The department gave Rosamund and Daniel Caliendo of Hampton a summary of the results from an investigation into whether an employee unlawfully restrained their son during a holiday party on Dec. 1, 2007. But the family wanted the name of the worker and details of the case.
Disability Rights New Jersey, a legal advocacy group, sued on the family's behalf to obtain the entire investigative record.The Caliendos said they found their son, Damien, in his electric wheelchair facing a wall, with the chair's front wheels suspended in the air and the tray table jabbed into his stomach. The summary concluded the unidentified worker showed a "disregard for the client's right to unrestricted mobility" and would be forced to undergo additional retraining.
According to the ruling, the state Open Public Records Act does not permit the release of the unredacted investigative records. Citing an earlier decision, the appellate court wrote: "a record which contains or involves factual components is subject to the deliberative process privilege when it was used in the decision-making process and its disclosure would reveal the nature of the deliberations that occurred during that process."
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N.J. Appeals Court Rules Family not Entitled to Investigative Report Involving Son's Mistreatment
This is wrong. These investigative reports should be open record. We're supposed to be living in a democracy.
ReplyDeletePeople should understand and respect other people's condition especially if they need tools like electric wheelchairs just to make their lives more bearable to live.
ReplyDeleteHuman-Services-ocracy. The Human Services does not have to take reports, investigate reports, divulge information, and gives bonuses to its employees when all the grant money is not used up. Human Services can criminally and in secret make a falsified record on family members, and when a record is legally sealed the Human Services can criminally secretly open and show it to a judge to bias a judge to force a competent person on a guardianship. And state attorneys general will represent Human Services and the professional guardians Human Services put in place through Human Services presented perjury and influence with judges, if there is a lawsuit against Human Services or the professionals Human Services recommends. This is good to know, and it is good to know we need Human Services.
ReplyDeleteHuman Services behavior sets an example that democracy is not necessary when there is Human Services to drag senior citizens out of their paid for homes so that Human Services can know what "services" they need. Human Services "protects" U. S. citizens.
The guilty one has more rights than the victim and their families. And, we promote ourselves, the USA as a the greatest country in the world, thinking we are a role model for underdeveloped countries?
ReplyDeleteSomething has gone terribly wrong with the laws and the process now who do you suppose is responsible for the 'language of the laws'?
And we the people we the chump taxpayers pay these individuals salaries, health care benefits and retirement package so they can _____ us over and over again!
This is New Jersey for you
ReplyDeleteIf a person has to have a wheel chair and wants to opt out, all that a professional fiduciary has to do is disable the wheel chair. If a person does not have to have a wheel chair, all the court appointed professional fiduciary has to do is order a doctor to cut of the person's legs. Isn't it exciting to know that probate judges and those they appoint as fiduciaries are so creative in solving the problems of those they control?
ReplyDelete