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. Tevin did not feel safe at Sequel Tuskegee. Lawsuit: Teen screamed 'I can't breathe' during restraint WEST . Altamont Capital Partners Invests in Sequel Youth & Family Services. Glenda Marshall, a program coordinator for Oregons state child welfare agency, wrote in a 2016 email to Shoemaker that the state had been struggling to find placements for foster youth. Neither side disclosed the terms of the settlement. Sequel Youth and Family Services, a Huntsville, Ala.,-based for-profit company, will run the center effective April 1, said Amanda Fortuna, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Juvenile . I just want people to be held accountable, Patricia said. The company dreamed of dominating Americas $220 billion behavioral health care industry. 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.. Contact us today to see if you qualify for the Paraquat Parkinsons Disease Lawsuit! 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. Sequel Youth & Family Services, once one of the nation's largest operators of treatment centers for children with behavioral problems, plans to close three more facilities, including its flagship academy, continuing the company's contraction in the past two years amid wide-spread reports of abuse.. Laurie stayed at Owens Cross Roads twice before she reunited with her family. Tommy James is an attorney representing a 16-year-old named Hunter who lived at a Sequel facility in Courtland for 10 months. Sara E. Teller, Alabama father brings lawsuit against Sequel facility alleging staff abused his son, LegalReader.com, Jan. 1, 2021 (available at https: . Sequel settled a lawsuit from Fredrick's family in December. See Monitoring Report for Sequel Youth and Family Services of Courtland, Ala. Disabilities Advoc. Thank you for everything. The company collected over $200 million in annual revenue at the time, he said, and turned about $30 million in profit, which he attributed to keeping staffing costs low. Vivant is using the change of ownership to fight litigation against the treatment centers formerly owned by Sequel. And when we identify circumstances in which we are not providing care to the par that we expect it to be provided, we intervene with it. 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 . Employee at Teen Behavior Facility Arrested for Sexual Battery, Showing Porn to Minors. Sequel declined to comment on Lauries and Tristans cases. Sequel subsequently closed the facility. The facilities at the heart of the issue are run by Sequel Youth and Family Services. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. "These are places that are supposed to provide a safe, homelike, therapeutic environment, Johnson said. But the marketing push could not overcome concerns several states had after Cornelius Fredericks death this year. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Since then, 17 of those centers have closed. Attorney for Cornelius Fredericks Files Civil Lawsuit against Youth Facility Where He Died. 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. If you or a loved one suffered harm while in a Sequel facility in Alabama or in another state, you should promptly seek the advice of an Alabama lawyer, or a lawyer in your state, who may investigate your Sequel claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a lawsuit against Sequel, if appropriate. Instead, it responded with a written statement saying, Jay Ripley and his family formed Vivant with the goal to help youth and adult consumers of behavioral health services and that the company was committed to providing ethical and quality treatment services to its clients and their families and communities.. We have been lucky to have Sequel programs available to serve our kids, Marshall wrote. You can also call us at (205) 843-5086 or fill out an online contact form to schedule a free consultation. They may be trying to drum up business, but ultimately, Birmingham said, Sequel employees care about the children. Use the CB Insights Platform to explore Sequel Youth and Family Services's full profile. Fredricks' family filed lawsuits after his death against Lakeside Academy, school owner Sequel Youth & Family Services and employees. In response to a list of questions laying out the findings of the APM Reports investigation, the company issued a lengthy written statement. On top of those attacks, the suit states, a staff member once restrained Hunter so violently that his head hit a concrete wall and reopened an existing cut, requiring stitches. It's a hard industry.. Youth Residential Treatment Facility Abuse Lawsuit. Sequel was founded as a company in 1999. Is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the facility. The defendants, Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services the company that supplied the academy with management services and staff members declined to comment on the lawsuit . Marshall also traded messages with Sequels marketing staff monitoring Gelsers social media activity when the lawmaker toured Sequel facilities that year. Since 2019, 10 Investigates has found at least a half dozen facilities operated by Sequel Youth Family Services that have either closed or faced other sanctions like having their admissions . An employee at a Sequel facility in Utah was arrested for sexual battery and showing pornography to minors. Three employees of the facility were charged criminally in . The other residents in the unit were 18 and 19 years old. The state did not end its relationship with Sequel. An NBC News investigation sorted through tens of thousands of documents and found dozens of reports of sexual and physical abuse. We were both in a really bad place, Laurie said. The work load and expectations do not match the pay for the majority of the staff (even for the positions that require degrees). The attorneys and staff at THL worked hard, communicated every step of the process, kept me well informed at all times, and exceeded all expectations! Sequel disputes the findings and the facility remains open. At Courtland, where conditions had nauseated Johnson, state agencies received dozens of incident reports from 2018 to this summer detailing troubling allegations, including that children there had sustained injuries, such as a broken toe, a fractured ankle and a concussion, because of restraints. MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah (AP) A company that runs treatment centers for troubled youth is closing a second Utah facility as officials investigate claims of sexual abuse, violence and several other . Anytime that our clients are not getting the highest quality care that they deserve is an opportunity for improvement.. Contact TorHoerman Law for a free, legal consultation today. Records show that about two weeks later, Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner forwarded two new contracts with Sequel to Alabama Gov. