vs.
Respondent.
) Case No. 02-4314
On February 10, 2003, a formal administrative hearing was held in this case by video-teleconference at sites in Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida, before Carolyn S. Holifield, Administrative Law Judge, Division of Administrative Hearings.
Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc. 4505 Club House Drive
For Respondent: Frank H. Nagatani, Esquire
Whether Respondent should be granted licenses to operate two residential group homes for developmentally disabled individuals.
By letter dated October 2, 2002, the Department of Children and Family Services ("Department") denied Petitioner's licensure applications to operate group homes for the developmentally disabled clients. The denial was based on various alleged violations that had previously occurred at a group home owned and operated by the principal of Petitioner, Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc, and the nonrenewal of the license under which the home operated. Petitioner challenged the denial and timely requested an administrative hearing. The Department referred the request to the Division of Administrative Hearings, which scheduled and conducted the proceeding.
At the final hearing, Petitioner presented the testimony of five witnesses and had twelve exhibits received in evidence.
The Department presented the testimony of three witnesses and had four exhibits received in evidence.
A Transcript of the final hearing was filed on February 28, 2003. Both parties filed Proposed Recommended Orders which have been considered in preparation of this Recommended Order.
On October 22, 1999, the Department issued to Community Opportunities, Inc., a temporary license to operate Skyline ("Skyline" or "Skyline Group Home"), a residential group home for developmentally disabled clients in Pasco County, Florida, which is located in the Department's Suncoast Region. Four months later, in February 2000, the Department issued a standard license to Community Opportunities, Inc. From February 2000 through early August 2002, Skyline Group Home operated under that standard license.
In May 2002, the Department investigated an abuse complaint concerning a 21-year-old male resident at the Skyline Group Home who was diagnosed as mentally retarded with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. His past history included incarceration for attempting to stab his father and, while at Skyline, 14 behavior incidents ranging from exposing himself to violent behavior towards staff and other residents at the group home. On or about May 3, 2000, this resident, while a passenger in a van for the group home, took the vehicle's keys from the seat where they were left by a staff person, started the van, ran over the staff person twice, and ran the van into a house and a telephone pole, before being stopped. Following the Department's investigation, the report was classified as verified for inadequate supervision, caretaker present.
The investigation referred to in paragraph 2 also found that the Skyline Group Home was inadequately staffed, with employees working for weeks at a time with no days off. At the time of the investigation, the van driver, who was injured in the incident, described in paragraph 2 had not had a day off for almost two months prior to that incident.
On August 4, 2000, the Department met with representatives of Community Opportunities, Inc., due to safety issues with the operation of the group home. Following this meeting, on or about August 11, 2000, Skyline's licensure status was changed from standard to conditional. At that time, the Department requested that the facility submit plans of corrective action.
On August 28, 2000, the Department investigated an abuse complaint concerning a mentally retarded, female resident of the Skyline Group Home. This resident was found walking on a gravel road with no shoes and dressed only in a nightgown. It was estimated that it would have taken 8 to 10 minutes to walk to the location where the resident was found. This elopement from the group home occurred 3 times in a three-hour period. As a result of the investigation, it was also learned that Skyline Group Home staff members were dropping off residents at school before teachers arrived, thereby leaving the developmentally disabled clients unattended. In addition, the investigation
revealed that staff at the Skyline Group Home could not be reached during the day when emergencies or problems with medications arose, staff members failed to document significant events as required, and faxed requests for medication from the school to the group home went unanswered. This report was classified as verified for inadequate supervision and medical neglect. The investigation found systemic problems associated with the group home.
Although the Department gave Community Opportunities, Inc., time to correct the problems, the problems were never corrected. As a result of those failed attempts, the Department closed the Skyline Group Home on September 30, 2000.
On September 21, 2000, the Department sent a letter to Ernie M. Beal, Jr., Executive Director of Community Opportunities, Inc., notifying him that the license for the Skyline Group Home would not be renewed. Community Opportunities, Inc., did not challenge the Department's proposed action and two months later, the Department issued a Final Order affirming the denial of Community Opportunities, Inc.'s, relicensure.
The reasons for nonrenewal of Skyline's license included the facility's failure to maintain adequate staff at the group home; failure to take reasonable precautions to assure that the residents were not harming themselves or others;
incidents involving injury to staff; inadequate corrective action plans to address deficiencies; and numerous violations of the licensure standards under Rule Chapter 65B-6, Florida Administrative Code.
On or about September 12, 2002, the Department received licensure applications for two developmentally group homes, Skyline Group Home in Dade City, Florida, and Harvill Group Home located in Lithia, Florida, both of which were located in the Department's Suncoast Region. The applications were submitted by Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., and signed by Pamela Beal, Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). Ernest Beal, Jr., Chief Operating Officer, was listed on both of the applications as the person who would operate and supervise the facilities.
Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc. is a non- profit corporation. Ernest M. Beal, Jr., is its president and Pamela Beal is its vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and CEO. The Board of Directors of Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., is comprised of Pamela Beal and Ernest Beal, Jr., and Felicity Lennox, who was also on the Board of Directors of Communities Opportunities, Inc.
Ernest M. Beal, Jr., is the president and CEO of PEJUS, Inc., which on January 1, 2000, purchased the assets of Community Opportunities, Inc. PEJUS, Inc., then conveyed its interest in the former Community Opportunities, Inc. to Your
Friends & Neighbors, Inc. Qualification documents for Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., were filed with the Secretary of State on or about January 29, 2001, and the corporation was authorized to transact business in Florida on that date.
