A Critical Examination of State Agency Investigations into ...

it is not his office’s policy to provide the family with the same documentation that isgiven to a voluntary agency, such as the Anderson School. He explained:I gave a summary statement to the parents which I thought adequatelyaddressed the concerns of that particular parent in terms of his speaking tome and making an allegation that, at that point, it was verified – yourallegation in certain areas were correct….The detail that they needed toknow was different. If you’re running an agency I need to know what theheck you found that is very specific to my policies and procedures. To theparents and the questions that that parent asked me, I answered.Inspector General’s Findings Regarding Letter to the CareysWhile the Taconic regional office has the discretion to disclose what informationit deems relevant and appropriate in a letter of findings to the parents, a completedisclosure would have been more prudent. Although not in effect at the time, in May2007, the state Legislature enacted Jonathan’s Law, which provides parents the right toobtain complete information regarding records related to incidents and allegationsinvolving individuals residing in mental hygiene facilities.ConclusionAlthough the Inspector General’s Office disagreed with some findings andidentified some opportunities for improvement, overall, the Inspector General found thatthe Taconic regional office performed satisfactorily in that it conducted a thorough anddetailed investigation into the Jonathan Carey allegations. It was, by far, the mostcomprehensive review of the matter that was examined by the Inspector General’s Officein this matter. The Taconic regional office took appropriate and far-reachinginvestigative steps that other primary investigating entities failed to perform.Investigators interviewed 25 individuals in investigating this case and analyzed records to116