Home for Mentally Ill May Lose Its License : Health care: State inspectors urge closing El Monte facility where a patient was killed. Operation has had 78 violations within a year.

State licensing inspectors recommend revoking the license of an El Monte board and care home for the mentally ill where one schizophrenic man beat another to death this month.

That recommendation, according to a report released Thursday by the state Department of Social Services, is necessary because of the Dahlia Gardens Guest Home’s “chronic noncompliance in meeting regulations, specifically . . . direct-care staff not performing direct-care responsibilities.”

The Feb. 8 death occurred while the lone staff member, who according to state code was supposed to be working directly with the home’s 73 residents, was washing dishes in a separate building instead.

The home was cited for that lapse Feb. 10, its 78th violation within a year. Frequent among the citations by the department’s investigators were repeated staff shortages, staff not doing direct-care duties and untrained staff. The home even allowed mentally ill residents to substitute for staff, giving them access to other residents’ records and staff keys, records show.

After a two-hour meeting late Wednesday with Dahlia Gardens owner Karl Hoffman, state officials decided to seek revocation, which also could mean less drastic measures such as probation or license suspension.

Hoffman declined to comment Thursday. Earlier in the week, he said that the home’s violations were minor and that the major ones had been corrected. Hoffman, who opened the home eight years ago, said any problems he had with the state were the result of misunderstandings on his part.

“I didn’t understand what was required,” he said. “I run an excellent home for the people. They know I care for them.”

At the conference--the third such meeting since June--state officials discussed the death of Leonard Sutton Jr., 34, a two-year resident of the home who was killed after being repeatedly beaten over the head with a large rock. On Feb. 14, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed murder charges against Sutton’s former roommate, LaRay Anthony King, also 34.

Responding to the news that Dahlia Gardens might be shut down, the victim’s father, Leonard Sutton Sr. of Riverside, said, “I hope it does.”

The home has been cited for 148 violations since it opened in 1987, state licensing records show. In addition to the staffing problems were multiple citations for filth, vermin, poor nutrition and failure to administer medications properly.

Sutton’s death is the second in three months. In November, a 47-year-old resident was killed when he was hit by three cars while trying to cross the street.

Steve Hoffman, Karl Hoffman’s son and attorney, told state officials that the facility will make immediate efforts to correct the staffing, intake procedures and medication and records problems, according to the report from Wednesday’s meeting.

He agreed to submit a remedial plan to licensing officials that details the facility’s plans to make the changes. The facility has hired a new administrator, Maury Hoche, to handle paperwork and Karl Hoffman and his wife, Pearl, have contacted a consultant who might assist them, the Hoffmans told state investigators.

The agency’s next step will be to mail or deliver a formal accusation outlining specific grievances to the owner of the facility. The owner can choose to appeal within 10 days.

“I want to move very quickly in resolving this case,” said Martha Lopez, a deputy director for the state agency.

An administrative judge holds a hearing within 90 days of the filing and makes a recommendation to the director of the Department of Social Services. The director can agree with the judge’s decision, overrule or modify it, Lopez said, adding that 99% of the time the director goes with the judge’s recommendation.

In 1994, officials revoked or suspended operations at 121 of the state’s 4,497 adult care homes, or nearly 3%.

The state can also issue a temporary suspension order, which would immediately close the facility while the case works its way through the system. Often the suspension order is issued when the state issues its accusation, but it can also be filed later, Lopez said.

Lopez said she could not comment on whether a suspension order might be filed in the Dahlia Gardens case.

The Department of Social Services will notify the social workers and health care professionals who referred the residents to Dahlia Gardens about the pending action, but it usually does not contact families or guardians, Lopez said. If the home is closed down, the state will help residents find other housing.