State lawmakers look to audit Liberty Healthcare
State lawmakers are requesting an audit of Liberty Healthcare Corporation.
The East Coast-based company is responsible for coordinating housing and re-entry for sexually violent predators, underthe Sexually Violent Predator Conditional Release Program.
California senators are criticizing Liberty Healthcare for what they say is a “disturbing placement strategy.” They accuse the corporation of keeping the placement of sexually violent predators (SVPs) a secret from neighbors.
"Liberty Healthcare goes into these unsuspecting neighborhoods, leases a house, signs a contract with the homeowner and then starts to release the information slowly that they're actually considering putting a sexually violent predator in that home," said Sen. Brian Jones (R-San Diego) who is pushing the audit request. "This hasn't been looked at in 20 years. Is the program actually working? How much are we spending? We’re hearing rumors of up to $340,000 per year per sexually violent predator, well what is that money going to? How much is Liberty Healthcare making on this and is the system even working at all? Meaning when these sexually violent predators are released and put into these leased homes that the California taxpayer is paying for, how many of them are returning to the state prison system because they're not able to be rehabilitated?"
The audit request is set to be brought up in the Joint Legislative Audit Committee in June, after undergoing minor amendments at the request of Democratic leaders.
Last month, the Town of Paradise saw thousands of outraged residents after it was announced that 71-year-old Michael Cheek would be housed in the town. Cheek isconvicted of kidnap and rape of a 21-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl.
After serving time, state hospital doctors said Cheek could be managed outside of a hospital ward and allowed Liberty Healthcare Corporation to find him a home. The company decided not to move forward with the lease in Paradise following pushback from residents.
RELATED |No home for Sexually Violent Predator Cheek in Paradise
Liberty Healthcare Corporation did not provide a comment on the story Tuesday. Instead, they referred KRCR to the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH), which also did not respond to a request for comment. DSH currently manages theSexually Violent Predator Conditional Release Program.
In addition to the audit request, Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are pushing a bill requiring the state to look at other options regarding placements.
"The state would take an inventory of properties that it currently owns and has facilities on, so for example a rural fire camp, a state prison yard that has a minimum or low security area where the sexually violent predator could be paroled but be on state property in an area where they are actually supervised by state employees, not families."
The measure also requires DSH to sign off on the placement of an SVP before a lease is signed, not after.
“The placement of SVPs in our communities should be done with great care and consideration. We must ensure that our laws and processes provide accountability, fairness, and enforceability in the placement and supervision of these individuals and that they are not relegated to our rural, mountain communities in an attempt to hide them," said Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (D-Jackson) in a statement. Alvarado-Gil is co-authoring the measure with Jones.
She is opposing the placement of another SVP, William Stephenson, in Sutter Creek, arguing in part, along with local law enforcement, that Stephenson is not from Amador County so he should not be placed there.