By Debra Jasper
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - The Ohio House is expected to pass a reform plan as early as today that would give the state more power to crack down on homes for the mentally retarded where residents are abused, neglected or harmed.

The bill made its way out of a House committee on Wednesday without substantive revisions.

Among other reforms, the bill - which has already passed the Senate - does away with lifetime licenses for private homes and replaces them with permits that expire every one to three years.

"This reinforces to care providers that a license to operate is not an entitlement and there are standards they will have to maintain," said Ken Ritchey, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation. "We want to focus on the facilities that aren't doing so well, the ones that need to improve."

Gov. Bob Taft praised the reform bill, which was proposed this year after an investigation by the Enquirer revealed abuse, neglect and poor living conditions in state-funded homes across Ohio.

The newspaper found conditions were so bad in the past three years that the state threatened to cut all funding to 65 of Ohio's 400 facilities, yet none of the threats was carried out. Meanwhile, the troubled homes collected $286 million in tax money.

"This will improve oversight and assure the safety of people who are vulnerable," the governor said.

The measure would also enact other reforms, including a requirement that the Ohio mental retardation department beef up inspections at all homes run by the same company if inspectors find problems at two locations.

In addition, it allows the department to publicly announce conditions in homes on the state agency's Web site or in another manner. Mr. Ritchey said his agency is working to create a consumer guide for families trying to find the best home for their relatives.

"We want to give good homes credit and also tell people about major findings against a provider," Mr. Ritchey said.

He noted other reforms are also coming this year, including recommendations by the Victims of Crime task force that has spent months examining ways to better prosecute people who abuse the mentally retarded.

The governor appointed the task force in response to the Enquirer series, which found that abusive caregivers or others are rarely punished. To the contrary, since 1997, the state has paid 18 workers more than $150,000 to quietly leave institutions where they were suspected of abusing people.

Mr. Ritchey said he is pleased overall with reform efforts, although so far they still don't contain several proposals he or other officials had said they needed, including the ability to fine nursing homes for the mentally retarded.

Dr. Nick Baird, director of the Department of Health, said imposing fines on nursing homes for the elderly helped reduce harm to residents by 40 percent between 1998 and 2001. He wanted the power to impose similar fines on homes for the mentally retarded.

E-mail djasper@enquirer.com