Both of his eyes are black; one is swollen shut. My client lived in a house of horrors. Sparkman, the Alabama Department of Human Resources spokesman, said the agency could not comment on individual cases. A 16-year-old, Cornelius Frederick, died this year after several staff members restrained him at a Sequel facility in Michigan, prompting disability rights proponents, legislators and child advocacy groups in at least six states to question whether the company focuses more on profit than rehabilitating the children in its care. A wonderful and professional legal team. Ripley said that in 2015 Sequel Youth and Family Services revenue was more than $200 million and that its profits were between $30 to $32 million. After NBC News presented Sequel with a list of questions this month, Birmingham visited two of the companys Alabama facilities, and said she found that The kids were very happy. She said she encourages staff members to report any concerns about misconduct to a company hotline so Sequel can ensure no child is abused in its care. Sequel Youth & Family Services is now in the national spotlight after NBC Nightly News ran an investigative report on the company Wednesday night. That means sending out marketing agents to get more states to send children to its facilities. Contact the Elmiron Lawyers from TorHoerman Law. Tax dollars are being used ultimately to abuse and mistreat children who are in need of serious therapeutic services, and weve sent them to these services for that, said K. Ricky Watson Jr., head of the National Juvenile Justice Network, which has advocated against for-profit juvenile detention. All consultations are completely confidential and discrete. May 28, 2021 Sequel Youth and Family Services and the Troubled Teen Industry (Residential Treatment Program/Facility Abuse and Neglect) October 30, 2020 Tommy James Law Files Civil Lawsuit in LeBrawn Rankin Tragedy. Published: May. She said that most allegations made by children, staff and advocates end up being unsubstantiated, but that the company has zero tolerance for abuse and immediately reports allegations of wrongdoing to state oversight agencies. Do I qualify for the Sequel abuse lawsuit? An NBC News investigation sorted through tens of thousands of documents and found dozens of reports of sexual and physical abuse. The closure was voluntary, but it came at the end of a difficult period for the program. If you or a loved one suffered injuries or other damages as a result of abuse suffered while under the protective care of a Sequel youth facility you may qualify for legal action. Vivant hasnt bought all of Sequels remaining assets. Sequel received little public attention before Altamont took control of it in 2017, but state regulators reported serious problems at its facilities before the private equity firm took control. Sequel Youth & Family Services: Second Lawsuit Settled in Death of Teen at Sequel Lakeside Facility January 12, 2022. Tommy James is an attorney representing a 16-year-old named Hunter who lived at a Sequel facility in Courtland for 10 months. Former Students at Utah Troubled-Teen Centers Say Their Reports of Sex Abuse Were Ignored. If you have been abused at a Sequel Youth and Family Services facility, or a similar facility, contact our experienced team of attorneys today to learn more about your legal rights. We took the feedback from the report, we identified areas for improvement, we worked with the state to come up with a manageable plan to make those areas of improvement, Birmingham said. The state pays Sequel Youth and Family Services about $330 per day, per child, the lawsuit states. Sequel is a frequent presence at conferences for probation officers, judges, social workers, school safety professionals, attorneys and others involved in court cases. The company told investors it was well positioned to serve as industry consolidator, thanks in part to its clean regulatory and litigation history.. But some facilities might have new life under a different name and one of the original founders. When Johnson and her colleagues visited, the children recounted how staff encouraged them to kill themselves and made vulgar comments; one child said staff members make fun of my name, which upsets me because it is my dads name and he passed away.. One firm, Altamont Capital Partners, which has investments in health care companies, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and clothing brands like Billabong, purchased a majority stake in Sequel for an undisclosed amount in 2017. I highly recommend this law firm! Michigans governor ordered state agencies in June to never do business with Sequel. Even states without a Sequel location, including California, Oregon and Washington, have done so. Cornelius tragic death has been a watershed moment for the fight against abuse in these facilities. 