News
Former Caretakers Plead Not Guilty To Abuse Of Disabled Woman
By Ryan Fennell
BRIDGET GRIMES AND Debra Sloan pleaded not guilty in a Warren County courthouse last Friday to 17 counts of abuse that ultimately led to the starvation death of Tara O'Leary, a developmentally disabled woman who was under the care of Grimes and Sloan.
O'Leary's abuse allegedly occurred in Sloan's home in Hunterdon County but the case was moved to Warren County after two Hunterdon County judges were found to have conflicts of interest.
O'Leary was a cousin of a Little Silver family who had been placed in a skilled sponsor home authorized by the New Jersey State Department of Human Services Division of Developmentally Disabled.
The 17 counts against the two women also include the death of O'Leary's roommate at the time, Erin Germaine, who had survived the stay in the sponsor home but who died several months after being removed from the home.
O'Leary's treatment and death sparked an investigation by State Senator Jennifer Beck (R-12) after she was contacted by O'Leary's family.
Beck along with Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-12) and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-12) has sponsored a bill known as Tara's Law.
According to Beck, Tara's Law is one of several bills the 12th District legislators will be advocating for when Governor-elect Chris Christie is sworn into office in 2010.
Tara's Law seeks to create a registry for all caregivers of the developmentally disabled that have been found neglectful or abusive of those individuals left in their care.
Sloan ran the sponsor home where O'Leary lived for several years before being moved to a hospital in November 2008. She died several weeks later at the age of 29 weighing only 43 pounds.
"Today's arraignment of Bridget Grimes and Debra Sloan is a call to action for the entire State of New Jersey to make sure that no one else suffers Tara's fate," said Beck. "I do believe these two women should be held accountable for the role they played in allowing Tara O'Leary to starve to death under the care of a state caseworker and a state-sanctioned sponsor home, and the state must investigate deeper to assure that this is never permitted to happen again."
Last week, Beck called on New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram to reverse her decision not to pursue a full investigation into the suspected corruption at the Division of Developmentally Disabled. "Anne Milgram has been approached several times by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office and by me personally about taking on a full investigation of its Division of Developmentally Disabled. (Milgram) had committed to me that she would lend whatever resources are necessary," Beck said. "But, as the case continued and the prosecutor's office came to believe this incident was not a single incident but that there's widespread corruption within the division and within the department, they felt the appropriate investigative body was the attorney general. (Milgram) flatly refused to take the case."
"There is no doubt the continuation of this investigation must be handled by the U.S. Attorney of our state Attorney General because there is evidence that there is additional corruption and this was not an anomaly," Beck continued. "There's actually a pattern and a culture that allows for this kind of abuse and the misuse of Medicaid dollars."
According to Beck, the system currently allows for caseworkers to act autonomously with significant power and control over both the families and of the individuals under their care and there are very few checks, if any. "In this case, while Tara and Erin were locked in an upstairs bedroom and being starved to death and even though their caseworker was coming to check on their well-being, she never noted in any of her documents that they were losing weight, that they were mal-nourished and she denied the family access to Tara."
Beck also noted that Grimes' supervisor didn't raise any red flags when O'Leary's personal needs account showed purchases of a jungle gym, clogs, and size 12 clothing when O'Leary was a smaller framed woman.
Beck said that reports also show that O'Leary was scheduled to take music lessons that she was incapable of taking.
"(Grimes') supervisor, I feel, is just as culpable as anybody else because she didn't supervise. As a result Grimes was free to do whatever she wanted and she did, as did Debra Sloan," Beck said.
Beck also said the regional coordinator was in possession of time sheets from the ARC of Hunterdon County that said that O'Leary was attending the day program, while Grimes' reports time and time again noted that O'Leary was not attending the day program at the ARC.
"This is part of the culture in the department," Beck said.
According to Beck a woman had previously died under the care of Sloan.
"Because this population has many challenges often times those deaths go without investigation," said Beck.
Also, a third woman was under the care of Sloan but was higher-functioning than O'Leary and Germaine. The third woman held a job, was mobile, and could communicate effectively. This woman complained to her family that O'Leary could be heard screaming throughout the night.
The family called Grimes' supervisor to inquire about the screaming and were told that that was just the way O'Leary communicates.
"So she's screaming because she's starving to death, locked in a bedroom and the supervisor tells the family don't worry, that's just how she communicates," Beck said.
"We have invested a lot of time meeting with people, reading documents, and going through evidence and what becomes evident is that it is pervasive. It is the culture that allows for this abuse. The autonomy of the caseworker and skilled sponsor allows for people not to get the proper care," Beck said.
Beck said that according to Grimes' attorney, Grimes is currently employed in Pennsylvania caring for developmentally disable individuals.
"We called the State of Pennsylvania to put them on notice and apparently it's not a public institution" because the state does not have a record of her joining its department.
"What could be more unconscionable?" asked Beck. "To allow the people you're caring for to starve to death and now go one state away and do the exact same thing."
Beck hopes that the new attorney general that was named earlier this week from Essex County will take the case in the coming months.
According to Beck, Medicaid is conducting its own investigation due to the allegations of Medicaid fraud.
Grimes and Sloan are scheduled to return to court in Warren County on February 18, 2010 at 11 am.
