WATTS : Adult-Care Center Defies Order to Close

Nearly a week after the state Department of Social Services revoked the license of an adult-care center and ordered its 14 residents relocated because of substandard conditions, the center remained open.

The case against the Sharon Lynn Guest Home is to be transferred to the state attorney general’s office, where an injunction will be sought against owner Geneva Church for failure to comply, according to Social Services.

John Sanders, supervising deputy attorney general of the health, education and welfare section of the attorney general’s office in Los Angeles, said his office had been contacted and is awaiting additional information from Social Services before it can proceed.

The center was ordered closed Oct. 13 after a Superior Court judge issued a report citing repeated violations, including lack of hot water in rooms, inadequate sanitary conditions and lack of supervised care.

Darryl Alexander, a representative for Church and a day-care consultant, said Church is considering turning the center into a boarding home. “Her response is (that) she’s not breaking the law and she’s operating a room-and-board house,” said Alexander. “I’ve told her that in order to do that, she can’t dispense medication, but she maintains she isn’t violating the law.”

At the one-story center at 12040 S. Broadway, conditions remained unchanged last week.

A cook and a cleaning person were the only adults working at the center Wednesday morning. A group of six residents sat quietly in a sparsely furnished room, while outside, another resident lay quietly on a bench in the hallway. Many declined to talk about moving, but some said they were worried.

“I’m not sure where we’re moving, but I hope it has a television. I just pray we get a television set,” said one woman who declined to give her name.

Tom Jones III, who moved out shortly after Church’s license was suspended, said he remains concerned for those left behind.

“There’s a lady there who is 92 years old and she needs care,” said Jones, who now lives in a one- bedroom apartment on Crenshaw Boulevard. “There is no television there. No one cares about these people. Some of these people have been in there for years and they don’t even have new shoes.”

Social Services, the agency that oversees licensing of care centers, is doing all it can to shut down the facility, including fining Church $200 for each day the center stays open, but cannot legally move the residents, said Bruce Barber, an attorney with the agency.

“We’re doing everything we can do to stop this because, from our point of view, it’s very serious when a facility is operating unlicensed,” Barber said. “(Social Services) is the administrative arm; now that Superior Court will be involved, they can do more.”

Even Alexander expressed concern: “I’m considering removing myself from the case because I have serious concerns about the safety of the residents.”