The state Department of Human Resources’ plan to deny Evershine Residential Services a license to care for troubled youths has been backed by an administrative law judge who said the firm had violated numerous state regulations.
Judge William J.D. Somerville III in an opinion dated last Thursday, cited Evershine’s failure to develop plans to care for each youth in its care, to make sure the staff lacked criminal records, to employ a full-time social worker and to report serious incidents, such as one child slashing a neighbor with a knife.
Evershine also didn’t train staff appropriately, the judge said. The lack of training, he wrote in a 38-page opinion, might have contributed to the assault on a child who subsequently fled the home and was killed.
The tax-exempt company, which received millions of dollars a year from the state during its heyday, was a major subject of a Sun series last April that documented lax regulation of care, spending and staffing at children’s group homes.
Joseph Skariah, Evershine’s executive director, expensed Caribbean cruises, luxury sport utility vehicles and meals while residents coped with what they and former staff said was inadequate medical attention and other mistreatment, the series reported.
DHR subsequently barred Evershine from accepting any more youths.
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The Owings Mill company has 30 days to appeal the judge’s decision in Circuit Court. If the company doesn’t appeal, DHR will send the youths now cared for by Evershine to other group homes or foster families.
“These kids deserve better care,” said Barbara Jaudon, a former counselor for Evershine who applauded the ruling. She adopted a boy who was choked and denied medical care by Evershine staff while living in a facility in Woodlawn, according to her, the boy and other counselors.
Carmen Brown, DHR’s new executive director of licensing and monitoring of group homes and child placement agencies, said the decision sends a signal to all group homes and prospective group homes.
“The bar is being elevated, and we are going to be holding group homes accountable,” Brown said.
The state needs to do more than shut down bad group homes, said Susan Daddio, a former group home director who now leads Court Appointed Special Advocates of Baltimore County, a group of volunteers who monitor the cases of abused and neglected children.
“A careful look needs to be taken at the whole system to make sure everything’s being done to hold providers accountable” and give group homes the funding they need to provide good care, Daddio said.
Stephanie Kinder, the lawyer for Evershine, said the company was being unfairly penalized for the actions of Skariah. The company’s new leadership, she said, had been working hard to correct problems but ran out of time.
“They’re devastated,” Kinder said. “They are concerned about the effect this will have on the children, especially in light of the fact this is happening during the middle of the school year.”
She said no decision had been made about appealing.
It is rare for a state agency to deny a license to one of the 500 privately run, group-home companies in the state.
Usually, agencies try work with the homes, which serve 2,700 youths, to correct problems.
Since 2000, DHR has closed five companies, not including Evershine.