House Bill 452 would only deal with group homes managed by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. It would set up new reporting procedures for ODJFS and other agencies to communities in which group homes are located. Here is a list of proposed requirements:
- Require agencies to give address, type of home
- Contact information for the facility
- Copy of the facility's emergency medical plan
- Copy of facility's community engagement plan
Each time I read or hear an update on the case of Jane Jeugens, it stays in my mind for a while. It affects me because:
- I am Westerville resident; my children and I have visited that park many times.
- I have a 16 year old son. While my 16 year old doesn't live with any emotional or mental illness, when I learn of those that do such as Jordan Stewart, it never escapes me that it could have been my son.
- I co-own and operate a provider agency. I don't provide this exact service as the provider involved in this case but we share many of the same requirements and are governed by some of the same entities.
- I am a woman that frequents places alone. I enjoy going to parks to walk. I want my community safe.
I am not certain that House Bill 452 is the solution. I think while those in support of it are simply seeking to keep their communities safe, that it could be a slippery slope that will affect our individuals with Intellectual Disabilities /Developmental Disabilities (ID/DD) as they are often lumped in the same category as those with mental health issues.
Tragedies such as this makes it more critical for us to bring awareness and education regarding ID/DD to our communities. I am concerned that House Bill 452 is a move in the direction of isolation. I believe it is our responsibility to keep things progressive.
What do you think of House Bill 452?
Do you believe it will affect our individuals with ID/DD?
Please share your thoughts with us.
People should attend local township meetings with their elected officials and share input on these new proposals. The mayor, councilmen, and other law-makers are elected by us to represent us. I am sure they try hard to enat the best laws they can to make us safe, but they can not know ahead of time every possible outcome.
ReplyDeleteWhere I work, we have a partnership with ARC. It is an amazing partnership. The work the people from ARC provide is way above our expectations. Yet we don't hold all of our policies upon the members of ARC because their are specific needs they need that do not apply to others. As with this House Bill 452, you can not lump a "general law" that could be used to affect others who should not be included.
I have not lived in the Columbus area and have a lot to learn about the different laws just between Grove City where I live and Groveport where I work. It is quite silly to some extent how even though we are under the same "Corporate Limit" for Columbus, various zoning and city borders can have such a dramitic change in law.
While this law, to my understanding, only affects Westerville, what about a family who lives on the border in Worthington?
Thank you for your response Edward Bussing.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, we greatly appreciate your stating your observation of the work that is done by Individuals with Disabilities at your place of employment. This is one of the areas we want to educate the community about; how capable our individuals are at a variety of things! They simply need the opportunity and the proper supports!
I agree that House Bill 452 is a not a sound solution to this issue. It is too general and has too much potential for marginalizing members of our society. We must be careful when enacting these bills that we aren't violating anyone. I'm concerned that should this bill go into effect that we that are involved in the ID/DD community are going to be affected because there are so many misconceptions regarding the population that we serve. One of those misconceptions is that ID/DD and Mental Health are one in the same.
What a wonderful blog, Ms. Boateng!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, people are afraid of what they do not understand and unfortunately, most in society do not understand individuals with MR/DD needs and the precautions and regulations that group homes already have in place.
While I understand the fears of those in the community, I am not sure if I agree with this house bill. First of all, as citizens of the United States, these individuals are innocent until proven guilty. These individuals are not sex offenders who have been found guilty by the court system and should be required to be placed on a neighborhood watch list as being a possible danger to the community. To do so, will do nothing more than increase the fear and misunderstandings by those who live in the neighborhood. By putting group homes on a watch list, then there could be possible vigilante actions from misunderstanding individuals in the neighborhood when one of these kids is just playing in a park.
By forcing providers of group homes to provide certain personal information to emergency responders (i.e., the police) about their facility and their residents “just in case” one of them gets away and hurts or kills someone in the community is not only unfair to the child that lives in the home, but it only breeds further fear and misunderstanding.
From what I remember, this neighborhood did have previous concerns that had gone unaddressed by the group home, by the local police, and by the county, and I do feel that was wrong. If their issues had been addressed when this concern was first brought to their attention, then this woman may be alive today.
There definitely should be protocols and procedures in place by the group home and whichever agency oversees the group home (and I am sure that group homes are highly regulated and followed very closely by that agency); however, we cannot assume that just because an individual lives in a group home that they should be placed under possible suspicion that they will hurt or kill someone. These individuals are not criminals and these individuals should not fall under a specific house bill to be tracked by the state as if they are criminals. Group homes already report to the jurisdiction of their county, so why should they provide additional information to a state agency?
Communities need to be safe from crime - that much is clear. But, does a program like this violate their individual rights to privacy? And does is only increase fear of the community? Should other groups within the community also fall under a watch list because of their skin color, their religious affiliations, or just because they slink when they walk? Why are individuals in group homes being singled out? This bill places guilt by association on the residents of group homes and that is not fair treatment to those individuals. Profiling without just cause is illegal in the United States and I feel that this bill is calling for communities to profile a certain group of people due to a psychological reason. That is illegal, unfair, and unjust towards those who have committed no crime.
Communities need to be better educated by the group homes that are located in their community and that can be done rather easily by the group home. The community does not need to be made aware of group home’s protocols and procedures and their safety measures. However, they do need to be educated and made aware that they are not in any danger because of the residents of the group home.
I have worked with Intellectually Disability/ Developmental Disability (ID/DD) individuals for many years in a group home atmosphere. Many strides have been made to incorporate these individuals into "normal" daily actives to the best of their abilities. My fear is that this bill will take steps backwards in the progress that had been made. ID/DD individuals are real people who belong to real families who live in communities. Everyone wants what is best for their families and incorporating "normal" living, shopping, working activities are what is best. The bill would promote fear for individuals that come from every walk of life. They are not going away. Instead of alienation and strick guidelines steps should be taken to make sure that or communities are educated, that are communities homes have the proper funds, education and that the individuals that live in these homes are properly diagnosed. It is simply not fair to punish a community of individuals for the actions of one or a few.
ReplyDeleteI thank you Thaines!
DeleteI agree, this bill is a step backwards! It is unjust to enact this bill.
Education is the key! Our individuals have made such strides over the decades. They are a part of our community and they deserve to have the same liberties that we all have. I simply don't agree that "exposing" them to their surrounding communities just in case one person may commit a crime is the answer.
Thank you Laura Russell for your wonderful response!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct in that this tragedy could have been prevented had earlier concerns been addressed differently. I'm concerned this bill incites fear in people and perpetuates so many of the misconceptions that are out there in regards to individuals that require supports.
What happened was an absolute tragedy. The family of Jane Jeurgens has my empathy. The Westerville community has my support in that there are changes that need to be made. I believe the changes need to be in the areas of awareness, education, appropriate placements of individuals requiring supports whether they have ID/DD or mental health issues, early intervention services, and the enforcement of the laws that already govern providers.