3-4-2009 Oklahoma:
EDMOND — A state agency received no bids for a first-in-the-nation stand-alone nursing facility for sex offenders, and a lawmaker said a recent Edmond incident validates the need.
The proposal for the long-term care facility was open for bid from Dec. 2 through Feb. 3, and there were no bids or requests for proposal as directed by state law, said Henry Hartsell Jr., deputy commissioner of Protective Health Services, a division of the State Health Department.
Hartsell said the Health Department initiated the request for the proposal as directed by state law. Now, due to the lack of interest, the agency will have to re-evaluate what to do next, he said.
The delay means it will take longer for the facility to become a reality.
And the facility will come too late to help the 67-year-old resident of Grace Living Center of Edmond, who police said was allegedly sexually assaulted by a then 93-year-old male resident in September.
I love how they mislead the public, the 93-year-old resident WAS NOT a prior sex offender (and he died yesterday), so even if the facility was built, the circumstances would not have prevented that sexual assault. That is one MAJOR FLAW in the thinking behind this nonsense of a separate facility for CERTAIN prior sex offenders (the bill only covers level II and III sex offenders). This entire law and the theory behing it is like a cake of swiss cheeze, full of holes.
In December, Kris Steele, R-Shawnee, who wrote the law requiring the facility, said he was pleased that the state was “moving so swiftly” to build it.
Steele said he will schedule a meeting with the State Health Department to review the issue.
“We’re not giving up by any means,” Steele said Tuesday afternoon.
Officials will try to determine why no bids were submitted and what to do to address the industry’s concerns, Steele said.
Likely concerns include liability issues, and funding additional security measures such as including video surveillance in common areas and additional needed staff, Steele said.
Other Oklahomans also were surprised by the development.
Scott Rowland, first assistant district attorney with the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, said he was surprised and disappointed by the news about an absence of bids.
Rowland said the need for a stand-alone, secure long-term care facility for sex offenders is enormous.
Citizen advocate Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause, an elder and disabled advocacy group, had a similar reaction.
“I’m shocked an operator did not step forward,” Bledsoe said.
Bledsoe said he hopes an operator who understands the needs will make a bid.
Steele said he is determined to complete what was started, that Oklahoma senior citizens deserve to be able to live without fear. Steele said he hopes an operator will be approved sometime this year — and soon.
Officials have said there are about 30 known sex offenders currently residing in Oklahoma nursing homes and that number is expected to grow. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections estimates 2,250 inmates convicted of sex crimes will be released from prison in the next 10 years. ..News Source.. by Mark Schlachtenhaufen, The Edmond Sun
Another misleading fact, of the 2,250 released sex offenders, how many will need to services of a PUBLIC nursing home. Once someone is released from prison there are no controls over them, the state cannot force free people into specially designated facilities. Further, how many will be designated levels II and III? Making statements like this, without even considering relevant facts, completely misleads the public and other legislators.
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