Mom: Son abused at Salem group home

SALEM – Allegations of abuse made against a Salem residential group home have sparked an investigation by the Salem Police Department, the Essex County District Attorney?s Office, and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.Teresa Carrington of Lynn believes that sometime in early March, her 37-year-old autistic son, Scott Crawford, was beaten so severely that traces of blood were found in his urine days after the incident allegedly took place.The facility, located on Green Street in Salem, is run by the May Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. According to its website, the May Institute operates nearly 200 service locations across the country.Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokeswoman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, confirmed the investigation but declined further comment.The investigation began shortly after Carrington discovered multiple bruises across Crawford?s ribs and stomach as she helped her son out of the shower on March 22, 2014 during a visit home. Upon discovering the marks, Carrington said she took her son to the Salem Hospital emergency room.A medical report from Salem Hospital, provided by Carrington, listed two diagnoses for the injury: an abdominal wall contusion and microscopic hematuria, or stomach bruising with traces of blood in the urine.During that ER visit, Carrington said that medical personnel expressed heightened concern over Crawford?s injuries because of his disability, and they immediately contacted the Salem Police Department.?The sergeants came, then detectives came, then a social worker. We were there for a long time,” Carrington said. “First they asked me when the last time Scott was home. … They wanted to be sure of where this happened, but he had been at Green Street all the time.”A police report filed by the Salem Police Department cited alleged assault to a disabled party. The report stated that police officers asked Crawford how his injuries occurred and that Crawford responded with the name of a staff member from the residential facility.In the report, police wrote that “it appears that this staff member (name withheld) was the individual responsible for the bruising on Crawford?s body,” and also noted that although the attending physician was not able to specify the exact date of injury, the physician did say that “it could have been a few days ago.”Carrington said she questioned how such a severe injury could have occurred at the group home if employees were following standard restraint procedures.In accordance with Massachusetts state general laws, all mental health facilities contracted or operated by the Department of Mental Health must adhere to Title 104 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, regarding “Restraint and Seclusion” procedures. The Department of Mental Health states a commitment to “eliminating the use of restraint and seclusion” as a means of behavior adjustment, and that such restraint should only be applied in emergency situations.Last updated in August 2010, the policy outlines the requirements of facilities to develop individual crisis prevention plans that identify potential risk factors for aggressive behavior and to maintain a plan for de-escalating such situations without the use of restraint and seclusion.In an event where restraint and seclusion methods are unavoidable, facility employees are required to document the use of restraint and seclusion using a two-part form and are also required to complete a patient debriefing form with the patient within 24 hours of the episode as an opportunity for the patient to comment on the incident.Carrington decided to contact the May Institute to retrieve copies of every incident report on file involving her son to determine how often and to what extent Crawford was being physically restrained.She alleges that the facility only provided her with one incident report filed around the time t