful.

O’Leary’s family did not receive permanent guardianship until Nov. 6, 2008. After meeting with all of O’Leary’s doctors, the family decided to take her off life support on Nov. 7.

In September 2008, O’Leary had been taken to Hunterdon Medical Center, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit with malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores and septic shock, according to Devlin.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (DGlouster), primary sponsor of the bill with Beck, said every effort must be taken to ensure that no one is placed in the care of an abuser.

“We owe it to our most vulnerable residents to ensure they are given every protection from being unknowingly placed in the care of an abuser,” Sweeney said in a press release. “This registry will give New Jersey families of individuals with developmental disabilities peace of mind that they don’t have to worry about whether the person caring for their loved one truly has their best interests at heart.”

According to a statement from DHS Commissioner Jennifer Velez, her department supports the bill.

“People with developmental disabilities, family members, advocates and service providers agree that this registry will provide a fair and formal way to reduce the risk of potentially rehiring individuals who have been found to have neglected, abused or exploited individuals who had been entrusted to their care,” wrote Velez.

Currently, caregivers who work in stateadministered developmental centers, licensed community agencies and licensed community care residences are, by law, fingerprinted and undergo criminal history background checks that vary according to the type of facility.

According to the bill, caregivers who are contracted to provide services at programs such as day programs or visiting nurses are not fingerprinted by the department and may or may not have undergone a background check, depending upon their employers’ protocols or professional licensing requirements.

According to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office in Flemington, Sloan, the caregiver in whose home O’Leary lived, and Bridget Grimes, the caseworker responsible for monitoring the women living there, were indicted on 17 counts, including aggravated assault, official misconduct, neglect, theft and criminal restraint, on Oct. 30.

Sloan and Grimes were also charged for crimes against two other women in their care, one of whom also died.

Their arraignment took place last December at the Warren County Courthouse, after two judges in Hunterdon County were found to have a conflict of interest with one of the defendants. Sloan and Grimes returned to court on Feb 18 and rejected a plea offer calling for five-year state prison sentences.

During an interview on May 7, Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Dawn Solari said attorneys for Sloan and Grimes made a motion to dismiss the indictment, which was subsequently denied. It is still not known if the case will go to trial.

“We’re still in the pre-trial stage,” said Solari. “At this point we’re in motion practice. We have to hear from more expert witnesses.”

If Sloan and Grimes change their plea to guilty, they will be scheduled for sentencing, said Solari. If not, they will go to trial. If the case does go to trial, it will be held in Hunterdon County, with Hunterdon County jurors, with a Warren County judge presiding.

“We have a long way to go,” said Solari. “I wouldn’t anticipate a trial until fall or winter.”

Sloan’s attorney, Peter Abatemarco, declined to comment on May 10.

Beck said three additional bills, if passed, would serve to further restructure the department and will be introduced in the near future. One bill would require those who provide care in their homes to undergo drug testing.

This new law becomes effective in six months and requires the DHS commissioner to report to the governor and Legislature in two years regarding the effectiveness of the registry.

“The case of Tara O’Leary demonstrates why a record must be kept of anyone who is found guilty of abuse or neglect in any form of developmentally disabled citizens,” said Beck.

“What happened to Tara is a tragedy, and we must do all in our power to keep others from her fate.”