A Critical Examination of State Agency Investigations into ...

SURVEY BY THE OMRDD CENTRAL OFFICEAs discussed in this report’s introduction, the New York State Office of MentalRetardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) is responsible for certificationand oversight of privately-owned facilities that provide services for individuals withdevelopmental disabilities. In response to the allegations of abuse of Jonathan Carey,OMRDD Central Office conducted a survey in which it examined regulatory complianceat the Anderson School. Although the survey was initiated in response to the specificallegation, it was intended to be broader than the Taconic regional office’s investigation,which was discussed in the previous section. The Central Office’s survey team reviewedthe care of other children, as well as Jonathan’s care, as part of its examination. Thefocus of the survey, according to OMRDD officials, was to assess school-widcompliance concerning issues raised by the Careys’ complaint. Violations noted in theregulatorysurvey were communicated to the Anderson School in a Statement of Deficiencies. Asrequired by OMRDD policy, the Anderson School responded to the Statement ofDeficiencies with a plan to correct each violation.In its survey, OMRDD correctly identified serious problems at the AndersonSchool, with particular focus on its use of techniques like planned ignoring in its behaviorplans and the lack of training among the staff. However, the Inspector General notessome oversights in its review methodology. In addition, the Inspector General identifiedregulatory violations involving Jonathan’s care that were not addressed in the Statementof Deficiencies. OMRDD Central Office accepted a Plan of Corrective Action from theAnderson School that made statements contradicting the findings of the survey.118