Up-to-date info to help in your work with crime victims with developmental disabilities


Fall Greetings!

It's budget time here at The Arc of Aurora, as it probably is in many of your offices, so we, too, are busy completing 2016 projects as well as planning 2017 events and products.  Some of our planned events and products may be of interest to you, our  VTrail readers, so do keep posted!

For now, we have several resources and articles to share this month; no opportunities, however.  If your organization has an opportunity/event upcoming that you think would be of interest to our 1000+
Vtrailers, drop me an email with the details.

It is also harvest time...  We hope as you think about gathering those close to you to share in life's bounty, you do so with the awareness of the value your work to support crime victims with intellectual and developmental disabilities has in precious lives, one at a time.

Enjoy the colors of fall!
Jean Solis
Editor and Director of Marketing and Development
 
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Resources
(Tools to help us in our work to address crime victimization of people with I/DD in our communities)

This study documented reports to the police by victims of sexual assault who were disabled, examined the criminal justice processing of these cases, and assessed these victims' help-seeking from formal and informal sources. The overall study conclusion is that "current structures are not sufficient for potentially one of the highest risk adult populations for sexual assault and victimization in the United States." Read more of the study abstract by clicking here.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has updated its SANE Program Development and Operation Guide that provides a blueprint for nurses and communities that would like to start a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. Check out that guide here.

The OVCTTAC.gov website is updated, to make it easier to find the tools and resources we need to help build our capacity to serve victims of crime, including those with I/DD. Along with the new look, the website includes improved navigation, refreshed content, and updated training and technical assistance applications. Check out that website here.

Ending Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) offered a two-part webinar series on the neurobiology of sexual assault in mid-September. Click here for links to view the sessions, handouts, etc. Both sessions' chat questions may be viewed here.

In this investigative advisory, OIG identifies concerns about fraud and patient harm that build upon those outlined in a Portfolio report issued in November 2012, "Medicaid Personal Care Services: Trends, Vulnerabilities, and Recommendations for Improvement". Since the Portfolio was issued in 2012, OIG has opened more than 200 Federal criminal investigations involving fraud and patient harm and neglect in the PCS program across the country and has included PCS cases as part of national health care fraud takedowns in 2015 and 2016. OIG investigations have revealed a variety of billing fraud scenarios, some of which are limited to individual PCS workers, while others indicate organized schemes involving dozens of suspects. OIG investigations have also shown that abuse and neglect by PCS attendants has resulted in deaths, hospitalizations, and less severe degrees of patient harm. Stronger controls are needed to screen and monitor PCS attendants and the program. Read more here.

October is Bullying Prevention Month and this issue of Inspiring Possibilities highlights bullying prevention resources that specifically address disability issues.
Celebrating a Champion for Justice
(Recognizing and sharing information about a champion for justice for people with I/DD.  There are many of us out there - we hope sharing this information will help us network and further improve services to victims with I/DD.)

Scott Modell, Ph.D

Both a scholar and a practioner, Dr. Scott Modell has worked with and for thousands of children and adults with disabilities, including many in our community of Aurora, Colorado.  He is an expert in child abuse, crime victims with disabilities, disability etiology, and interview
Dr. Scott Modell
techniques. He has authored eight books and has more than 250 published articles and abstracts.  Dr. Modell is frequently invited to lecture at national and international conferences for law enforcement and child welfare agencies.  Over the past fourteen years, he has worked with multiple agencies regarding crime victimization and serving as an expert witness.  In fact, Dr. Modell is a "frequent flier" here in Aurora!  The many trainings he has provided for The Arc of Aurora are professionally delivered and well-received.  His professional, tenacious work for and with crime victims with developmental disabilities in advancing the discussion about access to justice for ALL victims, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, earns him our Champion of Justice recognition!
Opportunities
(Activities for engagement to help improve our work to address crime victimization of people with I/DD in our communities)

(None this issue - send yours to [email protected] for the next issue)

Articles
(Abuse of people with I/DD occurs throughout the country, including in our own communities...)

