One source for information about group homes is an Adult Foster Care website that provides routine licensing reports and special investigations for every group home licensed by the state. Click here for the AFC website to search group homes by county.
Publicly-funded group home placements are generally done through local community mental health agencies using the person-centered planning process required by state law. If you are seeking a group home placement for a family member, you should start by contacting your local CMH. The above website will give you basic information about each licensed home in your area, including who operates the home, how many people live there, and whether it is a home for people with developmental disabilities or mental illness, or for seniors. It includes routine licensing reports which tell you if the home has passed licensing inspections and any problems detected.
Also listed are special investigation reports which occur when an allegation has been made of a serious incident at the home. Some of these incidents are pretty shocking, but you need to read the reports carefully to find out whether the allegations have been supported by the evidence. Unfortunately, there are many serious incidents that hold up under the scrutiny of licensing investigations. When an incident occurs, the group home reports back to licensing with a statement of how it will correct the problem. These reports can be obtained with a Freedom of Information Act request - the website tells you how to ask for these reports.
This web site does not report on every incident that has occurred at a home, but only on the most serious incidents. Other incidents are often investigated by the local CMH recipient rights office.
1 comment:
Well said.
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