January 31, 2013, 11:09 AM
SONOMA – California’s largest full-time care center for the severely disabled needs more staff and accountability to correct major internal breakdowns that led to dozens of cases of alleged patient abuse, staff members said Wednesday at a public forum. The Sonoma Developmental...
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December 12, 2012, 7:12 PM
The state's largest board-and-care center for the severely disabled lost its primary license to operate today, after repeatedly exposing patients to abuse and shoddy medical care. State regulators cited the Sonoma Developmental Center, which houses more than 500 patients, for dozens of...
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September 28, 2012, 12:32 PM
UPDATE, Sept. 28, 2012: This story updates to include comment from the Department of Developmental Services. Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills yesterday to require California’s developmental centers to alert outside police and a disability protection organization when patients die...
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September 5, 2012, 12:05 AM
Two bills that would require outside police and advocates to be informed about alleged crimes against the developmentally disabled at California’s board-and-care institutions have reached Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. Brown has 30 days to sign the legislation – SB 1051...
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August 31, 2012, 12:05 AM
The California attorney general’s office filed criminal charges this week against two former officials at the state developmental centers’ in-house police force for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 in overtime pay. The charges stem from more than 2,500 overtime hours...
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August 16, 2012, 12:05 AM
The in-house police force at California’s institutions for the developmentally disabled is searching for a new chief as scrutiny of its work on criminal investigations intensifies. After two years in the top job, Corey Smith received a demotion to second-in-command for the force, the...
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July 31, 2012, 11:05 PM
With a suspect from the start, the Sonoma Developmental Center’s in-house police force made no arrest in a dozen patient assaults, choosing to handle the case administratively.
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June 14, 2012, 12:05 AM
The in-house police force at California’s developmental centers is investigating one of its patrol officers for large overtime paychecks and an admission that he has slept on the job. Thomas Lopez, an officer at the Porterville Developmental Center, has doubled and tripled his base...
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June 7, 2012, 12:05 AM
In early 2009, a 16-year-old girl with mental retardation was slain at the Fairview Developmental Center in Orange County. The state-operated institution didn’t tell the public about the deadly assault. After three years, the California Department of Public Health penalized Fairview in...
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May 29, 2012, 5:39 PM
Two bills intended to improve police investigations into patient abuse and unexplained injuries at California’s institutions for the developmentally disabled passed the state Senate today. The legislation, SB 1051 and SB 1522, would require the state to notify outside law...
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May 18, 2012, 12:05 AM
Police officers at the Office of Protective Services, the in-house force at California's five board-and-care institutions, are among the state government's most proficient users of overtime. The data below documents every sworn peace officer employed by the Office of Protective Services from 2006...
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May 18, 2012, 12:05 AM
An unusually high number of officers at the state’s board-and-care facilities for the developmentally disabled have doubled their salaries by working extra hours.
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May 18, 2012, 12:05 AM
To examine overtime at the Office of Protective Services, the in-house police force at California’s five developmental centers, California Watch performed a computer-assisted analysis of state and local finance data.
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May 18, 2012, 12:05 AM
There are many agencies and individuals involved in the daily operations of California’s developmental centers and its police force, the Office of Protective Services. Here we list them – as well as organizations focused on protecting residents – by category.
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May 9, 2012, 12:05 AM
Wherever the developmentally disabled live, abuse is their neighbor. It comes as deliberate assault by caregivers and sometimes relatives. It comes as acts of frustration, when people exhausted from the relentless difficulties of caring for patients with intellectual disabilities shove and hit...
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