Elder Law

Bill Will Require Nursing Home Residents who live near Sex Offenders to Be Notified

By Levin & Perconti

A state?s law says that people who live within 1,000 feet of a convicted sex offender must be notified; however a loophole in the law leaves out residents of nursing homes, assisted living centers and other long-term care facilities. In one instant, an 18-year old mentally retarded woman was raped by a sex offender who lived in the building. A new law would require local sheriff?s offices to notify managers of long-term care facilities when sex offenders are moving into their buildings. It also would require those managers to notify residents and their guardians. It seems unfortunate that if someone lives on the same block as a sex offender they are notified, yet if the sex offender lives in the nursing home nobody is notified. In the state 107 registered sex offenders were living in 47 nursing homes. Legislators believe that is important for nursing home residents and residents of other long-term care facilities to have the same right to information that ordinary citizens do. To read more about the new legislation, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on March 26, 2009 (boomark / email).