San Gabriel Valley : SOCIAL SERVICES
Officials with the state Department of Social Services have reworked the rules for overseeing troubled board-and-care facilities after scores of violations contributed to a homicide at the now-closed Dahlia Gardens Guest Home for the mentally ill in El Monte.
Officials have come under fire for not moving quickly enough to shut down the home, which had received nearly 150 citations for state code violations since 1987. The citations included lack of supervision of two residents, allegedly contributing to their deaths. Dahlia Gardens was closed Feb. 28, and its owners, Karl and Pearl Hoffman, gave up their operating license in a settlement with the state.
Among the changes:
* Training for home inspectors and supervisors on enforcement and legal actions regarding board-and-care homes, using Dahlia Gardens as a case study.
* Tracking problem board-and-care homes when cases are transferred between inspectors or temporarily reassigned. Dahlia Gardens had been reassigned to a new analyst, who had not followed the case, as part of an office reorganization. . . .
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