Duluth caregiver who took vulnerable adult on drug run not banned from future roles
DULUTH, Min. – A staff person at a residential 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. Yet with those allegations, the staff person is still able to care for vulnerable adults according to Minnesota state regulations.
The state report where the actions were reveals said the caregiver is, “not disqualified from providing direct care services as a result of the maltreatment determination in this report.”
Explaining why they are not banned from future caregiving, the Minnesota Department of Human Services tells FOX21., “Every situation and allegation of maltreatment is unique. For every maltreatment investigation, we are required by Minnesota Statutes 626.557, subdivision 9c to evaluate whether the allegation rises to the level of maltreatment and who is responsible.”
Minnesota Department of Human Services continued to explain the department is required to evaluate whether the allegations meet the definition of “serious or recurring” as defined by Minnesota Law to bar a person from future caregiving.
The report explained that these instances did not meet was is described as “serious or recurring” under state law. The report stated, “although the [Staff Person] likely used substances while working at the facility, at those times, there was no information the [Staff Person] drove any residents at that time, and there was another staff person present in the event of an emergency. Therefore, the [Staff Person] was responsible for a single incident of driving the [Vulnerable Adult] while intoxicated and the [Vulnerable Adult] did not sustain and injury that required the care of a physician.”
Minnesota Department of Human Services also tells FOX21, “If the staff person is found responsible for any further incidents of maltreatment, that could meet the definition of recurring.”
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The exact role of the caregiver was not made clear in the report.
The caregiver is no longer working at the facility according to Minnesota Department of Human Services report.
The facility’s owner, TBI Residential & Community Services Inc, has not responded to a request for comment.
