Residential Care

Re “Slaying Raises Questions About Mental Facility” (Feb. 22), regarding Dahlia Gardens, a residential-care home for the mentally ill in El Monte:

I would like to come to the defense of the majority of care homes, which do not have these kinds of problems, which do not receive this many violations, which do not have murders happen and which provide an alternative to hospitalization. The owner of the care home mentioned in the article has clearly shown that he is inadequate to care for the people he has living at his home. But the blame is not entirely his for the quality of care he provides to his residents.

The blame rests on the Mental Heath Department, which creates vacancies by encouraging people to live on their own, instead of in a regulated care home. Some care homes are then forced to take people incompatible with their general population, in order to pay the bills and remain open.

The blame rests upon the licensing agency, for allowing that person to continue to operate after this many serious violations. The philosophy seems to be that we need bad care homes to exist in order to provide some care for the difficult-to-place residents.

The blame rests on the state Legislature for not licensing a higher level of care for the hard-to-care-for resident, with a higher rate of pay, requiring a higher ratio of staff to residents. A higher level of care is still cheaper than state-run institutions.

The state Legislature needs to act today to save the residential-care system.

BYRON OWEN

California Assn. of Residential

Care Homes, Long Beach