A Report on the Cycle of Abuse, Neglect, and Injury at the Southwest Idaho
Treatment Center
DRI is the Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system for the State of Idaho. The P&A system was originally created to safeguard the well-being of individuals living in institutions. This remains a major focus of P&A activity today. As such, DRI monitors, investigates, and attempts to remedy adverse conditions in large and small, public and private, facilities that care for people with disabilities. DRI believes that people with disabilities are entitled to be free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and isolation, and are to be treated with respect and dignity.
To complete this mission, DRI conducted a secondary, systemic investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect that occurred at the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center (SWITC) from January 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018. SWITC is Idaho’s only publically funded, state-run Intermediate Care Facility for the Intellectually Disabled (ICF/IID). DRI’s investigation was limited to reviewing the appropriateness, accuracy, and thoroughness of the investigations conducted by SWITC and Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) investigators. In conducting this secondary investigation, DRI reviewed over five thousand (5,000) pages of records provided by SWITC and IDHW officials, including but not limited to completed internal investigations, facility policies, employee training records, and records pertaining to facility staffing. In addition, DRI also reviewed the investigations into resident abuse and neglect completed by Adult Protection and multiple licensing surveys conducted by the IDHW Bureau of Facility Standards during 2017 and 2018. In total, DRI reviewed over twenty-thousand (20,000) pages of records pertaining to SWITC. DRI also enlisted the services of a professional consultant with over twenty-five (25) years’ experience in developmental disability facility management and administration to assist in this review.
Please click on the links below to download documents associated with this investigation.
Fact Sheet: What Abuse or Neglect Occurred?