Evictions from Nursing Homes Stopped Sheriffs Agree not to Force Elderly and Severely Disabled People onto the Streets

10-30-2006 Georgia:

ATLANTA , GEORGIA, HB 1059, Georgia’s sex offender legislation, has taken another hit as Sheriffs in several counties agree not to enforce a portion of the law.

Two weeks ago, lawyers from the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction on behalf of nine elderly and/or severely disabled people on the registry. This Motion specifically addressed the provision of HB 1059 that prevents people on the registry from living within 1,000 feet of a church. Because of their advanced age and/or physical condition, these plaintiffs are not a danger to anyone, yet the residency restrictions of HB 1059 make no exception for them.

Attorneys and the Sheriffs in the counties where the plaintiffs live have reached agreements that elderly and disabled individuals named in the Motion will not be evicted from their homes, nursing homes, and hospice care facilities. These agreements will allow these elderly and ill people to live the remainder of their lives with dignity, receiving appropriate medical care and attention to their conditions.

“Once again, the Georgia Legislature’s ‘one size fits all’ policy for the treatment of people on the registry takes us into the realm of absurdity,” states Sarah Geraghty, an attorney at SCHR representing the plaintiffs. “Sheriffs are now required by law to evict Alzheimer’s patients and the terminally ill from their nursing homes if these facilities are within 1/5 of a mile of a church. Never mind that some of these patients cannot even stand up, or walk without assistance.”

Some Curbs on Sex Offenders Called Ineffective, Inhumane

11-22-2006 Georgia:

As convicted sex offenders go, they seem to pose little danger.

One is 100 years old. Another can barely walk and is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. Another is dying of heart disease in a nursing home.

Yet under a new Georgia law, thousands of registered sex offenders, even the old and feeble, could be pushed from their homes and hospices.

"He doesn't really know anything about it," said Ruby Anderson, 77, whose husband was convicted of having sex with a minor in 1997 and, at 81, no longer recognizes members of his family because of Alzheimer's disease. "The trouble is, I just don't know where we can go."

As states around the country have sought in recent years to control the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders, Georgia's law stands out as one of the toughest, a testament to the daunting public fears regarding children's safety.

Long-Term Care Facilities: Information on Residents Who Are Registered Sex Offenders or Are Paroled for Other Crimes

March 2006 National:

Approximately 23,000 nursing homes and intermediate care facilities for people with mental retardation (ICF-MR) receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Media reports have cited examples of convicted sex offenders residing in long-term care facilities and, in some cases, allegedly abusing other residents. Given concerns about resident safety, GAO was asked to assess (1) the prevalence of sex offenders and others on parole for non-sex offenses living in long-term care facilities and the extent of any abuse they may have caused, (2) the legal requirements for notifying facilities and others when offenders are residents, and (3) the extent to which facilities have different supervision and separation requirements for offenders. GAO analyzed a national database for sex offenders and analyzed state databases in a sample of eight states for sex offenders and parolees. ..Continued.. GAO Office