Re: Sen. Storms hammers lax oversight of group home-APD response to article

[Guest guest]

I sent the link to the article off to the Governor's office and asked for a

comment to the article. The response was supplied by APD. It is as follows:

Thank you for taking the time to write Governor with your

concerns. Governor has asked the Agency for Persons with

Disabilities (APD) to respond on his behalf.

The issues reported in recent articles in the St. sburg Times

are very disturbing. Due to the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability

and Accountability Act of 1996) Privacy Rule, APD is legally

required to keep sensitive information confidential, even if it

would clear up errors reported in the paper.

Many of the people living at Human Development Center (HDC) have

been arrested for deviant sexual behavior. They cannot live in group

homes where children are nearby, as mandated by the court. As soon

as APD was made aware of " quiet time " in October 2008, APD demanded

it be halted immediately. APD has sent repeated inspectors to the

home since the first investigation and " quiet time " has not been

occurring. HDC meets all health and safety requirements made by the

state and is inspected at least monthly.

Governor has appointed whom he feels to be the most qualified

person to be the Agency Director. Director Carl Littlefield has

years of experience working in the developmental disability

community.

Sincerely,

Meghan Murray

Administrative Secretary/Correspondence Manager

Agency for Persons with Disabilities

4030 Esplanade Way, Suite 380-K

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950

Phone:

Fax:

Toll Free: 1.

Email: meghan_murray@...

>

> >

> >

> > Please remember there are 2 sides to every story.

> >

> >

> >

> > " Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the

> > way. "

> >

> > -Abraham Lincoln

> >

> >

>