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A senate report claims state oversight of Florida businesses that care for seniors isn’t working.

The Senate Health Regulations Committee issued the report to highlight the shortcoming of the state’s role as a watchdog over assisted living facilities. The report comes after a newspaper investigation uncovered cases of abuse and neglect that lead to more than a dozen deaths. In most of those cases the caregiver was given a slap on the wrist. State Senator Ronda Storms chairs the Senate Elder Affairs Committee and is ready to take action on the report.

“There is a lot of work to do there, but I think they gave us a good start and I’m looking forward to being able to address it,” said Storms.

The report says the Agency for Health Care Administration needs to handout stiffer penalties to Assisted Living Facilities that neglect patients and shutdown the ones that abuse seniors. Stiffer penalties and tougher licensing requirements are likely to become legislation this next session.