Group Urges Takeover of D.C. Agency For Disabled
Source: By Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, Thursday, May 25, 2006
An advocacy group filed papers yesterday requesting a court takeover of the D.C. government agency in charge of caring for 2,000 mentally and physically disabled residents, saying that the city's repeated failures are putting vulnerable lives at risk. The Justice Department delivered a separate warning, filing court papers that said the city agency is "in disarray and deteriorating rapidly." The Justice Department cited 14 "preventable and questionable" deaths since January 2003 and urged a judge to hold the District in contempt of court for not meeting promises to improve health care and other services, especially at group homes for mentally retarded wards. ….. Most of the complaints involve care at group homes run by private providers under the city's oversight; there are about 360 such residences.