Group Home's Permissive Sex Policy Raises Concerns of Abuse
The Human Development Center in Tampa, Florida has come under investigation several times because of complaints from both residents and others regarding the policy the company utilizes regulating sexual behavior for its residents. According to the Tampaybay.com website, the facility has a permissive policy allowing its residents to participate in sexual behavior amongst each other at their own discretion. This facility is reportedly for male residents that have some sort of mental disability, some of which had records as sex offenders.
The report states that the agency that oversees the facility did not find any problems with the facility’s policy until a complaint was sent to a legislator for the state. Following several investigations, it was discovered that there were many incidents of improper sexual behavior amongst the residents. In one particular incident, Kevin Rouse, a resident of the facility was found in the bathroom with another resident participating in sexual activity. However, the incident was not reported because the facility deemed the incident a consensual act and not abuse. Law enforcement was never made aware of this or any other incident in the facility because of the permissive policy. Now the policy for state-run group homes is being revised to avoid such incidents.
It is clear to see how such a policy could be viewed as blatant negligence on the part of the facility and also how it could lead to many more cases of abuse. The fact that the state is now stepping in and revising the policy demonstrates that such a policy is inappropriate, especially for a facility that houses mentally disabled individuals and known sex offenders. The revision of the policy would prevent group-home sexual abuse among residents and potentially between staff and residents as well.
