A state investigation found that employees at Vineland Developmental Center in New Jersey neglected a resident with severe autism by leaving him unsupervised, allowing him to walk away from his residence. The Department of Health declared the facility in 'immediate jeopardy' due to the incident.
Updated: Feb. 18, 2025, 2:09 a.m.Sylvia Armstrong, left, and her partner Cynthia Allen, stand outside the Vineland Developmental Center, in Vineland, NJ, on Thursday, January 11, 2024. A state investigaion found Cynthia Allen's son, Nick, was neglected when he was allowed to walk outside of his cottage unattended in December.
Employees put a resident at a state institution for people with developmental disabilities in “immediate jeopardy” by leaving him unsupervised, enabling him to walk away from his residence, a state spokesman confirmed.a 37-year-old nonverbal man with severe autism, according to his mother, Cynthia Allen. But on Dec. 15, Aquilino was spotted on the campus by a Vineland center employee “outside by himself walking in the street,” according to emails between Allen and the state Department of Human Services. He was not injured, the emails said. A spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, which oversees the Vineland facility, wrote in an email that “at 12:03:26 p.m. an individual walked away from assigned facility building. Staff began escorting the client back to the assigned facility building at 12:04:40 p.m.” It was not clear whether this time reflects when Aquilino actually left or when he was spotted outside his cottage. The state Department of Health investigated the incident last month and determined staff had neglected Aquilino by not supervising him, according to correspondence between Allen and the Department of Human Services. State health inspectors also declared the facility to be in “immediate jeopardy,” as a result of the incident. The Department of Health“a situation in which immediate corrective action is necessary because the facility’s noncompliance with one or more requirements of participation has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to a resident receiving care in a facility.” The immediate jeopardy status — the most serious grade in a state or federal inspection — lasted from Jan. 10-14, Human Services spokesman Tom Hester Jr. said. Management was expected to retrain staff in response to the incident. Nicholas Aquilino wears a boot to protect his broken foot and eats fast food his mother brought to an Oct. 28, 2024 visit to Vineland Developmental Center. His mother said he has been overmedicated and restrained against her wishes as guardian.Allen, who is also Aquilino’s legal guardian, said she is incensed there weren’t more serious consequences. “It is exceptionally dangerous out there for an individual who has no sense of danger,” Allen told NJ Advance Media in an email also shared with other parents of children with developmental disabilities. “There are no security guards, alarms on doors, or cameras at VDC. Every store and place of business has these nowadays but not residences for our most vulnerable citizens. There is no plan in place to prevent staff from disappearing again as they have done before.” “When I visited Nick today, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out the front doors. He has never done this before. He wants to leave VDC-- he does not feel safe! He will run away again,” Allen wrote.serious concerns about the Vineland center’s care and supervision of her son. She has legally challenged the state’s decision to place him at Vineland in September 2023, after he was a hospitalized with a dental emergency. He had lived for 11 years at the Woodbine Developmental Center in Cape May County prior to his hospitalization and she wants him returned there. She said her legal rights as his guardian continue to be ignored, as she has also complained that he is being overmedicated to control his anxiety and behaviors such as hitting and biting. “I consider their conduct deplorable and horrible, and disrespectful to his mom,” said David Cohen, an attorney in Red Bank who represents elderly and disabled clients in lawsuits against nursing homes, group homes and state-run facilities. The Department of Health denied an open public records request to share the report documenting its investigation, explaining the matter is still under investigation. According to 2024 inspections, Vineland was cited in January for failing to immediately report 10 allegations of abuse and neglect involving six residents. Follow-up surveys in 2024 revealed no violations, according to inspection records. Human Services has declined to address the specifics surrounding Aquilino’s care, citing legal privacy issues. Allen said she has met with Human Services to demand why the state has not gone to court to challenge her authority as guardian rather than simply overruling her, or why her son is not permitted to return to the Woodbine center. Allen, who is representing herself in court challenging the state’s actions involving her son, said she is worried all the time for his safety. “My son deserves much better than this horror show of abuse, neglect, and venomous hostility from Vineland Developmental Center,” she wrote in an email to state officials.
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES NEGLECT INSTITUTION SECURITY AUTISM
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