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Yes, before we begin, that's a picture of our Robin Lynn taken just before she entered the group home 20 years ago. Before you start reading you'll need to note that I have kept Robin out of the ugliness of the last year and a half, and she has no idea that they plan to boot her out of her home in early June, if you don't help me.
Today's posting is written in haste. Robin Lynn's step father of 20 years, has been in ICU, and had emergency surgery, and I struggle, and rush because I need to be there for both of them.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO READ HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP - THE ACTION PLAN.
* Share this FB posting with all your friends, no mater what state you live in. As you share it, please type a personal note to your shared message, asking your friends to share it, and take the same action. If you know how to use Twitter, or any other broad media, please do so. If you belong to a group, etc. who is dedicated to helping the developmentally disabled, please send the message out, and ask them to send it forward, and for anyone reading to take action, and make a call. Robin Lynn desperately needs your help.
*PLEASE TAKE A FW MINUTES, AND MAKE A CALL TO ONE OR BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING CONNECTICUT OFFICIALS NOTED BELOW.
1) Connecticut Governor, Dannel P. Malloy
Telephone: 860 566 4840
What should you tell him? Tell him that you want to know how he governs a state that ever allowed a group home provider, contracted by his DDS, to allow a provider reported for MEDICAL NEGLECT OF A DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED PERSON, TO INVESTIGATE THEIR OWN ABUSE AND NEGLECT, charge? Tell them you want the governor to save Robin Lynn's place at her home of 20 years, and force the group home provider to honor their contracts, and help Robin Lynn, before the contractor takes away the place she calls "home" Tell the person to take down this link: http://robinblog18.wixsite.com/website,, and have the governor read what is going on.
2) Connecticut Comissioner, DDS Department of Developmental Services, Jordan A. Scheff
Telephone: 860 418 6009
What should you tell him? Tell him that you want to know how he oversees a department charged with the well being and safety of developmentally disabled residents who reside in group homes, that his department approves and contracts with, to investigate claims of abuse, and neglect of a developmentally disabled person, investigate the claim against themselves? Tell him you know for sure that that has happened in the case of medical neglect by a group home provider, for Robin Lynn, and you want him to talk to the guardian, and keep Robin Lynn SAFELY in her home of 20 years. Tell him the group home, where Robin lives, while allowed to investigate claims against them of abuse and neglect against themselves, retaliated during the self investigation, and notified his department that they were issuing a 60 day discharge of Robin Lynn, out of the very home that she has resided in for 20 years. Tell him that you will be part of the team that help takes this ugly situation public, and onto Washington DC, because he has allowed this to happen, using federal funds - medicare, to emotionally, and physically harm Robin Lynn. Commissioner Scheff, hasn't returned the guardian's call. Tell him the guardian has had to take this ugly situation public, and give him the information to go to this link: http://robinblog18.wixsite.com/website,
3) Contact your local media, use any connection you have, and send them the link: http://robinblog18.wixsite.com/website, AND TELL THEM TO CONTACT THE GUARDIAN VIA EMAIL: robinblog18@mail.com Please, no matter how small, or large, your newspaper, etc., is Robin Lynn needs your help now!
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IMPORTANT BACKGROUND:
Readers, don't get out your violins, but I have to get back to the hospital, so I'm providing you the letter I sent to Governor Malloy, minus the attachments. When he ignored the guardian's request for help, he necessitated this appeal to you. Robin Lynn needs your help. Please help with the call to action today. There is no time to wait, Robin Lynn could lose her home in early June, and the State of Connecticut has failed her miserably, is damaging her emotionally, and she has been harmed physically.
HERE IS THE LETTER:
May 15, 2018
Governor Dannel P. Malloy
Office of the Governor
State Capital
210 Capital Ave
Hartford, CT 06106
RE: URGENT – 42 YEAR OLD DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED WOMAN SUFFERS MEDICAL NEGLECT CAUSING INJURY AT THE HANDS OF DDS VENDOR/GROUP HOME OPERATOR. 2 MONTH OLD REPORT TO CT ABUSE & NEGLECT AGENCY ALLOWED TO BE INVESTIGATED BY THE VERY GROUP HOME OPERATOR, CHARGED WITH MEDICAL NEGLECT, RESULTING IN A SECOND INJURY DUE TO MEDICAL NEGLECT ON MAY 5TH.
Dear Governor Malloy,
I am writing you regarding my 42-year-old developmentally disabled daughter, Robin Lynn Cichocki who resides in a group home in Westport, CT, operated (group home operator name removed). I, Madeline (name removed for publication), am her mom, and legal guardian (guardianship & photo ID attached). Robin has cerebral palsy – left spastic hemiplegia, mild to moderate retardation, and a seizure disorder – various types including drop seizures. She has resided at the group home for 20 years, and calls it “my home”. The background to this urgent situation is fraught with my three year guardian required report to Westport Probate Court, two probate court hearings in Westport in August and September of 2017, after a very contested March 2017 required yearly planning meeting. I have the recordings, from both hearings, and believe it would be worth your office’s time to secure them, and listen to the heart of what has brought us to this point. Your office should be able to secure the resulting court orders from DDS, and the guardian report to probate court mentioned above. These items of documentation contain the fact and soul of the issues that caused me to urgently write you today.
I have attempted to briefly give you background of the situation I have been in for over a year now. There is no time to wait for me to send you volumes of the attempts I have made to keep Robin safely at the place she calls home, and get the CT DDS to hold their vendor contracts with (group home operator name removed). to meet her medical needs. My constant question to DDS has been “why are you placating your vendor?”
