A man, living his own apartment, suffered a medical crisis when his staff didn’t follow necessary procedures. His mother, who is also his legal guardian, repeatedly complained to the provider and the state about the problems. The Department of Social and Health Services issued citations to the agency in charge of training and supervising his staff. Ultimately, the state took away the agency’s certification for “a history of serious and/or recurrent non-compliance with the law and regulations . . .”
Still, even after losing their certification, the same staff and management remained in place, providing services under a different name. The mother feared for her son’s safety, but didn’t know how to change service providers. She found the system difficult to navigate and called the DD Ombuds for help.
Together, the DD Ombuds and the guardian learned the steps that individuals who receive residential services must go through when they want to move, change roommates, or change service providers. While the process was complicated, her son now has a new service provider and new staff. The mother let the DD Ombuds know she is grateful for their support.
Call the Office of DD Ombuds for information and help solving problems.