Washington, D.C.’s System of Group Homes for the Mentally Ill Lacks Regulation and Oversight, Audit Finds

Group homes in the District of Columbia for people with mental illnesses are "impaired by poor regulation and oversight," a year-long report from the D.C. Auditor states. The District's community-based residential facilities, which house more than 1,000 residents, are operated by private contractors. Last fall, 107 out of 147 licensed homes were operating with expired licenses, and another 131 homes were permitted by law to operate with no license at all, the report notes. By law, three categories of homes are required to have licenses, but two others -- rooming houses and apartment buildings -- are excluded from licensing requirements and have less restrictive regulations, the Washington Post reports. Because those homes are largely unregulated, "hazards in many facilities ... go undetected." The report recommends that the District license and regularly inspect all community-based facilities. But licenses are "not a cure-all," the Post reports, pointing out that many licenses "were allowed to expire, with little consequences for the home's operator." Of the 84 homes the report examined, 70 had operated with an expired license for some time between 1998 and 2000. In most cases, when a license expired, patients were permitted to remain in the homes, "despite evidence of unhealthy or unsafe conditions," the Post reports. The report also finds that some homes are "unsafe" and present "significant health and safety risks" to residents, including rat and insect infestations, structural problems and fire hazards. Martha Knisley, director of the District's new Department of Mental Health Services, said she "agreed" with several of the auditor's conclusions, adding that her department will "centralize licensing procedures and create a staff of eight inspectors." In 1997, a court placed the D.C. mental health system under receivership; this year, the system will likely return to District control under the Department of Mental Health Services (Fahrenthold, Washington Post, 7/17).