BALTIMORE COUNTY CAREGIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO NEGLECT OF A VULNERABLE ADULT

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Davita Jacobs, 22, of Warren Park Drive in Baltimore, a former employee at an alternative living unit, Progress Unlimited, Inc., plead guilty in District Court for Baltimore County to one count of second degree neglect of a vulnerable adult. Judge Edward P. Murphy imposed a sentence of probation before judgment and placed Ms. Jacobs on 18 months of probation with the special condition that she refrain from working or participating in the hands-on care field of vulnerable adults. Progress Unlimited Inc. serves individuals with developmental disabilities.

The incident that Jacobs was convicted of occurred on January 4, 2006. Jacobs was the full time awake overnight staff member at the facility located at 83 Chase Mill Circle in Owings Mills. She was on duty from approximately 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. and responsible for the care and supervision of three severely impaired residents who were not to be left unattended under any circumstances. One of the three residents awoke at approximately 2:00 a.m. and could not find Jacobs anywhere in the home. The resident has mental retardation, suffers from bipolar disorder and has a history of elopement from the facility. The victim called her family who in turn notified the program manager. The manager of the facility was subsequently on the phone with the resident when Jacobs returned and acknowledged that contrary to policy and her training she had left the facility.

This case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has authority to prosecute abuse or neglect of vulnerable persons in facilities that receive Medicaid funds.