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Parents rip state in boy's death
February 18, 2007
By Kate Perry
Michael, Lisa Carey seek changes in
system; Bruno says he'll schedule hearings
The parents of an autistic boy who
police said died Thursday after a care worker improperly restrained
him in the back of a van want authorities to make immediate changes
to the state's system of institutionalized homes and schools.
In a written statement, Michael and
Lisa Carey said the state already failed their 13-year-old son
Jonathan by not investigating abuse they allege happened at a
Dutchess County facility for autistic children, Anderson School, in
2004.
"Now we must contend with our grief
over the loss of our son and the surreal experience of having to
bury Jonathan, all because of a broken and failing system," the
statement said.
At a news conference outside his
Brunswick home Saturday morning, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L.
Bruno said he'll work with his colleagues to prevent similar
tragedies.
Jonathan Carey, who lived at the
O.D. Heck Developmental Center in Niskayuna, and a 14-year-old
client were on a shopping trip to Crossgates Mall in Guilderland
Thursday evening with two staffers, Edwin Tirado, 35, and Nadeem
Mall, 32, when Jonathan died, Colonie Police said.
On the way to Crossgates, Mall
stopped at an ATM and when he returned to the van Tirado had Carey
in an illegal restraint hold, Colonie Police Chief Stephen Heider
said. Carey was also mentally retarded and nonverbal.
Neither man sought or offered
medical help; they stopped to buy drinks at a gas station, bought a
video game in Mohawk Commons in Niskayuna and then dropped the game
off at Tirado's home, authorities said. It was only after they
returned to O.D. Heck, overseen by the state Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, that efforts were made
to revive the boy.
Staff called 911 at 8:52 p.m.,
almost 2 hours after the group left on the shopping trip, police
said. Carey was pronounced dead at St. Clare's Hospital in
Schenectady. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday but Colonie
Police Sgt. Kenneth Fuchs said the results weren't available later
that afternoon.
Tirado, of 1634 6th Ave.,
Schenectady, and Mall, 32, of 9 Plaske Drive, Schenectady were
charged with manslaughter and sent to Albany County jail without
bail.
Bruno said parents should feel
secure their children are treated properly in institutions like O.D.
Heck and that caretakers there are well-trained.
Deborah Sturm Rausch, OMRDD
spokeswoman, said she couldn't comment on specifics of the case or
on Tirado and Mall's training.
She said in a facility like O.D.
Heck, people who provide direct care to clients are normally
classified as developmental aides. Civil Service lists no
educational requirement for the position and demands only minimal
qualifications, such as reading and writing skills and English
proficiency.
But during a traineeship, which
normally lasts about a year, OMRDD requires criminal background
checks, fingerprinting and training, Rausch said.
"OMRDD requires developmental aides
to receive intensive training to assure the safety and welfare of
the people entrusted into their care," she said.
They are trained to prevent the use
of physical intervention with people during behavioral episodes, and
are educated on developmental disabilities, client protection, abuse
prevention, managing behaviors, first aid and CPR, Rausch said. The
last two must be renewed annually.
The two will likely head back to
court for a preliminary hearing Wednesday when the Careys will bury
their son.
In their statement, the Careys said
Jonathan was a happy boy who loved horses. They said "he speaks
flowing words now, with praise to Jesus whom he loved."
They said Jonathan's legacy will be
changes in legislation. They said it's time for state officials to
investigate its institutional system -- as the family has begged
them to for the last year.
Bruno said he'll schedule hearings
shortly and will try to expedite the passage of legislation related
to the issue. He said state Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie,
already introduced a bill giving parents access to their children's
records at state-run facilities. The Careys have tried in vain --
blocked by privacy laws -- to obtain Jonathan's records from
Anderson School -- for more than a year.
Perry can be reached at 454-5092 or
by e-mail at kperry@timesunion.com.
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