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LANSING, Mich. — Attorney General Mike Cox has called on Michigan’s legislature to pass legislation requiring annual criminal background checks on employees of residential care facilities. The Attorney General’s office has also charged 10 individuals with falsifying criminal histories.

“As the first group of 78 million baby boomers begins to retire in 2010, the safety of loved ones in Michigan’s nursing homes should be on all of our minds. When we place our loved ones in these facilities, we expect that our family members will receive the highest standard of care,” stated Cox. “It is important that nursing homes follow their statutory requirements to properly check prospective employees for criminal backgrounds to ensure a safe environment for vulnerable adults in residential care facilities.

“It is equally important for the legislature to act on pending legislation that will require annual criminal background checks on employees with access not only to the residents of these facilities, but also to their personal and financial information as well. All too often, we have found individuals who have fallen through the loopholes in the law. That is why it is so important to conduct these background checks annually,” Cox said.

Recently, Cox’s health care fraud unit completed several investigations involving employees working in violation of Michigan statutes regarding criminal background checks for nursing home employees. Cox’s office noticed several employee applications with incorrect information, as well as an incorrect effective date of the statute. As a result, the Attorney General sent an Abuse Alert to Michigan nursing homes notifying them of the legal requirements.

The alert sent statewide continues Cox’s efforts to protect Michigan’s most vulnerable adults in residential care facilities. In May of this year, Cox’s office sent all Michigan residential care facilities copies of the report “Michigan’s Resident Care Facility Criminal Background Checks.” This report was based on an investigation by Cox’s Health Care Fraud Division that uncovered that 25 percent of residential care facility employees that commit crimes against residents since 2002 had past criminal convictions. Of more than 5,500 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) studied, 9 percent had a total of 836 outstanding criminal warrants and 3 percent, or 170, had past criminal convictions. These results were confirmed when the backgrounds of entire employee populations at four nursing homes across Michigan revealed 58 of 618 employees, or more than 9 percent, had 101 outstanding warrants, and that 68, or 11 percent, of the staffs had past criminal convictions.

“I know the vast majority of residential care facilities and the employees that work in them share my concern for the well-being and safety of our vulnerable adults,” noted Cox. “I hope this alert will provide assistance and enable my office and Michigan’s residential care facilities to continue our efforts to provide a safer environment for Michigan’s most vulnerable.”

Source: Michigan Attorney General’s Office