Stricter background checks for caregivers finds major support at the Roundhouse
A senior woman being assisted to walk using a walker by caregiver at park. (Stock photo by Thianchai Sitthikongsak via Getty Images)
New Mexico is facing an increase in severe cases of abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled and older residents, according to Dan Lanari, director of the Health Care Authority's Division of Health Improvement.
Lanari told members of the House Health and Human Services Committee this month that between Fiscal Year 2020 and 2024, a 117% increase occurred in such cases for people receiving Developmental Disabilities Waiver services, while there was a 76% increase in cases at health care facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
'Examples of these are medical neglect resulting in death, medical neglect resulting in a broken jaw of individuals, exploitation exceeding $10,000 of individuals,' he said.
Lanari joined Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (D-Albuquerque), who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee, to present House Bill 131 to committee members Feb. 7. The bill proposes stricter background checks for caregivers, which he said is the 'safeguard' in place to protect people from bad actors. However, New Mexico law only included about 10% of disqualifying convictions as other states, Lanari said.
'We see that as a need to close the gap to ensure the safety of individuals receiving health care in our state,' Lanari said during the meeting.
HB 131 proposes adding several felony convictions to a list of charges that disqualify a person from being accepted as a caregiver, including felony crimes of sex trafficking, assault of a peace officer, identity theft and cruelty to animals. The bill would move oversight from the Department of Health to the Health Care Authority, and would also allow the HCA to add to the list of disqualifying convictions.
'It is a fine line. We want to catch all the bad folks, but we don't want to make so many people ineligible. We already can't fill the positions,' Thomson said during the meeting.
'I just want reassurance that the people who are taking care of my autistic son and his housemates will provide the love and support and caregiving that I would [give] my own son,' Jodi McGinnis Porter, deputy communications director for Gov. Michelle Lujan's office, told lawmakers during the committee meeting. 'If they have a criminal background, they shouldn't be in this business.'
In 2023, the health department terminated multiple contracts with providers caring for people through the state's Developmental Disabilities Waiver, after a case involving abuse and neglect of a client. That case prompted state wellness checks throughout the system, as well as criminal charges.
Thomson told Source NM she hopes this bill will set a stronger foundation for building the caregiving workforce in the state. She added that another major component of attracting qualified people to be caregivers is increasing pay.
Rep. Elizabeth 'Liz' Thomson (D-Albuquerque) is co-sponsoring a bill to tighten background checks for caregivers in New Mexico. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM)
Thomson explained that her son has significant autism and lives in a DD Waiver group home.
'He's most of the time a delight, but when he's not, he's really scary. And when you can go to McDonald's and make $5-an-hour more and not have to deal with that level of fear, which I totally understand, we've got to figure out some way to pay folks more so that we can get qualified people,' Thomson told Source NM.
Representatives from the Association of Developmental Disabilities Community Providers, Disability Rights New Mexico and several other organizations spoke in favor of the bill, though voiced concerns about allowing HCA to later add more rules disqualifying caregiver applicants. Committee members joined in the skepticism, asking Thomson to make amendments to some of the wording in the bill.
'If you've had the most vulnerable of the population, which is somebody you love, been abused, it changes your scope and I've been there with my grandparents,' Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez (R-Hobbs) said during the meeting.
HB 131 passed the House Health and Human Services Committee but without recommendation. It heads to the House Judiciary Committee next.
This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations and The NIHCM Foundation.
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