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State pulls license of group home owner

Francis "Guy" Dalberth's license was pulled indefinitely after his arrest.

By COLLEEN JENKINS
Published September 29, 2005

The owner of a Spring Hill home for disabled adults has lost his operating license indefinitely, a week after getting arrested on a charge of abusing one of his residents.

The emergency suspension order, filed late Tuesday by the Agency for Health Care Administration, is "in place until we decide to lift it," said spokesman Jonathan Burns.

It means Francis "Guy" Dalberth, 53, cannot care for any individuals or accept new residents into his adult family care home at 15741 Lancer Road. In such cases, Burns said AHCA works with a home to ensure its residents are appropriately placed elsewhere.

But the spokesman couldn't say Wednesday evening whether all the residents had been removed.

"If there are two or fewer patients who are competent and decide on their own accord they want to stay there, they are entitled to do that," Burns said. "If they are there, they've decided they want to be there."

At least one person was at the Dalberth Family Care Home on Wednesday: Guy Dalberth.

"Boy, have you really persecuted me," he told a reporter when reached by telephone. "The allegations that people are making against me are absolutely unfounded."

The Pasco County sheriff's deputy who arrested Dalberth last week reported the caregiver's home was filthy and he was drunk. On Wednesday, the St. Petersburg Times reported the stories of two former residents who told of similar experiences.

Dalberth said his attorney had advised him not to discuss his situation, but he refuted the accusations during a brief conversation.

"I feel really bad that these articles have made me out to be a monster," he said. "That's not the case. I'm very well-respected in the community. There's some dirty laundry, yes. But we've all made mistakes before in our life."

Dalberth's history includes several prior arrests in the Tampa Bay area. The charges, dating back to 1987, included lewd and unnatural sex, battery, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage and two DUIs.

To receive a license for an adult family care home, providers must undergo criminal background screenings. Under state law, certain criminal offenses can exclude a provider from obtaining a license.

Dalberth's record initially disqualified him, Burns said Wednesday. But AHCA policy allows an individual to apply for an exemption, which Dalberth did. In June 2000, he was granted a license to house up to five disabled residents and had never lost it before now for any reason, Burns said.

"An exemption that is granted does not change an individual's criminal history, it merely provides eligibility despite the criminal history," Burns wrote in an e-mail.

The two individuals featured in the Times on Wednesday said they had reported their concerns about Dalberth's home to AHCA and the Department of Children and Families up to a year ago. Burns acknowledged AHCA had received some complaints in the past.

"None of them had ever been confirmed when surveyors went out to take a look," he said.

Prior to last week's incident, during which Dalberth allegedly hit a wheelchair-bound resident, the DCF also was investigating the adult family care home, according to Pasco Sheriff's Office records.

But DCF spokesman Andy Ritter would not confirm or deny this week whether the agency has any open cases or if it has taken any action against the facility, citing confidentiality laws.

At least one Dalberth supporter said his recent portrayal doesn't jibe with the man she knows. Evelyn DeHart, president of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Hernando County, said Dalberth often brought "the boys" to the alliance's walk-in center to participate in its activities and potluck dinners.

When DeHart had a house fire, Dalberth and some of his residents also helped prepare her new rental home. He was always caring and generous, she said.

As for the state of his home, DeHart couldn't comment. She had never been there, she said.

--Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 727 869-6236 or cjenkins@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 29, 2005, 01:19:16]