In late August, Ferreyra and Prudhomme were found dead inside the burned remains of a state-licensed and funded home for severely disabled adults...CALIFORNIA - October 6, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Three Maryland sheriff's deputies are appealing a federal judge's order for them to stand trial for the asphyxiation death of a man...MARYLAND - October 4, 2016 - The Seattle Times

A rapid series of high-profile cases of police shootings involving disabled people and marked by protests across the United States could prove the spark that brings disability into the wider eye... NATIONAL - October 5, 2016 - VOX

A high school student says in a lawsuit that a school police officer tasered him twice for being late to class after having an anxiety attack...CALIFORNIA - October 2, 2016 - The Free Thought Project

A 22-year-old developmentally disabled man has alleged his foster parents kept him tied up in his bedroom and didn't feed him... The victim also alleged his foster parents "would give him a bucket to use as a toilet and when they tied him up, it was with a white rope." OHIO - October 5, 2016 - Norwalk Reflector

Before Kayden Culp was placed in an induced coma on Sunday, the 10-year-old special needs child who had been lured to a Texas shack, doused with gasoline and set on fire was able to tell his mom the person responsible for the grisly attack needed to face justice: "He hurt me. He set me on fire. He needs to go to jail." TEXAS - October 6, 2016 - FoxNews.com

The former director of a Pueblo center where residents with severe disabilities were abused is now in charge of adult services at one of Colorado's 20 community boards that manage benefit money for the disabled, a move that has angered numerous parents. COLORADO - October 5, 2016 - The Denver Post

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Department has charged a caretaker with assaulting a disabled adult... a witness says Jovarrus Stegall punched the disabled adult in the face back in June... TENNESSEE - October 4, 2016 - WDEF.com

The first time Frankie Martinez called police because one of her elderly father's roommates was intimidating him and refusing to pay rent, she waited on the side of the road for two hours. When Aurora Police Department patrol offers arrived, they told Martinez and her father there was nothing they could do... The next time Martinez called the Aurora Police Department because of the roommate, she was put in touch with its Special Victims Unit. That's when she met two detectives who were focused and passionate about crimes against the elderly. Pretty soon, the roommate was out of the house and facing criminal charges. COLORADO - October 3, 2016 - The Denver Post

The Department of Human Services oversees the Pueblo Regional Center. They released a statement saying, in part, they will "continue to improve staff training in a number of areas, including the useo f restraints, and one-on-one supervision of clients...COLORADO - September 29, 2016 - KKTV 11 News

Abuses at a Pueblo center for people with severe intellectual disabilities included a resident performing a sexual act in exchange for a soda and another burned with a blow dryer in an attempt to raise her body temperature, according to a federal report obtained by The Denver Post... COLORADO - September 27, 2016 - The Denver Post

Susan Medina, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, says 69-year-old Carol Carpenter of Blanca was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder for the October 23 death of 27-year-old Corey Carpenter who weighed about 90 pounds when he died...COLORADO - September 28, 2016 - Aurora Sentinel

Sherill Holder was the executive director of the Sumter County Disabilities and Special Needs Board when he was charged in 2008 with one count of kidnapping and two counts of criminal sexual conduct involving assaults of disabled men... SOUTH CAROLINA - September 19, 2016 - Greenville News

The Florida Department of Children and Families said an adult protective services investigation began the day of the alleged beating and was closed two months later...FLORIDA - September 13, 2016 - Sun Sentinel

Tennessee Adult Protective Services along with Animal Rescue Corps were called to the scene. The four persons were taken to a nearby hospital... and the animals were taken to a nearby emergency animal shelter... TENNESSEE - September 6, 2016 - WAAY

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that, in two distict cases, four nursing home aides who were paid to provide care to elderly residents and residents with substantial disabilities were arrested and arraigned on September 13 before Oswego City Coiurt Judge James Metcalf. All four defendants were charged with felonies and misdemeanors relating to allegedly taking still and video digital images of residents in undignified poses at two nursing homes in Oswego... NEW YORK - September 15, 2016 - New York Attorney General

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the arrest and arraignment of Andrew Hatcher, 26, of Brooklyn, a former direct support assistant at the state-run group home Centereach Intermediate Care Facility in Centereach, for allegedly tying up an intellectually and physically disabled resident so that she was unable to get out of bed. Hatcher allegedly wrapped a bed sheet around the frail resident's waist and then tied and knotted the sheet to one leg of her pajama pants, which had been removed from her leg. Hatcher allegedly further endangered nthe resident by not checking on her during the entirety of the night shift when he was the only one responsible for her care and she was supposed to be checked on every fifteen minutes... NEW YORK - September 7, 2016 - New York Attorney General

Attorney General Pam Bondi's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with the assistance of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office, announced the arrest of a former Gadsden County Florida State Hospital employee for alleged physical abuse of a disabled patient. Following an altercation, hospital staff allegedly physically removed the defendant, Alashi Denise Lurry, 29, from a disabled patient's room According to the MFCU investigation, Lurry repeatedly returned to the patient's room, climbed on the bed and kicked the restrained patient on the head and face. NEW YORK - August 23, 2016 - New York Attorney General

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the indictment of Jacky Stanley, a former employee of Northeast Center for Special Care. Stanley is charged with sexually abusing six residents of the facility, all of whom suffered from traumatic brain injuries. NEW YORK - August 17, 2016 - New York Attorney General

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