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Rebecca Vance urges board to prioritize child-abuse complaints; board explains complaint process
Summary
Public commenter Rebecca Vance told the Occupational Therapy Advisory Committee she has worked with about 25 parents reporting alleged abuse of young children and asked whether such complaints are expedited; committee staff said the board may summarily suspend licenses for egregious allegations but cannot confirm details of investigations in public and posts dispositions on its website.
Rebecca Vance, a member of the public, told the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners' Occupational Therapy Advisory Committee on May 8 that she has been "in contact with 25 parents with similar stories" and asked whether complaints alleging cruelty to children are prioritized.
Committee staff responded that investigations can take up to two years but that, when complaints are "so egregious" the board can "promptly summarily suspend the license of the affected practitioner," a temporary action intended to protect the public while investigations continue. A staff member said the board "can neither confirm nor deny anybody is under investigation" and directed Ms. Vance to the board's public license-search page at lsbme.la.gov to check whether a practitioner's license is listed as suspended.
The staff reiterated that the board is limited to responding to complaints it receives and cannot proactively search for violations; it also emphasized that a complaint is an accusation and must be evaluated before disciplinary action. Ms. Vance asked whether there are legislative options to ensure faster handling of cases involving children; staff said the board uses summary suspension when sufficient information indicates an immediate public-safety risk but cannot promise a different schedule without statutory change.
The chair and staff invited Ms. Vance to follow up offline and to provide specific complaint information through the board's complaint portal; they noted public dispositions and summary suspensions are posted on the board's website when they occur. The committee closed public comment and moved on to regular business.
