HOMES: State Seeking to Close Board, Care Facilities : State Seeking to Close Judge’s Nursing Homes

The state attorney general’s office will seek a court order next month to close four unlicensed board and care homes owned by Superior Court Judge Leonard H. McBride and his wife, according to court documents, even though an application for a license now is on file.

The homes, which have operated without licenses since they opened in 1984, are located in a quiet, unincorporated East Tustin neighborhood south of 17th Street. They were cited by the county Fire Department last December for 10 code violations, documents show, but officials said that seven of those violations have been corrected.

Betty McBride was warned by state officials in May and July, 1985, and September, 1986, to obtain a license for the homes. She finally completed the application process last month, officials said.

3-Month Application Process

John Grant, licensing program supervisor for the state Department of Social Services, said it usually takes about three months to obtain a license.

“But we are in no position to grant a license now,” he said. There are still the three fire code violations that have not been corrected aside from the attorney general’s court action, Grant said.

According to court documents filed earlier this month, the attorney general’s office will be seeking a preliminary injunction to close the homes at an Orange County Superior Court hearing Feb. 23.

McBride and his wife could not be reached for comment Friday, but in an interview three months ago, the judge admitted that his wife made a mistake by failing to obtain a license for the four homes before opening them.

“She started it just by chance,” he said then. “And it grew from there. People just kept coming to us.”

Although the judge is listed as the owner of two of the homes and co-owner of the other two, he said that he has little to do with their operation.

State officials have toured the homes several times and found their conditions acceptable.

“The condition of the homes is not a critical factor,” Grant said. “It is not that the homes are dirty or filthy. The problem is that they are not licensed, and that is against the law.”

State Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Magasin said it does not matter whether or not Betty McBride has a license application pending now.

“That is not germane,” he said. “The homes shouldn’t have been operating without a license in the first place.”

Magasin said the state’s application for a preliminary injunction was not filed until this month because his office has a backlog of similar cases. “And we normally try to give the facilities the opportunity to comply,” he said.

The homes, which operate under the name Bishop’s Board and Care Inc., came to the attention of the Department of Social Services through a tip, Grant said.

Grant estimates that there are at least 20 other unlicensed homes in Orange County. “But no one knows for sure,” he said.