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Comptroller Calls For Better Oversight of Adult Care

Wed, 05/17/2000 - 12:00am — Karen Stevenson
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Significant improvements are needed in the State's licensing and inspection of adult care facilities in New York, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller H. Carl McCall. "State officials responsible for the safety of adult care facilities do not regularly verify information before granting a license to operate, they don't conduct inspections as required, and they don?t always respond to complaints on time," McCall said. "When people make a decision to place a loved one in a state licensed adult care facility they should have the peace of mind that the State has met its responsibility for licensing and inspections."

McCall's auditors found that, while the Department of Health (DOH) and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) require applicants to provide letters of reference and information about their prior work experience and financial resources, neither agency verifies the information or routinely seeks independent information about the applicants. Although State officials admitted knowledge of as many as 50 unlicensed adult care facilities operating in the New York City area alone and 800 unlicensed family-type homes operating statewide, little is done to investigate. DOH dedicated about ten percent of one staff person?s time to investigate reports of unlicensed facilities. During a visit to one of the unlicensed facilities, McCall's auditors found that one of the residents had required skilled nursing care for at least two years, but had yet to be transferred to a facility that provided the needed care.

McCall also identified serious weaknesses in the inspection of licensed adult care facilities. Unannounced inspections are required every 18 months, and annually if there has been a pattern of problems at a facility. Auditors found that the DOH computer system designed to track inspections was so riddled with errors it could not be used as a reliable source of information to determine if inspections were done on time.

McCall also found problems with DOH's response to complaint calls. For example, the Department waited seven days to respond to a complaint about at an adult care facility that had no medication available.

McCall outlined twenty specific recommendations to improve DOH and OFCS operations, and agency officials agreed to implement most of them.

Significant improvements are needed in the State's licensing and inspection of adult care facilities in New York, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller H. Carl McCall. "State officials responsible for the safety of adult care facilities do not regularly verify information before granting a license to operate, they don't conduct inspections as required, and they don?t always respond to complaints on time," McCall said. "When people make a decision to place a loved one in a state licensed adult care facility they should have the peace of mind that the State has met its responsibility for licensing and inspections."

McCall's auditors found that, while the Department of Health (DOH) and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) require applicants to provide letters of reference and information about their prior work experience and financial resources, neither agency verifies the information or routinely seeks independent information about the applicants. Although State officials admitted knowledge of as many as 50 unlicensed adult care facilities operating in the New York City area alone and 800 unlicensed family-type homes operating statewide, little is done to investigate. DOH dedicated about ten percent of one staff person?s time to investigate reports of unlicensed facilities. During a visit to one of the unlicensed facilities, McCall's auditors found that one of the residents had required skilled nursing care for at least two years, but had yet to be transferred to a facility that provided the needed care.

McCall also identified serious weaknesses in the inspection of licensed adult care facilities. Unannounced inspections are required every 18 months, and annually if there has been a pattern of problems at a facility. Auditors found that the DOH computer system designed to track inspections was so riddled with errors it could not be used as a reliable source of information to determine if inspections were done on time.

McCall also found problems with DOH's response to complaint calls. For example, the Department waited seven days to respond to a complaint about at an adult care facility that had no medication available.

McCall outlined twenty specific recommendations to improve DOH and OFCS operations, and agency officials agreed to implement most of them.