Petitioner's, Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc.'s, corporate office is at the same address as Community Opportunities, Inc., located at 1515 Magnavox Way, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Moreover, when calling Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc.'s phone number, one is greeted by a recorded message which states the names Your Friends & Neighbors, Inc., Community Opportunities. Inc., and PEJUS, Inc.
Your Friends & Neighbors, Inc., is an Indiana corporation founded in 1985 by Ethyl Beal and Pamela Beal. Community Opportunities, Inc., is an Indiana corporation owned by Ernest Beal, Jr., which owned the Skyline Group Home in September 2000, when the license for Skyline was not renewed.
The two applications for licensure submitted by Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., on September 12, 2002, were almost identical to the application for the Skyline Group Home submitted by Community Opportunities, Inc., in July 1999. There were no significant differences in the 1999 application and the 2002 applications. In fact, the services to be provided, the program description, and the staffing pattern were
almost identical. Notwithstanding these similarities, the applications submitted in 2002, proposed to serve clients with developmental disabilities more severe than those served at Skyline Group Home pursuant to the 1999 application.
By letter dated October 2, 2002, the Department notified Pamela Beal, CEO of Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., that the licensure applications had been denied. The notice cited all the reasons the Department did not renew Skyline's license in September 2000. Those reasons included the incident involving the vehicle resulting in injury to staff; neglect of the residents; failure to correct problems through corrective action plans; insufficient staffing ratio; lack of reasonable
precautions to ensure residents' safety; failure to ensure timely medical treatment to residents; and failure to properly report injuries.
Despite the violations cited in the notice of denial, at the final hearing, the Department clarified that its concern with the subject applications was not with the direct care staff, but with the fact that the proposed model would not meet the needs of the clients with developmental disabilities that Petitioner wanted to serve.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and parties to this proceeding in accordance with Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes.
Chapter 393, Florida Statutes, governs the licensure and regulation of facilities, including group homes, for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Subsection 393.067(1), Florida Statutes, provides that the Department shall provide through its licensing authority a system of provider qualifications, standards, training criteria for meeting standards, and monitoring for residential facilities for persons with developmental disabilities.
Subsection 393.0673 (1), Florida Statutes, provides that the Department may deny, revoke, or suspend a license for a violation of any provision of Section 393.0655 or 393.067, Florida Statutes, or rules adopted pursuant thereto.
In accordance with Subsection 393.067 (8), Florida Statutes, the Department has adopted Rule Chapter 65B-6, Florida Administrative Code, to regulate the licensure and regulation of residential facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Rule 65B-6.010 (4), Florida Administrative Code, provides that group home facility services shall include appropriate physical care, support, guidance, supervision, and
assistance with training required to assure each individual the opportunity for personal growth and development. That rule also provides that the specific services provided shall be defined by the needs of the clients to be served, giving consideration to the age, sex, developmental level, and specific needs.
Rule 65B-6.010(5)(f), Florida Administrative Code, provides that the number of staff needed at a facility is dependent upon the size and kind of program, the type of clients, and the competency of the staff. In accordance with that provision, the facility is required to maintain at least the staffing pattern established by licensure.
A key factor in the Department's decision to deny Petitioner's licensure applications for group homes for individuals with developmental disabilities is the owner's history of violations related to the operation of a group home. The specific violations included inadequate supervision of residents due to improper staffing ratios, concerns over resident safety, lack of proper medical documentation in the resident records, and numerous licensure violations that were not corrected, despite the Department's allowing time for the submission of corrective action plans.
In the instant case, Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., submitted applications for group home licenses for Skyline and Harvill. Petitioner argues that it is
inappropriate for the Department to consider past violations and/or the history of Skyline Group Home because that home was not owned, operated, or managed by Petitioner, but by a separate legal entity. This argument is rejected in that the undisputed evidence established that Petitioner, Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., is controlled and operated by the same principals as Community Opportunities, Inc. Therefore, it was appropriate for the Department to consider the previous history of Community Opportunities, Inc., in reaching its decision to deny the subject applications.
The undisputed evidence also established that the two group home applications which are at issue in this proceeding are very similar to the application submitted by Community Opportunities, Inc., in July 1999. The evidence established that the program description, services to be provided, the staffing model, staff selection and training, significant event reporting procedures, quality assurance and clinical reviews in the subject applications were identical or very similar to the 1999 application submitted by Community Opportunities, Inc., on behalf of Skyline Group Home.
The evidence established that the staffing model included in the 1999 application did not provide the appropriate supervision given the specific needs and developmental levels of the clients, as reflected by the facts recounted above.
In the instant case, it is undisputed that, pursuant to the current licensure applications, Petitioner seeks to care for even more challenging residents than its predecessor, Community Opportunities, Inc.
Based on the past performance of Community Opportunities, Inc., the almost identical applications submitted by Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc., and the lack of any systemic or model changes, the Department is justified in denying the applications submitted by Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc.
The Department's concerns regarding the lack of effectiveness of the proposed staffing model to meet client needs are well-founded, in light of the previously documented problems. Nonetheless, Petitioner is not precluded from submitting applications for licensure in the future which address the Department's concern and provide a model or system which will meet the clients needs.
Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is recommended that the Department of Children and Family Services enter a Final Order confirming the decision not to issue Petitioner's group home licenses for Skyline and Harvill.
DONE AND ENTERED this 30th day of April, 2003, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.
CAROLYN S. HOLIFIELD
Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 30th day of April, 2003.
Pamela J. Beal 1515 Magnavox Way
Your Friends & Neighbors of Florida, Inc. 4505 Club House Drive
Frank H. Nagatani, Esquire
15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the final order in this case.
