COLUMBUS — A bill that's supposed to help fix Ohio's problem-plagued mental-retardation system would actually put an end to required annual health and safety inspections of 1,300 state-licensed institutions and group homes.

        The measure would let state officials examine some homes every three years — a change one parent says would weaken the state's already lax oversight powers.

        “They don't even do a good inspection once a year,” James Constable testified Wednesday before the Ohio Senate's Health, Human Services and Aging Committee. “Now they want to do it every three years?”

        Mr. Constable said he's concerned about his 29-year-old son, Shawn, who lives in a state institution in Batavia.

        At the center of the proposal is a change in the way the state licenses homes for the mentally retarded.

        Currently, the homes get lifetime permits. The new bill would let the department grant one-, two- and three-year licenses.

        Homes that historically do good jobs caring for mentally retarded residents would get licensed for the longest period and inspected the least.

        Homes with repeated problems would get one-year licenses and would get annual inspections.

        Jeff Davis, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation, said this bill will give inspectors more time to focus on troubled homes.

        The bill would give the state broader powers to suspend admissions of new residents to troubled homes. Lawmakers also say they may amend the bill to let officials fine nursing homes for the mentally retarded where residents are abused or neglected.

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