Since 2006, residential care homes for the mentally ill and elderly in Oklahoma have failed to complete or review criminal background checks for at least 26 employees, records show.

In a case involving the now-closed Green Country residential home in Fairland, administrators were unaware of the requirement for employee background checks.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to have an (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations report) on her,” a staff member told an inspector, according to a Health Department report.

At Quality Living Residential Care in Bluejacket, criminal checks were not completed on three employees, including the administrator.

“I didn’t think we needed one,” said the administrator in a 2006 report.

In 2007, the Heartland Plaza of Duncan failed to obtain background checks for three employees. One had been convicted four times of larceny as well as distribution of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell.

The woman worked at Heartland Plaza 18 months before being fired and rehired again.

The administrator told investigators she didn’t believe the woman committed the crimes. Rather, the administrator simply thought the woman “ran with the wrong crowd,” state reports show.

But the administrator knew the home shouldn’t employ the woman.

“(The administrator) told me if ya’ll show up, I’m supposed to leave out the back door,” the employee told state investigators.

Dorya Huser, the state Health Department’s chief of long-term care service, said she didn’t know how the convictions fell through the cracks.

Heartland was fined $1,722 in November 2008 for the willful violation of the state’s background check requirement.

The administrator has left Heartland Plaza.

Lorena Afable, who has been the Heartland supervisor for two years, said they are now careful to get a background check on every employee.

Homes for the developmentally disabled, called Intermediate Care Facilities for People with Mental Retardation (ICFMR) have also failed to perform background checks.

Country Lane Cottage in Beggs hired two direct-care staff in late 2008 and completed the criminal background checks but never reviewed the results, Oklahoma State Department of Health reports show.

It took nearly a year of employment and an inspection by the state to discover that both employees were felons. One had been convicted of false impersonation, the other with enabling child sexual abuse.

Owner Scott Pilgrim disagreed with the findings, saying one had charges pending and the other involved extenuating circumstances with a family domestic dispute. However, he said the home fired the employees.

“A background check is important because we don’t want someone here who has problems. We have a sacred responsibility,” Pilgrim said.

Pilgrim said some OSBI checks have shown no criminal histories and later found some issues were present. As an added measure, the home has an agreement with the local police department to do background checks in addition to the state check.

“It helps with our community relations and it is a good in-depth background,” Pilgrim said. “The OSBI checks do not catch everything.”

At Gatesway Foundation in Tulsa, about 25 percent of applicants failed the criminal background screening, said executive director Judi Myers. The home does not allow people to work until the screening is complete.

“I don’t want to take that chance,” Myers said. “People are too vulnerable.”

While OSBI checks are required and cost $35 each, some homes contract out for national searches.

When Home of Hope in Vinita hired Jerald Ray Bishop in October 2005, it completed a review of his driver’s license, previous employment, community service work, nurses’ aid registry and an OSBI background check, which indicated he did not have a criminal record in the state.

Two years later, a resident claimed he had touched her in a sexual manner without consent on several occasions while she worked at an on-site job. Bishop is awaiting trial in Craig County on three felony charges — rape by instrumentation, sexual battery and abuse by caretaker. He is being held at the Craig County Jail.

After the sexual abuse allegations surfaced, Vinita police discovered a criminal history in California dating back to 1987, including one charge of sex acts involving a child younger than 14, the affidavit states.

Bishop had a conviction and served jail time and probation, the affidavit states.

The home had an OSBI check on a different applicant showing no convictions, but a national search firm found a felony conviction from Oklahoma County.

In August 2007, Home of Hope implemented the additional employee background to include a national criminal search by a private firm, sex offender list review and Social Security number validation. Employees also undergo random drug testing.

Carolyn Chapman, human resource officer with Home of Hope, said officials at the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said not all counties in Oklahoma routinely update their criminal database.

“We are confident that our dual process significantly has improved our ability to ensure that we do not hire undesirable employees,” Chapman said. “Had Bishop been screened after 2007, it is unlikely that he would have been offered employment.”

Jessica Brown, an OSBI spokeswoman, said the state’s background checks are based on records supplied by local sheriff’s offices and municipalities. She said they’re the most reliable but still could be incomplete.

“Our records are going to be the best available,” Brown said. “Are they perfect? No.”

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100221_11_A8_Sincer449958?

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