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HOWARD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A man is speaking out after his adult son with autism was left in a van by his caregiver for more than an hour in a parking garage in Howard County.
The man’s son was left alone in the parking garage in the Merriweather District in Columbia, Maryland, on Thursday, July 23.
Thinking back to when he got the call still has Bill Shafley a little shaken up.
“You don’t want to leave your child’s safety to chance,” Shafley said. “The worst feeling in the world is that people you trusted to take care of your loved one were totally shirking that duty.”
The call from Howard County Police said his son — a man with autism — was found in a van in a parking garage in the Merriweather District.
The worst part, he was only found by chance.
“First responders who were in the area for something else actually saw him in the van, went and tried to communicate with him,” Shafley said. “But since he’s nonverbal, they weren’t able to do anything. [Then] they rescued him from the van.”
Shafley’s son was in the care of a caregiver from Richcroft, an organization that provides residential and personal care for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Police are still investigating to determine whether or not the caregiver will be criminally charged.
In a statement to WJZ, Richcroft said it has fired the caregiver and reported the incident to the state. Richcroft also confirms regulatory authorities are investigating.
“This is an unimaginable event that is completely inconsistent with the standards of care, dignity, and accountability that have guided Richcroft for more than four decades,” Richcroft’s statement said.
This isn’t Shafley’s first time running into issues with his son’s care.
He hopes by speaking out about this incident, there can be statewide conversations to get things put in place to prevent these incidents from happening again.
“There’s a lot of incredibly compassionate caregivers out there, but the lack of oversight, the lack of the use of technology that’s out there, and the lack of consequences when something like this happens both to the company and the individual — it gets news and nothing ever happens,” Shafley said.
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