advocating for adult autism

Were or how do I start and when does it end? The road is so long and so difficult... The battles we take on to secure basic human right and justice for our loved ones, who can not defend or speak for themselves. I just want to scream, cry, shout from the frustration! You see, my younger sister is 30 years old and has severe autism and lives in a DLS group home, in Oklahoma. My sister's name is Natalie, I call her Naty. Naty has always lived at home with my mother taking care of her. Several years ago my mother was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and recently this crippling disease took its toll on my mothers body and she could no longer care for my sister.

We thought the DLS placement for Naty would be good. We managed to secure a one roommate placement with double staffing. That means, my sister only had one roommate and they each had their own HTS (caregiver). Sounds great, right? Well, since being in the DLS home my sister has had a broken foot, unexplained bruises, scratches, etc. My mother and I have reported these incidents to APS (Adult Protective Services) and filed police reports. It seems to me that no one really cares about people with severe mental disabilities. Especially, if the person is nonverbal. The HTS (caregivers) hired by agencies that contract with the state are hopeless. The state does not regulate the pay HTS staff receive nor does the state have strict guidelines to who opens a agency or how the agencies are run. Basically its out of site out of mind. As long as you have 100K credit line and no felony convictions you can open an agency. Scary, huh? Also, the state always HTS staff to pass prescription medication, this includes psychotropic, valium, seizure meds, etc. In the normal population of people a LPN or RN administers medication. HTS's take a 2 or 4 day class and then the state certifies them. I taught a HTS class before and it's pathetic and scary the quality of people the agencies are hiring to work as HTS's. Also, Oklahoma only does state background checks. That means a offender could come from out of state and get a job caring for your disabled loved one. I always find it amusing that Oklahoma has so many churches and the people profess to be such good G*d fearing people, but seem to turn the blind eye to so atrocities. Do Oklahomans understand the good 'ol boy system only corrupts anything positive from happening? Look at education, teenage pregnancy, elder care, disabled person care the list goes on and on. Oklahoma is higher than the national average for STD's, teenage pregnancy, divorce, illiteracy and bad teeth:-) Sorry I don't mean to be crude, but I'm ashamed to say I was raised in Oklahoma. I want to find solution and create a better Oklahoma. Need help can't do it alone. If parents and guardians of people with severe mental disabilities band together we can make a positive future for our disabled loved ones.