Ed's Newsletter - STOPPING THE VIOLENCE AT STATE INSTITUTIONS

McMANUS CONSULTING

DISABILITY SERVICES

847.256.0456, mcmanus006@gmail.com, Facebook, LinkedIn

Ed’s Newsletter

OPINION

No. 337 – Oct. 18, 2023

WE NEED TO START SHUTTING THEM DOWN . . .

Did you see that awful video of the angry state worker grabbing the hood of a disabled woman’s sweatshirt and violently swinging her body around the room?  Outrageous!

 It happened at Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee.  A nursing assistant shot videos surreptitiously and turned them over to the police early this month.

Very vulnerable people have been attacked over and over again at Illinois’ 7 big state institutions.  It needs to stop!

The CEO of one of our major provicies told me this morning: “They need to deploy every single resource to every SODC--BALC, BQM, DPH, 116 nurses, central office, etc.--and begin around-the-clock monitoring at those places. 

 “And then they need to STOP THE MADNESS and provide adequate resources so we can bring people out to live in the community!”

IARF issued a statement saying they were “horrified” by the Shapiro videos:  “We are horrified, frustrated, and tired of learning about yet another example of abuse alleged at an Illinois developmental center.

“Our hearts go out to the residents at Shapiro, Choate and other centers and their families who have experienced abuse and neglect at the hands of their caregivers.

“We salute the courage of the whistleblowers who have seen the worst and stepped up to do what they can to shine a spotlight and end it.  The nursing assistant at Shapiro is exactly right:  Some serious changes need to be made.”

The nursing assistant said her breaking point was when she witnessed 4 staff put a pillowcase over a person’s head, “strangling her so bad she pooped her pants. . . .  Hearing the traumatic noises in the shower room of them banging her head against the wall.  Her screaming.  Gasping for air!”

Channel 2 Chicago interviewed the nursing assistant:https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/disabled-residents-shapiro-center-abuse/In case you’ve lost trac--A worker at Kiley Center in Waukegan was arrested last month for bashing a resident on the head 3 times with a large serving spoon.

--2 workers at Mabley Center in Dixon were arrested last month--one for punching a resident, the other for breaking a resident’s nose.

--A resident of Mabley suffered severe injuries in August.  He apparently was repeatedly kicked in the groin by an unknown person.  The Dept. of Public Health issued an “Immediate Jeopardy” citation against the facility for failure to protect its residents.

--And Choate Center in Anna, of course, has the worst record of all.  24 employees arrested in 7 years.

The CEO whom we talked to is absolutely right.  We need around-the-clock monitoring at those institutions to stop this.

But we also need to start shutting them down.  Now.

-0-

McManus Consulting was founded in 2011 by Ed McManus, who was an administrator with the IL Div. of Developmental Disabilities for 18 years, and before that a Cook County assistant state's attorney and a Chicago Tribune reporter/editor. The practice provides consultation to many disability agencies, as well as law firms and families. Ed's Newsletter circulates statewide to 2,600 readers.