The elderly and frail deserve better

THOROUGH assessment of Washington's adult family home industry is a critical first step in tackling problems of abuse, neglect and weak state oversight.

Gov. Chris Gregoire correctly demands a top-down review of Aging and Disability Services. She owns this problem, a problem that should not have gone ignored for so long. Many a governor has been nettled by troubles at the behemoth Department of Social and Health Services. Gregoire ought to be the one to resolve some of them.

We're not talking about a few egregious missteps but a pattern of lapses outlined by Seattle Times reporter Michael J. Berens in "Seniors for sale," a three-part series. Berens concluded after examining 15 years worth of adult family home inspection reports that time and again, reports of abuse and neglect were ignored even when accompanied by evidence that violators lied to investigators, falsified medical records or contributed to preventable deaths.

Adult family homes have exploded into a cottage industry, fueled by an aging population with a preference for homelike settings rather than institutionalized care. The problem is that tough licensing requirements and enforcement of the 2,843 adult homes statewide have not kept up.

Top officials at the Department of Social and Health Services have responded, including requiring adult family home operators to post investigative reports about their homes in view of residents, family members and visitors.

DSHS will also publish results of its investigations, adding critical pieces of information for people researching assisted-living facilities. Greater safety ought to come from a new requirement that home inspections include interviews with each resident rather than a random few.

A troubling aspect of "Seniors for sale" focused on unsavory realtors who market adult family homes as lucrative parcels accompanied by the residents inside. Even the inference that humans can be sold with a home is repugnant.

DSHS officials propose extending the 30-day resident notification of a home for sale to 60 days. That is fine, but direct talks with the real-estate industry are best suited to resolve unethical advertising and marketing language.

The Legislature must make licensing requirements tougher and more expensive to screen out amateur caregivers or uncaring people in the business solely to make a profit.