As a case manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Stephanie Jerstad once had a client die in transitional housing after being rejected by 212 different nursing homes in Illinois and Indiana.
None of them would take the man because he was on a sexual offense registry for a long-ago offense. Admission was repeatedly denied despite professional evaluations of his appropriate behavior during a preceding hospital stay of more than 30 days. He also needed so much assistance with daily activities that he would have been physically incapable of assaulting anyone, Jerstad said.
As thousands of Americans are added to registries each year and more of them age into needing long-term care, patients and providers are left to wade through an increasingly complex healthcare access issue without much formal guidance.
In some states, nursing homes within close proximity to a school, park or daycare center cannot legally admit people convicted of a sex offense. In another 12 states, there are specific communication and notification rules for nursing homes.
But the federal government is mute on when to accept or deny people forced to register.
Last year, there were nearly 800,000 Americans on a sex offense registry, an increase of nearly …
Wow. This is a great article and it even cites a 2015 DoJ study that shows the recidivism rate in the study was 5.3% after three years!
Here are a few quotes from the article:
In many states, experts said, uncertainty has led nursing homes to adopt policies excluding anyone on a sex offense registry. In many cases, nursing homes also restrict admission for anyone ever convicted of a sex-related crime, whether they’re on a registry or not.
“It’s definitely the most stigmatized thing you could imagine and sometimes more than any other crime, even if that’s something most people would consider even more egregious,” said iCare’s David Skoczulek, vice president of business development and communications.
She [Jerstad] also points out that even the Department of Justice acknowledges that most people with a sex offense conviction are less likely than other criminals to reoffend, and that recidivism decreases significantly with advanced age.
“We should be looking at, first, their healthcare needs and what they can and cannot do. Then look at how long they’ve been offense-free in the community,” she said. “In talking about how low the risk is, I’m hoping they would change their minds and look at the picture holistically — not just deny someone based on their criminal history.”
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Please give this a read to show support for case manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Stephanie Jerstad as well as the author Kimberly Marselas for giving the spotlight for People Forced to Register (PFR).
While this is a good article to read as noted by @New Person, it is not a complex problem, but a simple one. Do the healthcare job assigned/hired for and individually assess the person as needed to include any criminal history that may cause possible mental & emotional issues with others, e.g., fearmongering. If those on staff cannot stand it or those who are patients/clients of the facility (or their family), they are free to move or heaven forbid, get to know the person and situation in question. This is no different than looking to move into an abode of any sort.
Again, as we wrote recently, homelessness is legislated and this issue is one outcome of that legislation which can be reasonably addressed by those who care enough to do so.