Duluth caregiver takes vulnerable adult on errand to do drugs in a garage
DULUTH, Min. – A staff person at a TBI Residential & Community Services facility in Duluth took a vulnerable adult to a home, where the staffer used illegal drugs, and then drove the vulnerable adult back to the facility.
That’s the allegation in a Minnesota Department of Human Services investigation.
The report said the vulnerable adult asked the staffer for a ride to the gas station. The staffer agreed and said they also needed to go home to “pick up some papers.”
The vulnerable adult told DHS investigators that upon arriving at the home they were left in the vehicle for “a good twenty-five minutes”.
After waiting, the vulnerable adult got out of the vehicle in an attempt to find the staff member.
The report says the vulnerable adult found the staffer, “in the garage with an unknown individual.” The report continued to read, “[The staffer] was holding a tray with ‘tinfoil and white powder.’ The [staffer] and the unknown individual were smoking something ‘wrapped up like a joint.’ The [vulnerable adult] was in the garage for ‘two or three’ minutes and heard the unknown individual ask [the staffer] ‘is this fentanyl.’ The [vulnerable adult] smelled a ‘burning smell’ before s/he left the garage and got back into the vehicle.”
The vulnerable adult told investigators when the staffer got back into the vehicle, the vulnerable adult thought the staff member was “high” because they had “glassy” eyes.
The vulnerable adult said they did not say anything to the staffer and “hoped to God” they did not get into an accident while returning to the facility.
Upon arriving back the facility the vulnerable adult reported what happened to a fellow resident and supervisory staff person.
The other resident reported that they had noticed the staffer would make “constant” trips to the bathroom and “black residue” would be found on the sink, toilet seat, and floor.
The vulnerable adult noted a burning smell in the garage was similar to burning smell they noticed in the facility.
Minnesota Department of Human Services report says other staff members had expressed concerns about the staffer’s behavior. The reports say they described the staffer’s behavior as “odd” and “off” and sometimes noticed a “funny” smell when the staffer was around. Another staff members noticed a “black, tar-like substance” in bathroom. They took a picture of it, sent to other staff members, and the picture eventually made its way to a supervisor.
Minnesota Department of Human Services investigators say in TBI’s internal investigation, the staffer denied bringing any residents to their home and also denied use of any substances while at work. Minnesota Department of Human Services investigators tried to interview the staffer for their investigation but they were not able to do so. The state report reads, “Attempts were made via telephone and certified mail to contact and interview the [staffer]; however, the [staffer] did not respond to those attempts.”
The staffer worked approximately five shifts at the facility and no longer works at the facility.
