Creating a chronical of Bellwether's journey is at times daunting. Blogs drum up traffic by rapid posting. However, the twists and turns of the path least taken - which is the path Advoserv/Bellwether has trodden - makes rapid posting almost impossible. Perhaps, that's why the company, throughout and despite the various iterations of its name, has been the subject of extensive research culminating in multiple news exposes and podcasts.
Bellwether wasn't built to be blogged about. It's a book in the writing, a cautionary tale of what happens when department oversights finds their hands tied for by federal mandates while those same federal laws fund for profit facilities that boost hedge funds. While Bellwether generates column inches here and there in print publication on online, the truth behind the façade is built in linking those pieces together and verifying the facts revealed. It's hard to stay chronological when so many news points are happening in real time.
After a year of hibernation, Echo came back to life on Independence Day 2019. We jumped right into New Jersey and Bellwether's then-current status.
A for-profit company that runs group homes for the developmentally and intellectually disabled has changed its name from AdvoServ to Bellwether Behavioral Health, following ProPublica articles on three teenagers’ deaths and staff’s frequent use of physical holds and mechanical restraint devices. - Heather Vogel, ProPublica, March 28, 2017, https://www.propublica.org/article/bellwether-behavioral-health-is-controversial-group-home-operator-advoserv
Some have opined that Advoserv changed its name to Bellwether in order to slip back under the radar. However, the company had actually been sold to a private equity firm prior to the closure of its Florida an Delaware facilities. The new name came with new faces, entirely new leadership which quickly steered the company out of Florida and Delaware after facing very public criticism, licensing challenges, and revocations. It appears to maintain its incorporation in Delaware, likely because of Delaware's very business-friendly practices. Ironically or diabolically, Bellwether spent its last years operating in the midst of several states that refused to license them after inspections found substantial violations, neglect, and abuse - Maryland, New York, and it's home state of Delaware. Bellwether ran to New Jersey, a state with a housing/placement crisis, and completely surrounded by other states who had pulled their licensure. They also tried to get a foothold in Virginia though that was not met with much success.
However, in the ten years prior to Advoserv sale to a new private equity firm, someone had been quietly purchasing homes in New Jersey. Yet, the sales appeared unrelated to Advoserv and Bellwether. They were owned by another company/ies. Homes, like the one at 240 Long House Dr. West Milford, Passiac County. It was purchased May 17, 2001 by Somerville LLC. Nothing to see here.
Except...
Somerville LLC is registered to 2520 Wrangle Hill SU 200, Bear, DE 19701.
Bellwether/Advoserv is also registered to 2520, Suite 200, Wrangle Hill Rd. Bear, DE 19701.
An umbrella? A subsidiary. Why not? By this point, Mazik was a real estate maverick both in Delaware and Florida. Always thinking one step ahead, he had to foresee the challenges coming such as tightening the laws around aversive therapy and restraint. I suppose, it could be opined that he appreciated art of the deal. And New Jersey was ripe.
The assessment found that BW facilities were reporting "unusual incidences" 2.3 days after staff became aware of such incidences. OPIA also found BW was missing approximately 42 percent of its reports required by the state. There were 63 abuse/neglect investigations with 18 substantiated and 4 of those 18 people were repeat victims.
But this was the tip of the mountain and every mountain has a foundation. New Jersey's Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities wasn't so sure that Bellwether's foundation was all that strong. After an onslaught of complaints, the state finally acted.
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