D.C. petitions for receiver to run two group homes

The District, which is trying to end a long-standing class-action suit over its care of people with developmental disabilities, is taking aim at another of the group home operators that that the city contracts with to provide care.

D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles announced Monday that his office had filed a petition in D.C. Superior Court to have a receiver appointed to run two group homes that are operated by Westview Medical & Rehabilitation Services, and that care for a total of 11 people at locations on 12th Street NE and W Street NW.

The city's petition, filed Friday against the Delaware-based company, comes several months after the District made a similar move against Individual Development Inc., a D.C. nonprofit that had a long record of alleged violations. But before the court could act in the IDI case, a settlement was reached and an independent monitor was put in place for a year.

Westview's homes in the District serve people with significant behavioral, medical and nutritional challenges, according to the District's announcement. Deficiencies found by the Department of Health's Health Regulation and Licensing Administration led to the decision to seek a receiver for the homes.

Virgil Murphy, director of operations for Westview's homes in the District, said the company would respond through the "legal process."

-- Henri E. Cauvin