One need wait no more than a few hours to hear yet worse news about John Chianelli’s tenure as administrator of the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Chianelli let [his] professional license lapse: “State records show that the county official let his occupational therapy license lapse in 2007. He first got the license in 1990.”
How long will County Executive Scott Walker and his aides continue to excuse John Chianelli?
At least through the date of this post, and that’s far too long —
A spokeswoman for County Executive Scott Walker dismissed questions about the status of Chianelli’s license.
“An Occupational Therapy license has nothing to do with his role as an administrator,” said Walker communications director Fran McLaughlin. “A professional license is not a requirement for the position.”
Quick reply to Ms. McLaughlin — you’ve right that a professional license isn’t required for the position, and Chianelli’s tenure is proof that one can cling to a well-paid public post, during which patients are abused and neglected, without the slightest evidence of professional licensure, judgment, dedication, or accountability.
Any man, plucked from the population at random, never having had a license, would have done better than Chianelli. And yet, Milwaukee County could have done better still: a licensed, judicious, dedicated, and accountable administrator over the Behavioral Health Division and its Mental Health Complex.
This issue will only go away when those responsible have been disciplined or removed, and those who come after assure more humane treatment.
I’ve posted about Chianelli’s policy, and the tragedy that is conduct at the MHC, before. See, A Milwaukee County Bureaucrat’s Immoral Utilitarianism, Update: A Milwaukee County Bureaucrat’s Immoral Utilitarianism, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Update 6, Update 7, Update 8, Update 9, Update 10, Update 11, Update 12, Update 13, Update 14, Update 15, Update 16, and Update 17.