Long-Term Care Facilities: Information on Residents Who Are Registered Sex Offenders or Are Paroled for Other Crimes
Highlights
Approximately 23,000 nursing homes and intermediate care facilities for people with mental retardation (ICF-MR) receive federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Media reports have cited examples of convicted sex offenders residing in long-term care facilities and, in some cases, allegedly abusing other residents. Given concerns about resident safety, GAO was asked to assess (1) the prevalence of sex offenders and others on parole for non-sex offenses living in long-term care facilities and the extent of any abuse they may have caused, (2) the legal requirements for notifying facilities and others when offenders are residents, and (3) the extent to which facilities have different supervision and separation requirements for offenders. GAO analyzed a national database for sex offenders and analyzed state databases in a sample of eight states for sex offenders and parolees.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should direct the FBI to assess the completeness of the NSOR, including state submission rates. |
Agency implemented recommendation.
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| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should direct the FBI to evaluate options for making NSOR a more a comprehensive national database of registered sex offenders. |
The agency task force took action to make NSOR a more comprehensive national database of registered sex offenders. For more information see accomplishment report GAO-08-598A.
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