Senators critical of governor, HHS over Beatrice violations

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BY JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

A number of senators — mostly Democrats — took on Gov. Dave Heineman and the state Department of Health and Human Services Monday over the latest violations at the Beatrice State Developmental Center.

The state stands to lose $28.6 million because of continuing problems at the center for people with developmental disabilities.

A federal inspection team last week issued three immediate jeopardy sanctions after seeing specific serious problems in client protection and physical environment. It is the fourth time the center has failed to meet federal standards.

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HHS has appealed the loss of funds. It also took immediate steps to correct the jeopardy issues.

During a confirmation report Monday for an appointee to the state Board of Health, senators took the opportunity to express their concerns about the care of residents at the center, the continuing violations and threatened loss of federal funds.

Omaha Sen. Tom White characterized it as not just a moral crisis but a fiscal crisis.

The state cannot just move 100 people into community-based programs by the end of the year, as HHS has planned, said Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop.

A significant part of the problem is the way the state treats people who work there, Lathrop said, referring to low pay and forced overtime. The Legislature needs to do something about the problem and not wait for the administration, he said.

“Our measure of success at the end of the session will be whether we have taken care of those entrusted to our care,” he said.

Lathrop introduced a bill this session (LB926) that would restrict the use of mandatory overtime at state facilities that provide 24-hour care and supervision. The Business and Labor Committee has not advanced the bill.

Lathrop, who said the issues raised Monday were not based on partisan politics, wants to look at the federal inspectors’ report to learn more about their ongoing concerns, and then instead of just patching the problems, really solve them.



Community care can take the state just so far, he said. The state needs a facility for those who are profoundly mentally disabled, a facility that provides them a quality of life, he said.



Appropriations Committee member Sen. Danielle Nantkes said the governor had no mention in his list of budget adjustments for the second year of the current budget of additional resources to address “this serious, serious problem” in Beatrice.

“I believe our state budget is a moral document,” she said.

The lack of resources devoted to the state’s most vulnerable citizens shows it’s time “to check our moral compass,” she said.

The governor, said Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, does not seem to see this as a priority, choosing to focus instead on immigration — a federal issue.

“The governor failed in his responsibility,” he said. “It is on his doorstep that the pressure should rest.”

Beatrice is an extreme example of what is happening across the state with funding for community services for the developmentally disabled, said Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton.

“Community services are struggling,” she said, without adequate funding and staffing.

These are jobs with responsibility, and these types of jobs aren’t held in high esteem, Dubas said. Agencies are not willing to provide these workers with the compensation they deserve.

Money is always an issue, she said, but senators must ask where their priorities are.

“We are judged by our record and how we take care of the least among us,” she said.

Heineman responded Monday afternoon, calling the criticism a coordinated partisan attack led by Lathrop, a member of the Judiciary Committee that killed a bill that would have helped ensure illegal immigrants could not receive state and local benefits.

“I am disappointed in their partisan attacks in a legislative body that’s supposed to be nonpartisan,” Heineman said. “I’m especially disappointed with Sen. Nantkes’ comments because her priority bill is to give tax breaks to Hollywood film executives instead of helping the people of BSDC.”

HHS is working closely with officials at the Beatrice center and the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee to address the issues at the center, he said.

“Politicizing the challenges of the Beatrice State Developmental Center is unfortunate and uncalled for,” Heineman said.

Sen. Tim Gay of Papillion said during the morning comments that the senators were elected to solve problems, not just to point them out.

“We can point it out, but let’s get involved in helping out, too,” he said.

When HHS was reorganized last year, one of the rationales for doing it was for accountability — not only within the agency but directly to the governor, said Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard, a member of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

“He asked for the accountability and now he’s going to get it,” Erdman said.

Everybody wants a solution, but they want it to be more than words.

The Beatrice center’s problems are difficult tasks to solve, and they potentially have financial impacts and impacts on public policy, in general.

The department has brought in experts from outside the state to advise HHS and ensure that residents’ interests and protections are at the front of the conversation, he said.

Some of the tort claims the state is still dealing with concerning the Beatrice facility have dated as far back as 1994, and have spanned different administrations, he said.

“So there are global problems here and there need to be global solutions,” he said. “Let’s solve the problem by empowering them to make the solutions that they need. Actions will speak louder than words, and I think those of us on the committee are beyond the words that we’ve heard and we’re looking for the actions to resolve the problem.”

Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Joel Johnson said DHHS administrator Chris Peterson has taken a cooperative attitude in working with the federal inspectors to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

The Legislature is a separate but equal branch of government, Johnson said.

“And we must demand that things be done correctly as well,” he said.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.