But we have worked to make certain that they are back on the radar. Evette Jackson, the mental health commission's director of community services, said the agency expects contractors to use good judgment in helping its more independent clients choose homes. But advocates for the mentally ill say that the system is profoundly broken, and that it should not have taken the deplorable conditions on Ninth Street to bring such problems to the attention of officials. Contractors knew about problems at the Ninth Street row house and at many other homes, but the residents remained there, they say. The commission doesn't have many choices for housing, advocates argue, so profit-driven owners of the homes can opt to give poor care.
Caseworkers visit their clients to check on their medication . . .
Esther Dickerson, the commission's chief of contract monitoring, said her agency now is being more clear in its instructions to caseworkers about what to do when they find a bad home. The answers were complex and reflected how desperate D.C. caseworkers can become in their searches for decent, inexpensive rooms for mentally ill clients unwanted by many facilities. The caseworkers hired by the mental health commission knew that the Barnes home was dirty and in bad shape but apparently didn't realize the extent of the fire hazards. Better options were slim. But finding safe, affordable shelter can be difficult, given high D.C. rents and the clients' low incomes.