2.8. Sequel disputes the findings and the facility remains open. The operation housed a significant number of children from Oregon, which stopped sending them to Sequel treatment centers in 2020. According to Hunters adoptive mother, Patricia, the facility was supposed to get Hunter back on track with school, provide intensive therapy and immerse him in a Positive Peer Culture that teaches residents to support one another. Youth Residential Treatment Facility Abuse Lawsuit. This was the first time experiencing a situation like this and Tor Hoerman law did an excellent job from start to finish. Sequel Youth & Family Services specializes in treating children with mental disorders, intellectual disabilities and trauma, which makes these findings disturbing. Officers frequently were called to investigate peer-on-peer assaults, sexual assault allegations, staff-on-resident misconduct, and runaways, the state report on Martens complaint noted. The lawsuits reinforce the findings of a recent Huffington Post investigation that revealed more than two decades of abuse and neglect inside private prisons operated by Youth Services International and other companies run by its founder, James Slattery. Both before and after Cornelius Fredricks death, Sequel closed a number of their operations for a variety of reasons, ranging from understaffing and financial troubles to abuse allegations and criminal charges. Many of Sequels behavioral health treatment centers are sold or closed following abuse allegations. We dont want anything like this to happen to any other kids. They still struggle with anxieties, nightmares and the feeling that theyre behind their peers. Sequel Youth and Family Services is the most notable operator of youth residential treatment facilities in the United States, and reportedly operates up to 80% of these establishments. More than 40 States Have Sent Their Most Vulnerable Kids to Facilities Run by a for-Profit Company Named Sequel. Pros. The latest Sequel treatment centers to close are in Idaho, Florida, and Iowa, all of which had been under government scrutiny in recent years. Jun 27, 2019, 15:09 ET. Despite that, the facilities passed regular inspections and public dollars continued to flow. In a civil lawsuit filed Monday against Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services, the family said the teen screamed "I can't breathe" as staff members placed their weight on his chest for nearly 10 minutes. Sequel Youth and Family Services Lawsuit: Reports of Abuse, Independent Fundamental Baptist Resources, Disclaimer / Terms Of Service & Privacy Policy, 24/7 support with a caring legal staff dedicated to protecting your confidentiality, employees or "whistleblowers" of the facilities, Multiple children report being slammed to the ground and held facedown, One boy described his head being caught on a nail in the wall during a violent restraint, Reports of being called names, threatened, and comments such as "you gonna go to jail", Report of being in solitary confinement for 72 hours, with no access to a bathroom, Report of lack of access to medical treatment, dental treatment or eye care, Report of lack of access to clean drinking water, Lack of education, school work and career training, Filthy conditions and hazardous living conditions, Residents in inappropriate restraints without justification, and even the death of one resident at a Michigan facility. Our firm is about people. 102. Children at Sequels other facilities in Alabama Montgomery, Owens Cross Roads and Tuskegee also had stories to tell. Northern Illinois Academy (NIA), located in Aurora, Illinois, is an 87-bed facility that receives funding from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), and the . Ohio recently revoked the license of a Sequel psychiatric facility in Columbus over multiple instances of violence. Inspectors said the facility didnt meet state standards related to programming, education, supervision, and mental health treatment. Sequel Youth and Family Services was founded in the late 1990s by former employees of Youth Services International. A 16-year-old Michigan boy went into cardiac arrest and died after several staff members of the residential treatment facility he stayed at restrained him, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. The statute of limitations for each state determines the amount of time that a victim has to file an abuse lawsuit. The most common issue reported at youth residential treatment facilities is physical abuse, either at the hands of employees or other residents. One of the children placed at Courtland in early 2018 was a 15-year-old boy named Hunter, a former foster child with post-traumatic stress disorder whod been abused. Despite Oregons efforts to work with Sequel to meet our licensing and safety standards, it became abundantly clear that Sequel was unable or unwilling to meet Oregons mandatory reporting requirements, said Jake Sunderland, press secretary for the Oregon Department of Human Services. In Alabama, the Alabama Department of Youth Services and the Alabama Department of Human Resources place at-risk children in the Sequel facility to receive medically required mental health care. We've recovered over $4 Billion in verdicts & settlements, 16 Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Diseases & Symptoms, Sequel Youth and Family Services Abuse Lawsuit. If you or a loved one suffered from abuse at a Sequel facility, camp, boarding school, or treatment center, consider contacting TorHoerman Law for legal help. As recently as November, Sequel garnered attention when