Some Things Don't Make Sense

I've written here before about criticisms and scandals that have appeared about supports and services provided to people with developmental disabilities, both here in New York State and across the country. It's a subject that I care about since I worked in this field for 30 plus years and saw tremendous, mostly positive, changes in terms of supports to people with disabilities. But it goes deeper then working in this field. It really gets down to some of the most vulnerable people in a society and their place in that society. Social justice is critically important to everyone because it's very easy for us to be the next segment of society to be ignored, hated or treated unfairly. We don't think about it often enough but it is a reality that we should all face. Things happen, society changes, people change, circumstances change.

But right now, people with developmental disabilities are vulnerable and are treated differently - sometimes well and sometimes very poorly. We clearly still have attitudes about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It's a little less acceptable for people to make a joke about these individuals but it's still acceptable.

Recently there was an article in the NY Times about a NYS Assemblyman suing an agency, the Nassau Chapter of NYSARC, for abuse that occurred to his son who resides in a residential setting that is operated by the agency. The story was also picked up by the Associated Press. I've linked both of the articles - New York Times and Associated Press - Star Gazette . I reference abuse having occurred because no one associated with the situation seems to be denying that other then the former employee in the story.

In the interest of full disclosure, I know a number of the administrative and leadership staff at the Nassau Chapter of NYSARC. They are good and decent people in my opinion, committed to doing the right thing for people and families. But the reality is there are hundreds of employees that work there who I don't know and that should be stated too. It's the reality of agencies like this as well as hospitals, nursing homes and other service providers. They are all large employers trying on a regular basis to hire  and train good people. Some bad apples almost always slip through. People who just aren't cut out for the difficult and caring work.

The bottom line though is that there is something very odd about the news story as reported that I just can't figure out. It seems as though a number of incidents of abuse occurred and were reported to the agency through appropriate channels. The family was notified, the accused employee suspended and an investigation commenced. The allegation was confirmed and the employee was terminated.

It turns out that the dismissed employee ended up being employed by another agency providing support to people with developmental disabilities. I would guess, and it is only a guess, that this agency never received any sort of recommendation from the Nassau Chapter of NYSARC. If they got anything it was probably a verification of dates of employment, a standard practice.

Now after the time period of this incident some additional protections were legislated in NYS. One created a registry of employees who had abuse substantiated. The other required law enforcement notification and action. The Governor also created a Justice Center for People with Special Needs. Interestingly, the Governor hasn't finalized, by his signature, the creation of the registry and the Justice Center. All of this begs the question - is this the real reason for the Assemblyman's law suit? Is he frustrated and angry with the Governor for not moving forward on these issues? To me, that seems to be the case and in the process an organization that it looks like is trying to do the right thing, ends up being sued. That's what's odd to me and what doesn't seem to add up or make sense.

All of this has been an education to me. It makes it clear that what is written and what's reported has to be considered carefully. It's hard to know what's in someone's head by the written word no matter how good or bad a writer or reporter is. Facts are sometimes blurred by other facts. It just seems there's more to this story that is hard to find in the reported versions.

We seem to be in a 'gotcha' environment that can easily run people in circles, good people and good organizations - all trying to do the right thing with the bumps and blemishes that come with life. In the end, we have to hope that the people supported are better off and able to flourish. It's a huge challenge.