CONWAY (AP) -- Federal officials say they plan to investigate the treatment of residents at the Conway Human Development Center. The U.S. Justice Department has notified Gov. Mike Huckabee that its investigation will begin in January.
John Selig, deputy director of the state Department of Human Services, said the investigators would look at five or six matters involving care of the residents at the center for the mentally retarded, formerly known as the Arkansas Children's Colony.
"There was not one particular incident that triggered it, but they were aware of ... newspaper stories and complaints from advocates and family members," Selig said.
In June, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper published a series detailing physical and sexual abuse of residents as well as claims of civil rights violations at the Conway facility.
Last week, the center was also told that it would receive two immediate-jeopardy citations from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Such a citation is issued when surveyors believe a situation exists with great potential for serious harm or injury.
The citations stem from an inspection by a 10-member team that looked into files of 100 residents at the Conway center.
The 576 residents of the Conway Human Development Center range in age from 10 to 64 years old. In addition to their mental retardation, most were born with other conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida or Down's syndrome.
The inspection by CMMS was massive, Selig said.
"It was incredibly detailed and any time you look at that many files, you are going to find problems," he said.
The immediate-jeopardy citations covered two problems -- discovery of asbestos in the air in one unit, and a resident with a condition called pica that causes him to eat anything from paper to plastic, linoleum, cigarette butts and furniture.
"I was told it involved a client who had to seek outside medical attention to remove an inedible object in August," said Dr. David Fray, director of DHS' Developmental Disabilities Services Division.
"The investigators were concerned that the staff around the resident had not been trained to deal with pica behavior, even after the earlier problem," Fray said.
The Conway center has not received anything in writing from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid survey, but it expects to receive five more citations from that visit.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid reviews the Conway Center because most of its $43 million budget comes from federal sources, with the state providing some matching funds.
Calvin Price, superintendent of the Conway facility, could not be reached for comment Sunday. A telephone message left at his home was not immediately returned.
During 2001, six state reviews, three federal investigations and a special report by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences criticized the quality of care at the Conway center. Fray's suggestions to bring in outside experts and hire UAMS to help monitor medical care at all the human development centers were not adopted by the board.
Fray announced his resignation Friday, to be effective Dec. 9, so he could take a similar post in Hawaii.
