When Ryan Mulhausen, 29, was hit by a caretaker last year, the action was deemed abuse. But it would be hard for a future client to learn of the caretaker’s infraction against the Iowa man with fragile X syndrome.

That’s because the dependent adult abuse registry maintained by the state of Iowa, where Mulhausen lives, is kept confidential. Members of the public can request information from the registry by completing a form, but release of information about an individual’s history as a caretaker is at the discretion of the state’s Department of Human Services.

Now, Mulhausen’s mom Teresa is reaching out to the state’s governor, among others, asking that the registry be made open to the public, much like sex offender registries already are.

State officials say that unlike those on a sex offender registry, individuals on the state’s dependent adult abuse registry have not necessarily committed a crime and far less evidence is needed to warrant placement on the abuse registry. Further, they say, employers already have access to it.

But that wasn’t enough to protect Ryan Mulhausen, his mother says, whose caretakers are employed by an agency, reports the Iowa City Press-Citizen. To read more click here.

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