Laserfiche WebLink
Homecare giant ResCare faces lawsuit after caretaker with a criminal...d autistic man I News I San Luis Obispo I New Times San Luis Obispo 12/16/18, 2:44 PM <br />New Times was unable to reach Rogers for comment on the matter. <br />The lawsuit alleges that ResCare failed in its duty to conduct a proper background <br />eck on Rogers. <br />"Had ResCare performed even the most rudimentary of such background checks, it <br />would have discovered that [Rogers] had been convicted of violent assaults in 2009 <br />and 2011 in SLO County," the suit states. <br />ResCare Inc. is a massive corporation that runs residential and in-home care services <br />in locations across the United States, including a branch in SLO. While the company's <br />website does state that ResCare conducts criminal background checks on employees, <br />it does not specify what crimes are considered. Robert Bradshaw, regional manager <br />for ResCare's SLO location, declined to state whether or not the company knew about <br />Rogers' past. However, the 2013 filing by the California Board of Vocational Nursing <br />and Psychiatric Technicians stated that Bradshaw wrote them a letter stating that <br />Rogers had been working part-time with the company since 2010 and described him <br />as caring, compassionate, and competent" <br />ResCare's corporate headquarters also declined to answer questions from New Times <br />about the case and the specifics of criminal background checks on employees. <br />'I apologize, but after looking into this, since it is pending litigation, we are unable to <br />comment about this situation at this time based on our organization's policy; <br />ResCare's director of communications, Kristen Trenaman, wrote in an email response <br />*w New Times. <br />T'he allegations are far from the first time the company has faced accusations of <br />mismanagement. In September, a family in Detroit sued the company, claiming it <br />failed to conduct a proper background check on one of its homecare workers, who <br />they say tricked an elderly widower into marrying her and bilked him out of $1 <br />million. According to the Detroit Free Press, that caretaker was wanted for two felony <br />charges and was convicted of two misdemeanors. The case was dismissed in October. <br />In October, police in Greenville, Ind., arrested a ResCare employee who allegedly left <br />three severely disabled people in a van for hours while he went shopping at a local <br />mall. In April, a group home for the developmentally disabled located in Austin, <br />Texas, run by ResCare lost its license to operate after a severely autistic man escaped <br />the facility and was shot and killed after an Austin resident thought he was trying to <br />break into his home. <br />As of Dec. 21, neither ResCare nor Rogers had responded to the lawsuit. According to <br />the SLD County District Attorney's office, Rogers hasn't been charged with any crime <br />in connection to the incident. An incident report from the SLO County Sheriffs <br />Office indicated that an incident of dependant adult abuse was reported July 20 at a <br />residence in Cayucos. <br />Sta„tf'Writer Chris McGuinness can he reached at cmcguinness@newtimesslo.com, or on <br />Twitter at @CWMcGuinness. <br />Taqs: News <br />Dec 14 <br />SLO New Times: Glen and Anna Starkey review'At <br />Eternity's Gate' in this... <br />Dec 14 <br />SLO New Times: Glen and Anna Starkey reVew'At <br />Eternity's Gate' in this... { ) <br />Dec 44 <br />TRENDING NOW <br />https://www.newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/homecare-giant-rescare-fa...a-criminal-past-allegedly-attacked-autistic-man/Content?oid=2946977 Page 3 of 5 <br />