Tri-Met
announced Tuesday that it has barred 28 drivers with criminal
records from serving disabled people. The action follows
a
Willamette Week investigation that found dozens
of ex-cons were providing vulnerable passengers with door-to-door
transportation ("
The Other
Face of Tri-Met,"
WW, June 23, 1999).
Tri-Met spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said a preliminary
background check by the transit agency found 28 drivers
who had been convicted of crimes against people or drug-
or alcohol-related offenses. These drivers, who work
for subcontractors hired by Tri-Met, are now prohibited
from driving disabled passengers unless Tri-Met grants
an exception based on detailed information about their
convictions, she says.
Fetsch says Tri-Met is not releasing the names of the
drivers at this time because of legal concerns related
to privacy.
Prior to WW's June 23 story, Tri-Met was not
running background checks on drivers who serve disabled
passengers in two programs--known as LIFT and OMAP.
In fact, the transit agency admitted it did not even
keep a list of drivers working in those programs. Instead,
Tri-Met left 64 subcontractors to check on their own
employees.
"We've now got a process and procedure that allows
us to feel we've got control," says George Passadore,
president of Tri-Met's board of directors.
WW's investigation stemmed from an incident
last year in which Tri-Met passenger Tammy Rattey was
raped by a convicted murderer who was driving her home
from a doctor's appointment.
Working from a list of 894 drivers who serve disabled
Tri-Met passengers, WW found at least 44 drivers
who had been convicted of crimes. Some of the crimes
committed by those drivers--such as prostitution, unlawful
use of food stamps, criminal mischief and theft--do
not automatically disqualify them from driving, under
Tri-Met's legal agreements with subcontractors and the
state of Oregon, which provides funding for the transit
agency's Medical Transportation Program.
Tri-Met's board of directors and general manager announced
several other reforms last week. One requires the agency
to conduct fingerprint and FBI background checks on
all new hires and subcontractors who transport disabled
passengers. Checks begin this week. (Tri-Met has long
checked the backgrounds of its own bus and light-rail
operators). Tri-Met also hired consulting firm Arthur
Andersen to complete a comprehensive audit of Tri-Met's
programs for disabled passengers. The audit will be
finished by Aug. 20.
"I am satisfied we're going to stay on top of it,"
says Passadore. "It's good this issue surfaced; I regret
it had to be at the expense of [Tammy Rattey]."
Tri-Met isn't the only public agency vowing to make
changes in the wake of last week's news. State officials
admitted to WW last week that they, too, failed
to provide adequate safeguards for disabled passengers
served by Tri-Met.
"What's here is not adequate," says Lynn Read, assistant
director for the Office of Medical Assistance Programs.
"Your investigation showed that. So we're going to toughen
our requirements on background checks," she says.
The state plays an important role in the transportation
of disabled people. Oregon's OMAP receives federal money
to arrange medical transportation for Medicaid clients
in Oregon. In the tri-county area, the state had hired
Tri-Met to provide door-to-door service for low-income
and disabled people.
State officials moved quickly last week to fix the
immediate problems at Tri-Met. On Wednesday, the top
bosses at Tri-Met and the state OMAP agreed to start
running FBI criminal background checks on drivers transporting
Medicaid clients. Their agreement calls for the state
to pay for the costs of the FBI checks--an admission
by state officials that it's as much their responsibility
as Tri-Met's to protect medical-transportation clients.
While the threat of dangerous drivers appears to be
diminishing in the tri-county area, it's still a problem
in the rest of Oregon.
Outside the Portland area, the situation remains risky
for Medicaid clients: Rides to medical appointments
are still arranged by state caseworkers, who rely on
taxis and other private transportation providers. State
officials cannot be sure those drivers have clean criminal
records.
Bob Reed, federal Medicaid branch chief for four Northwestern
states, says his agency is powerless. "There is no specific
federal requirement dealing with background checks,"
says Reed. "Either the state or the feds could mandate
it. But I don't believe we have the authority in our
existing laws for us to mandate it."
One state lawmaker says she's trying plug those gaps.
State Sen. Marilyn Shannon, chairwoman of the Senate
Transportation Committee, has drafted a bill that would
require all Oregon public-transportation providers to
run background checks on drivers who serve disabled
passengers.
Shannon, however, will have to overcome her reputation.
The Republican from Brooks has been very critical of
public agencies such as the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Some question whether she's exploiting the Tri-Met situation
as another chance to hammer public-transportation providers.
"I'm sure it will pass," Shannon responds. "No legislator
would hurt the disabled because of what they thought
or didn't think of me.'"
Although legislative leaders have asked lawmakers not
to introduce any more legislation this session, Shannon
says Senate President Brady Adams agreed to send her
bill to the Senate Rules Committee sometime this week.
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Willamette Week | originally
published June 30, 1999
