How Minnesota DHS conducts maltreatment investigations
Impaired drivers and vulnerable adults
The Minnesota Department of Human Services says it received thousands of reports of maltreatment allegations in the past year in programs serving children and vulnerable adults, some of which included drivers being impaired.
(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Human Services Licensing Division received thousands of reports of maltreatment allegations in the past year in programs serving children and vulnerable adults, according to the department’s dashboard.
Recently completed investigations detail incidents from across the state where a staff person drove vulnerable adults while under the influence.
Maltreatment report and investigation
By the numbers:
The DHS maltreatment report and investigation dashboard is updated monthly.
According to DHS, at the end of March, there were 12,094 licensed programs that serve children and vulnerable adults.
In the past 12 months through March, DHS received an average of 807 alleged maltreatment reports each month. The most common type of maltreatment allegation reported was neglect of vulnerable adults, according to the dashboard.
Of the 670 reports received for an out-of-office investigation, 64% or 429 of those reports assigned have been completed.
Completed investigations:
FOX 9 looked through some of the completed investigations by the Office of Inspector General.
An issue of neglect that was substantiated multiple times was reports of a staff person transporting vulnerable adults while under the influence.
There were several completed investigations published this year that determined neglect at programs licensed under Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).
Investigators say in July, a staff person in Mankato, picked up four vulnerable adults and drove them to a local church while under the influence, according to a maltreatment investigation memorandum.
In another incident, DHS investigators say in December in Duluth, a staff person drove a vulnerable adult to work, and admitted to smoking marijuana before work, according to a maltreatment investigation memorandum.
In another incident in January in Coon Rapids, DHS received a report of a staff person who was arrested for DWI while a vulnerable adult was in the car, according to a maltreatment investigation memorandum.
Action taken:
DHS determines whether the facility or the individual is responsible.
In the cases above, they all found the facilities followed polices and investigators determined the staff person was responsible for neglect.
In those cases, the facility completed internal reviews, and the staff person no longer works there.
Also, the Office of Inspector General determines whether the maltreatment meets the definition of recurring and/or being serious -- causing serious injury or abuse. If maltreatment is determined to be recurring or serious, it would result in the person being disqualified from providing direct care services, according to the DHS memorandum.
Those maltreatment investigations above were determined to have been single incidents, so according to the Office of Inspector General, they were not disqualified from providing direct care services based on the maltreatment report.
According to DHS, maltreatment determinations can be appealed.