Kern Regional Center Reviews Whistleblower Allegations at Bakersfield Sevita Group Home

Kern Regional Center confirms a complaint review

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Kern Regional Center says it received a whistleblower complaint concerning a Bakersfield group home operated by Sevita Health and is reviewing the allegations and supporting documents, according to a letter obtained by 23ABC.

The complaint reportedly raises questions about health and safety, staffing, resident care, incident reporting and retaliation. The regional center's acknowledgment confirms that a review is underway; it is not a finding that Sevita or any employee violated a law, regulation, contract or care standard.

No regulator has publicly announced a citation, discipline, completed investigation or enforcement action tied to the allegations described in this report. What’s the Scoop With Broach is not identifying the home's address or any resident because those details are unnecessary to the public-accountability issue and could compromise the privacy of adults receiving disability services.

Read the source: 23ABC: Former caregivers' allegations, Kern Regional Center confirmation and Sevita response ↗

Former caregivers describe staffing and safety concerns

Three former employees told 23ABC that staffing shortages affected care at the home. Hayley Holguin said she was sometimes one of two caregivers responsible for six adults while staff also prepared meals and administered medication. Annette Boesen described long stretches of consecutive work and said rushed conditions could increase the risk of medication mistakes. A third former worker, who was not publicly identified, also described unfilled positions.

Holguin further alleged that a supervisor discouraged staff from calling 911 for a resident with a choking risk unless the resident's condition became visibly severe. She said she later accompanied that resident to a hospital, where the resident was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and food in the airway.

Those accounts are allegations reported by former workers. The newsroom has not independently reviewed staffing schedules, medication records, medical records, incident reports or the underlying whistleblower documents, and the resident's medical information has not been independently verified. The allegations should not be treated as established facts while the review remains open.

Read the source: California DDS: Regional-center and vendor whistleblower complaint process ↗

Sevita says it has a formal review process

Sevita told 23ABC that privacy obligations limit what it can discuss about specific people and internal matters. The company said the safety and well-being of the people it serves and its employees are a priority and that it uses a formal process to investigate complaints.

Sevita's public Bakersfield directory says its local programs serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential, day and vocational services. The company has not publicly announced a finding on the former workers' claims described by 23ABC.

A fair review should test the competing claims against records: staffing rosters, shift coverage, required support ratios, training logs, medication-administration documentation, emergency protocols, hospital-transfer records, internal complaints and any reported retaliation. Conclusions should follow that evidence, not precede it.

Read the source: California DDS: Role of the state's 21 regional centers ↗

Why regional-center oversight matters

The California Department of Developmental Services says it oversees a statewide network of 21 community-based nonprofit regional centers. Those centers assess eligibility, provide case management and purchase or coordinate services in each person's Individual Program Plan. Kern Regional Center performs that role locally.

DDS defines a vendor or contractor whistleblower complaint as a report of potentially improper activity in publicly funded developmental-services work. The state lists violations of law, regulation or contract, fraud, misuse of government property, gross misconduct, incompetence and inefficiency among the conduct the process can address.

The state also warns that disability-services complaints can follow different procedures depending on who files, what rights are involved and which agency has jurisdiction. The public record reviewed for this article does not establish a deadline for Kern Regional Center's current whistleblower review, so this newsroom is not assigning one.

Read the source: Sevita Health: Bakersfield services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities ↗

What the public still needs to know

The most important unanswered questions are whether staffing met each resident's documented needs, whether emergency and medication protocols were followed, whether required incident reports were filed, whether complaints affected workers' employment and what corrective action—if any—the evidence supports.

Adults with developmental disabilities depend on public agencies and private providers to respect their safety, dignity and autonomy. Meaningful oversight requires enough trained workers to deliver individualized care, a safe channel for workers and families to report problems, and public disclosure of confirmed findings without exposing residents' confidential information.

What’s the Scoop With Broach will update this report if Kern Regional Center, DDS or Sevita publishes verified findings or a corrective-action plan. Until then, the confirmed development is limited: former workers raised serious allegations, Kern Regional Center says it is reviewing a complaint, and Sevita says it has a formal investigation process.

The accompanying image is an authentic 2015 CC0 file photograph of an older adult receiving help getting dressed. It is representative direct-care context and does not show the Bakersfield group home, any person receiving services there, the former caregivers, Sevita employees or the regional-center review.

Read the source: Wikimedia Commons: CC0 representative direct-care photograph ↗