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Ray McDaniel's 18-year-old daughter was raped 10 days after moving into a nursing home - by a registered sex offender who also lived there. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-24-sexoffender_N.htm No one advised McDaniel that the 43-year-old sex offender was also a resident of the nursing home where his daughter was admitted in 2005 because she is mentally retarded and has schizophrenia. The resident who attacked her later pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. The case has led to an Ohio legislative proposal to require nursing homes to post notices if sex offenders live there. The bill has been adopted by the Ohio House and awaits a Senate hearing. Ohio is one of several places reviewing notification procedures for sex offenders living in long-term care facilities. The issue is drawing attention as overall nursing home populations drop and some facilities see an influx of residents with mental illnesses, says Beverley Laubert, president of the National Association of State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs, which help protect patient rights. While the majority of nursing home residents are older than 65, sometimes younger people with medical problems live in long-term care facilities. This week, the House small business investigations subcommittee in Washington, D.C., held a hearing on the issue of sexual offenders in long-term care facilities. "As the daughter of a mother in a nursing home, I'm very concerned about this issue," says Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla., the subcommittee's top Republican. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-24-sexoffender_N.htm She is considering whether legislation is necessary to mandate that law enforcement and social service agencies inform long-term care facilities about sex offenders.
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