* I’m still trying to catch up on the stuff I missed during my week off. Here’s a big one from the Belleville News-Democrat…

The head of a state agency set up to protect disabled adults has resigned after the News-Democrat reported that the agency did not investigate the deaths of people who were neglected or abused.

William M. Davis, the inspector general for the Department of Human Services, offered his resignation after Gov. Pat Quinn ordered him to meet with Michelle R.B. Saddler, the head of the Department of Human Services, regarding the findings of the stories. His resignation takes effect Aug. 1.

You have to wonder what, if anything, will happen to the people responsible for this policy besides IG Davis. So far, nothing.

* Davis’ resignation coincided with an executive order issued by Gov. Pat Quinn last week. From a press release…

Under Governor Quinn’s executive order, the state will strengthen protections for adults with disabilities who are suspected victims of abuse and neglect. The order will ensure referrals to the appropriate authorities are made and follow-up occurs after any death of an adult with disabilities who is the subject of a pending complaint investigation by the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG), regardless of the circumstances.

Starting immediately, such cases will be reported, in writing, to local law enforcement and local coroners or medical examiners, and referrals will be documented. The OIG will follow-up on the cases to determine and document what actions have been taken and what determinations have been made by the law enforcement agency. In the past, the Office of the Inspector General referred many of these cases to local law enforcement and/or the medical examiner/coroner. In some cases, contact was made but not documented by OIG staff or the receiving entity, which is unacceptable. The OIG has also swiftly taken steps to strengthen policies and procedures to ensure referrals/notifications are properly documented.

The EO also calls for a review of all deaths of an adult with disabilities who was the subject of a pending investigation by the OIG since 2003. In such cases where documented referrals were made to law enforcement agencies, the OIG will follow up on the outcome. For all other cases, the OIG will undertake a detailed review of each file to determine whether further DHS OIG action or referral is required.

In the future, all cases, regardless of allegations, will be referred to local law enforcement.

* React…

State Sen. William Haine, D-Alton, said he thought the plan of bringing coroners and the police quickly into the investigation when a disabled adult dies is one of the strong points of the governor’s plan announced Friday.

“I think it’s an excellent plan. I’m very impressed by the quick turnaround by the governor and Secretary Saddler of the DHS,” Haine said.

State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said Friday afternoon that he hadn’t seen the executive order but from a description supplied by a reporter said he thought it sounded like it could affect positive change. As for whether he will push for a convening of the House’s Human Services Committee, which he chairs, to inquire into past OIG procedures, he said he needed to study the order to detect “what gaps there may be.”

* The Tribune is half-impressed…

What the executive order does not address is the overly bureaucratic culture within DHS, which needs an overhaul. One provider told us the agency primarily pays attention to paperwork: An investigator might look at medical records or a financial audit, but thorough home visits are rarities. There’s not enough face-to-face contact with the disabled. […]

DHS needs more than a reactive executive order from Quinn. The state’s crisis-of-the-day management style in response to these cases doesn’t supply the focus on patients, not just paperwork, that DHS needs. “If someone gets into a community setting and they’re put in a place where their caretaker becomes their abuser, we need to react to that,” state Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, told us. “If it’s necessary to appoint a guardian and move them out, we need to be able to do that. There are so many things wrong with this picture.”

Illinois often finds itself fixing problems after the damage is done — and, we’d point out, often in reaction to atrocities uncovered by journalists, not the state’s own army of investigators and inspectors general.

Harris will hold a committee hearing on the issue this month. That’s good. Illinoisans deserve answers.

But legislators and the governor need to look beyond DHS and its front-line services. Illinois needs a comprehensive strategy at DHS, the Department of Public Health and the Department on Aging to coordinate their staffs, pool resources and fill systemwide gaps that put fragile lives at risk.

The governor’s executive order doesn’t reach that far. But we agree with the mission it sets forth: “The state has an obligation to protect its most vulnerable citizens from abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

Agreed.

And, in my opinion, IG Harris shouldn’t be forced to shoulder the blame alone. Did an order come from the top to stop investigating deaths because the dead didn’t qualify for services? The News-Democrat reporters haven’t been able to find that out yet. We need some answers here.

* Related…

* ‘All safe now’: The ordeal of one victim: But behind that apartment door, Robert Loveless called his disabled wife “a stupid retarded b*tch,” according to a 24-page report by an investigator for the Office of the Inspector General of the Illinois Department of Human Services. He didn’t work and spent her Social Security disability check on himself. He paid more than $500 from her monthly stipend to buy a laptop computer and an Internet hookup to watch pornography.

* ‘Why is someone dropping the ball?’ Coroners aren’t called after deaths of disabled adults: A week after Smith’s death, a juvenile relative said she saw the caregiver slip something into Smith’s drink, according to an OIG hotline call summary and a police report. Neither White County Coroner Carl McVey nor Carmi police knew about the June allegation to the OIG hotline. McVey never ordered an autopsy or directed that blood be drawn for a toxicological screening, he said.

* Committee will review role of state agency at center of fatalities investigation