State orders Clay group home closed, pulling Medicaid funding
The state Agency for Persons with Disabilities issued an emergency closure order Wednesday for an Orange Park-area group home that houses six men with profound disabilities.
The closure of the Pine Forest facility stemmed from complaints about how BASCA, which runs that group home and three others, and founder John Cone handled repeated violence by a particular resident toward other residents and staff members, according to the order.
The current operation of the group home "constitutes an immediate and serious danger to its residents," according to the order. "The suspension of its license is necessary and fair under the circumstances."
Also Wednesday the state launched a 90-day process to terminate BASCA's Medicaid waiver, said Agency for Persons with Disabilities spokeswoman Melanie Etters. That waiver allows providers to be reimbursed by Medicaid for their services.
"We have had some issues raised," Etters said. "We hold all our providers to high standards. Our customers deserve the best."
Pine Forest, which opened in 2011, houses men with "profound disabilities and/or behavior issues, requiring 24-hour care," according to the BASCA website. The facility has a staff-to-resident ratio of 1-to-3 and is staffed 24 hours per day.
The complaints were the subject of a just-completed investigation by the Department of Children and Families and a pending probe by the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
Attacks by the aggressive resident led to fellow housemates and staff being injured, according to the state order. Also, restrictions imposed in the group home to control the aggression led to unspecified human-rights violations against other residents.
"The victims sustained harm from inadequate supervision," according to the report, with staff apparently lacking the "training and resources necessary to maintain the health and safety" of the aggressive residents and the other residents.
Staff and family members feared retaliation against residents if they reported the problems, according to the order. "Group home staff … were instructed to run and lock themselves in the office, have other residents … run to their bedrooms."
Staff were told not to report the incidents to the state or to call 911, but to call Cone, who was injured himself when he attempted to restrain the violent resident, according to the order. Also, reports that were prepared about the incidents were altered or not filed at all.
During the Children and Families investigation, Cone "has been interfering with staff and having staff call to recant their stories," according to the order.
BASCA was founded in1994 as Baptist Association for Special Children and Adults and now goes by the acronym. Cone, the founding parent who has run the nonprofit since its inception, initially blamed the troubles on former employees who wanted to "burn us."
"Everything they are saying is false," he said Wednesday morning.
Later in the day, attorney Ashton Scott said in a statement that BASCA was reviewing the order and "many discrepancies, exaggerations and/or unsupported or minimally supported allegations have already been spotted."
BASCA will go over those issues with the Agency for Persons with Disabilities once the review is complete, as well as "undertaking our own investigation … so that any corrective measures that are needed can be taken," according to Scott's statement.
"It is, and has always been, our intention and mission to provide a safe wholesome environment at the Pine Forest group home for both residents and staff. We will be investigating all allegations and working diligently with the APD in this matter to make sure that this will continue to be the case," according to the statement.
State spokeswoman Etters said the Agency for Persons with Disabilities is helping Pine Forest residents and their families find other appropriate homes, she said.
Residents of the BASCA's other three group homes - in the Lake Villa, Secret Harbor and Peoria communities near Orange Park - may also have to relocate within the 90-day Medicaid waiver termination period. But Etters said they may be able to remain in their homes if BASCA transfers operations to another similar agency that has a Medicaid waiver in good standing.
Meanwhile, the state agency is also giving those group home residents and their families information about other appropriate group homes, she said.
Children and Families spokesman John Harrell said his agency's investigation lasted a few weeks and concluded last week. Mary Justino, spokeswoman for the Clay Sheriff's Office, said her agency was "aware of the complaints" and also investigating, but could not say more.
BASCA serves about 35 people, with about 21 living in the group homes.
Beth Reese Cravey: (904) 359-4109