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Monmouth County health official urges assessment, compassion over strict enforcement in hoarding cases
Summary
Larry Kaska of the Monmouth County Health Department told listeners that enforcement alone often fails with hoarding disorder, urging assessments by qualified professionals, interagency coordination and use of Monmouth ACTS to address safety and public-health hazards.
Larry Kaska, chief registered environmental health specialist and head of consumer health inspection services for the Monmouth County Health Department, told an audience the county’s response to hoarding should prioritize assessment and coordinated services rather than punitive enforcement. "You can't help somebody who doesn't wanna be helped," Kaska said, arguing that litigation and fines frequently do not address the underlying disorder.
Kaska, who said he has worked in public health for nearly 50 years and has led Monmouth County's consumer health inspections unit for the past 16 months, outlined the standard enforcement progression: intake of complaints, site visits and assessments, listing violations, issuance of abatement notices with timeframes and, if necessary, summonses and municipal-court proceedings. He cautioned that the Department of Health’s housing regulations are narrow — generally limited to potable water, approved sewage or septic systems and heat in…
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