|
Bruce Elfant
Notebook Archives
|
Constable's Notebook - April 2010
Last year the Austin police department, EMS and the Fire Department responded about 840 times
to just seven addresses in northeast Austin at a cost of over $1 million. So what do these addresses
have in common? Each of these locations is a group home for adults who are disabled, elderly or
mentally impaired and who are in need of quality, safe, supervised housing. The University Hills
Neighborhood Association Group Home Task Force which includes residents of Coronado Hills,
Creekside, Pecan Springs, Springdale and Windsor Park neighborhoods, compiled this data and
estimates that there are about 40 such group homes - predominately in northeast Austin.
Many group homes which are located in residential areas and have questionable sanitary or
safety conditions, reportedly house 20 or more individuals. Police reports indicate that
group home employees have been implicated in home invasions, assault and criminal trespass.
It has been reported that residents are required to sign over their Social Security checks
to the group home operators.
A friend of mine who lives across the street from a group home and has endured dozens of emergency
responses at all hours, has observed poor living conditions, a lack of oversight and some criminal
activity. She has called city code enforcement officials, city council members and her state
representative. Each time she was told that there was nothing anyone could do. In Texas there are
no state regulations for group homes that do not provide medical care. Cities have attempted to
regulate group homes but a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc.,
et. al.) that addressed certain discriminatory aspects regarding prior attempts at enforcement,
resulted in local governments backing away from regulating group homes altogether.
Legislation to authorize local governments to license and regulate group homes was introduced
in the 2007 session of the Texas Legislature but failed to pass. In 2009 Representative Jose
Menendez (San Antonio) and Senator Eliot Shapleigh (El Paso) sponsored and passed HB 216 that
directed the Texas Department of Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to establish
September 1, 2010 model regulations that cities and counties could adopt in order to license
and regulate group homes. HHSC has held a public hearing and released a first draft of proposed
regulations. Last fall the Austin City Council directed city staff to work with HHSC and
recommend a proposed ordinance to permit and regulate group homes.
It is not yet clear whether a proposed city ordinance will be ready by September or if
funding could be appropriated as a part of the next city budget. What is known is that
group home residents currently have no protection from incompetent or unscrupulous operators.
Residents have had to endure intolerable conditions and taxpayers shell out millions of
dollars each year to provide emergency services response for unregulated homes. Here’s hoping
that City officials will move as quickly as possible to provide reasonable protections for
group home residents – and for their neighbors.
|
 |
Watch a video
|
|
Watch a video
|
Learn more
|