it announced the sudden closure of its Bernalillo Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which treated youths with behavioral and developmental challenges. They hope to raise awareness by speaking out. You think you're making progress, and then it just comes back stronger, Gelser said. We are passionate about what we do and delight in providing the individuals we are privileged to serve and instill permanent, positive change and propel them toward their best and full potential. In an article from APM Reports analyzing Riverside Academy in Kansas, a former Sequel operation, it was found that: In the four years before it closed, the facility had been cited 38 times by Kansas officials for problems including excessive force by staff, poor supervision, under-qualified medical personnel, neglect and bullying by residents, according to state licensing records.. No information shared in consultations is shared unless first approved by our clients. The staff is kind, considerate, professional, and very experienced. In 2017, when a private equity firm bought a controlling stake in Sequel Youth & Family Services, it had 35 residential treatment centers in 16 states. Alabama Sequel Facility a House of Horrors for Foster Child, Lawsuit Claims. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and damages. Today the Sequel brand has been removed from almost all its former treatment centers web sites. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequel's . Patricia took photos during a visit showing Hunter, a thin, slight child, sitting on a couch at the facility in a Spider-Man T-shirt. We focused on public pay because we figured kids are always going to have issues and they're always going to get in trouble, and again, the government has to figure out a way to take care of them, Ripley explained, according to a video recording. Sequel is playing hide the ball, and theyre trying to avoid accountability and responsibility for [what they did] to these children and our clients, said Tommy James, an attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, who has three suits pending against Sequel facilities now controlled by Vivant. Today, Sequel has all but vanished. What we do is we strive every day to provide the best care we can for kids in these facilities, Birmingham said. Courtland was one of the last facilities Tristan Broadrick lived in before he aged out of the foster care system. But the marketing push could not overcome concerns several states had after Cornelius Fredericks death this year. OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. (WAFF) - The Sequel TSI facility in Owens Cross Roads will close on Saturday. You can also sue facility staff members who are no longer working for Sequel. Children were abused, neglected at house of horrors psychiatric facility, suit says. Last year, Tennessee, which had paid Sequel up to $608 a day per child, suspended admissions to Kingston and the states Medicaid agency terminated its contract with Sequel. The report included photographic proof of the Dickensian conditions that the states most vulnerable children were forced to live in: broken doors, missing floor tiles, blood smeared on the walls and thin mattresses laid on top of concrete platforms. The company has offered all-expenses-paid trips to state employees to tour the companys facilities. They may be trying to drum up business, but ultimately, Birmingham said, Sequel employees care about the children. He was forced to go to the bathroom on his own breakfast tray, he said. Contact TorHoerman Law for a free, legal consultation today. We're ready to fight for you. An SEC filing that year pegged Sequels value at an estimated $421 million. In September 2019, Sondra Landers, director of the departments office in Lawrence County, where Courtland is, sent an alarming email to several top agency staff members. Sequel declined to make any of its leaders available for interviews. To learn more about how our law firm helps the injured, check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page. For more of NBC News' in-depth reporting, download the NBC News app. Sequel Youth and Family Services owns Falcon Ridge Ranch, the Utah center with the highest rate of reported sex crimes. Responses to the Youth Risk Behavior survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biannually, showed that over 40% of high school students reported feeling so sad or . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. They helped me when I needed expert legal representation! She said she could not speak in detail about the companys finances, but argued that Altamonts support including nearly $40 million invested over the past three years has allowed Sequel to provide extra training for its employees, upgrade infrastructure and install additional security cameras at its facilities. You can also call us at (205) 843-5086 or fill out an online contact form to schedule a free consultation. Sequel Youth and Family Services, the company that runs Lakeside (and is also a named defendant in the lawsuit), operates at least 55 other facilities from Arizona to Maine. Tevin did not feel safe at Sequel Tuskegee. 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