OH- Ohio Legislation Would Protect Nursing Home Residents From Sex Offenders

7-25-2008 Ohio:

Columbus, OH (AHN) - The father of an 18-year old schizophrenic mentally retarded girl raped by a nursing home resident is battling for legislation that would mandate posting the names of residents with sex offense records.

Ray McDaniel pushed for the bill, which has been adopted by the Ohio House and is waiting for a Senate hearing. He supports every state requiring its staff to disclose the presence of sex offenders among residents. He hopes this would prevent a repeat of what happened to his daughter, who was abused by a 43-year old male resident, now serving time in prison.

A majority of nursing home residents are senior citizens, however some younger residents with various types of ailments also need long-term care.

Several states have initiated measures to protect nursing home residents from sex offenders. Oklahoma plans to open a long-term care facility exclusively for those with sex records, Florida barred their acceptance unless their status is disclosed.

-As to Oklahoma, that is not correct, they are opening a facility for ALL level II & III sex offenders. Further, anyone can check the state registry to find out if a sex offender resides in a nursing home, no new law is needed.

California, Illinois, Minnesota and Oklahoma have passed laws mandating the posting of sex offenders' names admitted to their homes.

Meanwhile, a review of Ohio records showed that the Garrard Convalescent Home, which is in the midst of controversy involving two state workers fired for misconduct, had previous brushes with the law.

Early this year it got a Type A citation for placing in danger the life of a resident with Alzheimer's disease who wandered alone for three hours on a cold morning. In 2004, its operator Ralph Stacey Jr. was rebuked by child welfare authorities for neglect of a severely disabled 9-year-old boy.

The two employees of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Moses Young and Sharon Harris, were discovered to be living rent-free in Lexington townhouses owned by Stacey, apparently to provide protection to the nursing home which they also supervise. ..News Source.. by Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer