The New York Times

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY

More than a year after state leaders acknowledged severe problems in New York's
adult homes for the mentally ill, legislation to improve oversight of the system
and toughen enforcement remains bogged down despite general agreement in Albany
that changes need to be made.

Gov. George E. Pataki and his Democratic rivals in the State Assembly issued
separate though relatively similar reform proposals on Friday, but have not
scheduled negotiations on a compromise. With less than a month left in the
legislative session, advocacy groups say they are worried that once again, no
laws will be approved.

Both proposals would increase fines to a maximum of $5,000, from $1,000, for
serious violations that endanger residents, and do away with rules that allow
adult homes a 30-day grace period during which they can rectify some violations
to avoid penalties.

The proposals would make the privately run homes, which shelter about 15,000
mentally ill people in New York, abide by some of the licensing requirements
that apply to nursing homes. They would give state health officials more
authority to take over homes temporarily if violations are persistent and
egregious. And the most troubled homes would be barred from accepting new
residents.

The homes' operators oppose the proposals for the most part, saying it is unfair
for the state to saddle them with new requirements while refusing to increase
what the operators say are the inadequate fees they receive, now $28 a day per
resident.

Mr. Pataki and the Assembly Democrats introduced relatively similar bills last
spring, after The New York Times published a series of articles detailing
widespread abuses and malfeasance in the adult homes. At the same time, the
Democrats held hearings during which they lambasted the Pataki administration's
oversight of the homes.

But the two sides and the Republican majority in the State Senate never sought a
compromise, and the Democrats did not even pass their own measure in the
Assembly before the 2002 legislative session ended. Asked to explain an impasse
over seemingly minor differences, Pataki aides and Democrats accused each other
of trying to score political points on the issue.

This year, the governor and the Legislature have already clashed over the homes.
In his budget, Mr. Pataki included $65 million for new housing for the mentally
ill, and $8 million for short-term measures to hire nurses and case managers for
the homes, an amount that would probably double with local and federal matching
funds.

The Legislature approved the $65 million, but without warning shifted $6 million
of the $8 million to a program that gives grants to the homes' operators,
angering administration officials and advocacy groups. The move came after
lobbying by the operators, whose trade group pays two lobbying firms $10,000 a
month.

They cautioned that there was not much time. They noted that adult home reform was just one of many issues that had been held up by the fight over the state
budget, which ended when the Legislature overrode Mr. Pataki's vetoes.
State officials said the governor had recently raised the issue in a meeting
with the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, and the Assembly speaker,
Sheldon Silver.

"This legislation is an opportunity for the Legislature to do what their budget
failed to do - demonstrate that they care about the health and safety of the
thousands of disabled and vulnerable adult home residents who deserve our best
effort," Governor Pataki said in a statement.

Pataki aides said they were also asking the Legislature to reverse itself and
finance the $8 million package the governor had sought.

Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat who is chairman of the
Health Committee, said he doubted the Legislature would do so. But he added,
regarding new regulations, "If the governor is going to put a bill in, that
would certainly help bring the three sides together."

John McArdle, a spokesman for the Senate Republicans, declined to comment on the
Pataki and Assembly bills, saying the senators had not yet seen them.

Asked about the legislation, Lisa Newcomb, executive director of the Empire
State Association of Adult Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, the homes'
trade group, issued a statement that said, "The legislation is a reaction to The
New York Times's mischaracterization of the issues." She declined to comment
further.

Groups that advocate for adult home residents said they were somewhat heartened
that the two bills had been introduced, even if it was late in the legislative
session. They said it would be unconscionable for the state to continue to put
off the measures.

"This issue has been controversial enough and politicized enough that it raises
concerns that we might see another year go by without real legislative reforms,"
said Harvey Rosenthal, executive director of the New York Association of
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services. "We have been urging all three sides to
come to the table and approve the legislation and continue to address both the
immediate and longer-term factors that have brought about this scandal."