Duluth TBI Facility Supervisor Barred After Drug Use, Sex With Client

A supervisory staff member at TBI Residential & Community Services Inc. in Duluth has been barred from caregiving after the Minnesota Department of Human Services substantiated two maltreatment claims involving vulnerable adults at the facility, including findings that the supervisor used methamphetamine with clients and engaged in a sexual relationship with one of them.

The case surfaced on Dec. 6, when a staff member reported to TBI's administration that the supervisor appeared to be under the influence. That same day, a client told staff twice that the supervisor and another client were "smoking meth" in a client's bedroom or in the basement living room outside the bedroom, according to the DHS investigative report. The following week, the supervisor was found inside a client's bedroom.

The DHS report found the supervisor spent extended periods in two clients' bedrooms with doors closed, using methamphetamine and THC vape pens with the clients. Four people receiving services at the facility had documented substance use issues involving methamphetamine.

The misconduct extended beyond drugs. A client told the DHS investigator that the supervisor and client had "sex," though not at the facility, and described being in a relationship with the supervisor, including that they had "kissed." DHS concluded the supervisor failed to maintain professional boundaries in ways that were detrimental to the client's mental health. That client carried diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder, mild neurocognitive disorder, hearing loss, and a history of substance use.

TBI Residential & Community Services provides long-term, transitional, and respite care in Duluth for individuals with traumatic brain injury, with residential homes designed for accessibility and comfort. The organization was not immediately available to comment.

Under Minnesota law, a vulnerable adult is a person whose physical, mental, or emotional condition makes it difficult to care for themselves or protect themselves from maltreatment while living in or receiving care from a licensed facility. According to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, nearly 40 percent of abuse allegations submitted to the state's reporting system involve alleged caregiver neglect. Reports of suspected maltreatment can be made to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 1-844-880-1574.

The DHS findings are not the first to reach TBI Residential. A separate report identified another employee at the Duluth organization who took a vulnerable adult to a private residence to use illegal drugs before returning the person to the facility. A 2015 case at a Duluth group home documented a staff member in a sexual relationship with a patient living with traumatic brain injury and quadriparesis.