But recruitment for the program is needed. Maria Alvarez, the executive director the Statewide Senior Action Council, called the measure an important step. "But they are woefully understaffed and they are woefully underfunded." "They are the only program authorized on a regular basis to go into nursing homes and observe conditions, monitor care, help resolve problems," McNally said. This pending measure embraces the ombudsman program, which provides eyes and ears for state officials at nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Hochul signaled recently she wants to review pandemic policies during the early months of the crisis. More than 15,000 nursing home residents have died during the pandemic and there have been calls from lawmakers and family members to investigate state policies that may have contributed to those deaths. Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have come under scrutiny during the pandemic. "This will tell us things like what kind of problems are actually systematic and are they re-occuring in facility," McNally said. The number of visits by independent ombudsman would also be reported. If given final approval by the governor, New York's nursing home ombudsman program will be required to publicize the kinds and patterns of complaints received by its regional offices. "This will give us a lot more information to both fix problems before they occur and frankly shine a lot on them for policymakers," he said. It's a measure Dave McNally of the AARP says will help pinpoint problems affecting vulernable residents. Kathy Hochul's desk is meant to strengthen safety at the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities through the ombudsman program. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.Oversight and transparency could be strengthened for nursing homes and long-term care facilities as New York lawmaker seek to bolster safety amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation now heads to the full House of Representatives for consideration.Ĭopyright 2022 Michigan Radio. That is a good thing,” committee chair Steve Johnson (R-Wayland Twp) said. “It is our intention to try to make FOIA as easily accessible to everyday Michiganders so that way government is open and transparent. Package supporters said they’ve worked to address worries local government groups had about the legislation without weakening it. Briefly describing that there’s a record of a mental health investigation or briefly describing a rape kit? Those are problematic things and so I think we need to be a little bit more careful,” Bosworth said. “Briefly describing, you know, an appraisal? Not so bad. She said that’s the most concerning part of the package for her. Under the proposed package, officials would have to acknowledge a requested record’s existence, describe it, and explain why access to it was denied.ĭeena Bosworth is with the Michigan Association of Counties. “Being the FOIA coordinator is not their main job so dropping everything to respond to a FOIA request when it is brought in is not realistic in most places,” Rigterink said. Michigan’s FOIA doesn’t apply to individual lawmakers.ĭuring Thursday’s meeting, Jennifer Rigterink, of the Michigan Municipal League, pointed out many local FOIA coordinators have multiple duties. “My frustration is that, again, this is another standard placed on local governments that we don’t put on ourselves,” Yaroch said. Jeff Yaroch (R-Richmond) said he supports transparency in local government. But lawmakers had some hesitations their work wasn’t done. The legislation received wide support within the House Oversight Committee Thursday. “We are at a perilous moment for our country and I think everything we can do to increase government transparency, to increase modeling trustworthy behavior to the voters is absolutely imperative,” LaGrand said. David LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids) said the package is “incredibly important.” It would create fines for when a named reason isn’t also included in the written denial. The legislation also works to prevent officials from citing new reasons for denying a request in court. The package would require state agencies and local governments to acknowledge receipt of a Freedom of Information Act request within a couple of business days. Bills that would add more transparency requirements for state agencies and local governments made it out of the Michigan House Oversight Committee Thursday.
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