My first request to DDS to help me file a medical neglect report to the Abuse and Neglect Agency is attached (See attachment # 1 – 9 pages). I was notified that a report had been filed the Abuse & Neglect Agency. Two months later, Robin was injured again, and on May 7th, I again emailed DDS (See attachment # 2 – 3 pages). I received a call from (name removed), DDS advising me that I should make the report. I was advised to call Miss W at Abuse & Neglect. After the first report was filed I had done some research, and discovered that CT trains other non-profit agencies to conduct Abuse & Neglect reports. As I spoke to Ms. W I advised her that I was concerned that Robin had been injured again, and we still had no results from the first report that was made 6 – 8 weeks prior. I asked whether her agency was conducting the first report, or whether it had been assigned to another trained non-profit agency, and if it was, was it possible that (group home operator) could be assigned a report of medical neglect on their very own agency, and was investigating themselves? She stated that I would need to speak to Mr. K B in their Western Region Division.
I called Mr. B, and when I asked that same question. He first advised that I would need to speak to Miss W. I explained that Miss W had directed me to him for those answers,, and I needed his answer. He told me that he would need to do some checking, and he would call me back. I called him back the following day, and stated that (group home operator) was assigned their own case, and were investigating themselves! He asked who told me, however he did when he answered me the way he did. It has been confirmed that the State of CT will allow this “cover up of fact”, in protection of one of their vendors, while the dependent, injured, developmentally disabled is left in serious jeopardy of another injury. We’ve had two, and I fear the next, will be more catastrophic , then the first two.
I asked Mr. B, who I needed to contact, and request all of Robin’s records, particularly those of the first investigation – all records as they were on the date that the first report was made, and all communication, as to who made the decision to continue this charade. I further asked Mr. B if Fritz Gorst, DDS Director was the person who could release those records, and he state “yes, it would be Fritz”.
I called Director Gorst’s office on May 9th, told the operator I had an urgent call, and needed to speak to him immediately, or speak to someone who could get a message to him, and was sent to his answering machine. I left a message, and proceeded on to Commissioner Scheff’s office, and again was left with an answering machine, and have yet to have a return call.
I did speak to Director Gorst on the 9th, and he acknowledged that (group home operator) was conducting their own investigation. I expressed my concern, and outrage regarding the CT DDS allowing this for my daughter or anyone else. I told him that I was made aware that (group home operator) had already gone to Robin’s neurologist and had safety requirements removed from the record, that have stood for years, and they weren’t following. Director Gorst said that with that said that the Abuse and Neglect Agency would need to be made aware of that, and investigators would be speaking to me. Hasn’t happened as of this writing!
It should be noted, that during the very period of time that (group home operator) was investigating themselves, that they issued a discharge order for Robin to leave in 60 days, they threw accelerant on the fire of a mess that they created, and the CT DDS tossed a match to it by asking me to sign a “State of Connecticut Authorization for Disclosure of Protected Health Information, Referral for Day/or Residential Services “. They want to auction Robin off on a CT DDS network to move her to another group home. Review, the Probate Court hearings, and my writings to (group home operator), my testimony in court, my emails to the DDS, and you will note that I, as guardian wanted Robin to remain in her home, DDS to enforce their contracts and make (group home operator) clean up their act, and not devastate Robin emotionally and take her from the place she calls home. I have been fighting this battle for over a year, keeping Robin out of the fray, as long as I felt that she was safe. Obviously, she isn’t, and I still want her there, and will not sign the form to release her documents in the state they are in, for placement on the DDS group home shopping network.
I have hours, days, and sleepless nights invested in cleaning up Robin’s health records (read the first writing to the court). I have hired an attorney advocate for Robin to assist in a move to Michigan. I need to clean up these records, because in the miserable state they are in – unjustly so, it will effect Robin’s placement. Robin, when presented with that move, will understand it, and welcome it. She was born in Michigan, and moved with us to CT when her father’s Michigan based company was closing, and he was offered a job that we couldn’t turn down. Her sister, standby guardian for years, lives there. She has both paternal and maternal aunts, uncles, nephews, etc. that will be able to visit with her. The move is not one I would have considered, but after all this, it is the only place I feel, would serve her, after what CT has done to her.
Protect my daughter now. Leave her with (group home operator), under real supervision of their contract, and her safety, reopen the first medical neglect claim, get the second one honestly investigated! I have no more time to wait while DDS plays games with their vendor, at Robin’s expense. Robin is served under Medicare and Medicaid. With federal funds involved, I am preparing mailings with documentation to Richard Blumenthal, Christopher Murphy, Rosa DeLauro, US HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar, and the White House. US Acting Inspector Gale Stallworth Stone. I am prepared to launch a complex public Internet expose the weekend of May 19th, asking concerned CT residents to write you, and ask how you let an accused of medical neglect vendor investigate themselves, and use the site I’ve created to put the sorry tale of the last year out there. I know how to do it legally, and ethically, and will do it to get Robin’s story out in the public. It isn’t a threat, it is just the next step, to secure what Robin deserves.
Sincerely,
Guardian name and contact info removed for publication
P.S. Today, May 15, at 12:22 PM, I received a call from (group home provider). that Robin had fallen, the group home nurse felt that she should be taken to a walk in clinic to check for re-injury to the eye injured on May 5th. The walk in clinic did not have the appropriate equipment to image the eye area, and advised that she be taken to Norwalk Hospital Emergency. No answers yet, as it is in progress. What will the next call bring.