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. The records revealed reports of child abuse and injury reports had been made to state agencies in Alabama, yet the facilities would still pass inspections. Government regulators and the media took notice. Oregon state Senator Sara Gelser has spent years demanding accountability for Sequel, and she is continuing the crusade against Vivant. An SEC filing that year pegged Sequels value at an estimated $421 million. Washington, California, Oregon and Minnesota stopped sending kids to the companys treatment centers. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequel's . 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. 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. Jun 27, 2019, 15:09 ET. I was banging and kicking on the door, trying to get someones attention, he said. Today the Sequel brand has been removed from almost all its former treatment centers web sites. Clockwise from top, the latest operations to close: Mountain Home Academy in Idaho, Forest Ridge Youth Services in Iowa, Pompano Youth Treatment Center in Florida. Program, pp. A Profitable Death Trap: Sequel Youth Facilities Raked in Millions While Accused of Abusing Children. Her family couldnt afford private care options that cost up to $4,000 a month, but social workers determined Lauries needs were so great that she qualified for state care. Enjoy a rewarding career where you can gain new skills and build your career with the guidance of a mentor. Nobody joins our industry, you know, unless they're actually here for the kids, she said. Published: May. Earlier that year, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare wrote a scathing report accusing the treatment center of significant failure in staff oversight and training resulting in over 100 incidents of aberrant sexual behavior by five children over at least three months, and possibly as far back as seven months.. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. This was the first time experiencing a situation like this and Tor Hoerman law did an excellent job from start to finish. How long do I have to file a Sequel abuse lawsuit? Contact the Elmiron Lawyers from TorHoerman Law. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Sequel Youth and Family Services, alleging abuse of all sorts and negligent behavior of staff and management. 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. There is poor supervision, staff bullying and intimidation of the children. Embattled Company to Close a Second Utah Treatment Center for Troubled Teens. The company is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama and owns a nationwide network of over 40 facilities in more than 15 states, including residential treatment centers, group homes, special schools, and community-based programs. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The young couple are expecting their first child and trying to build a new life for themselves on Alabamas Gulf Coast, working at Lauries familys carpet business. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Alabama, however, is among the states that have permitted Sequel to continue operating. Sequel is a privately-owned, for-profit operator of behavioral healthcare facilities for children and youth in the United States. 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. Since then, 17 of those centers . That means sending out marketing agents to get more states to send children to its facilities. Theyre worth nearly $13 million. These residents were allowed to attack Tevin nightly. 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. In recent years, lawyers and child advocates have surfaced allegations of abuse of children . The State of Iowas placing some of these young people in this unrestricted environment is frankly absurd.. 3. The facility, which Sequel operated under a contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, shut down the following month. The latest Sequel treatment centers to close are in Idaho, Florida, and Iowa, all of which had been under government scrutiny in recent years. I recall walking in and the stench was overwhelming. The statute of limitations for each state determines the amount of time that a victim has to file an abuse lawsuit. Many of the children served by Sequel are victims with traumatic histories. No information will be shared unless you, as a client, first approve. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. He has a bulging, bloody laceration on his forehead. Visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find local attorneys in you state who may assist you with your claim against Sequel. A typical bedroom at Sequel's Courtland facility. 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A majority stake in Sequel was bought by Altamont Capital, a private equity firm located in California, in 2017. Our firm is about people. Without our team, we wouldnt be able to provide our clients with anything close to the level of service they receive when they work with us. The staff is kind, considerate, professional, and very experienced. At that point, I was so depressed I didnt know what to do, Laurie said. He named his new business Sequel because it was his second foray into the industry. Yet, at these facilities, children have been sexually and physically assaulted by staff members. After her mother received a terminal cancer diagnosis, she became depressed and defiant, and struggled with suicidal thoughts. For 72 hours, staff members left him in a small room outfitted with a thin mattress and a camera on the ceiling, he said. Tristans mother died when he was 2, and he said his father was addicted to drugs. Sequel Youth and Family Services owns Falcon Ridge Ranch, the Utah center with the highest rate of reported sex crimes. Personally, I am enraged when I find out that people have treated my kids that way, if that allegation turns out to be substantiated, she said. I worked at Sequel Youth & Family full-time and the best day was my last! What Caused Camp Lejeune Water Contamination? That is our motto and that will always be our reality. The company used marketing to secure state funding, despite government inspections flagging violations. It was valued by investors at more than $400 million. 2020 AbuseGuardian.com. Our team is what has made TorHoerman Law a very special place since 2009. For children who qualify, Medicaid reimburses Sequel for medical and mental health treatment. Ohio recently revoked the license of a Sequel psychiatric facility in Columbus over multiple instances of violence. Sequel, and similar for-profit companies that run youth behavioral health centers, can be paid up to $800 a day per child they take into their facilities, turning a profit of millions each year. Inspectors said the facility didnt meet state standards related to programming, education, supervision, and mental health treatment. On multiple occasions later in 2019, when Oregon state Sen. Sara Gelser emailed state officials demanding information about oversight of Sequel programs, government agents promptly forwarded the messages to Sequel employees for help responding. 2.9. There were feces on the floor, stuck inside the doorframe, stuck around the window.. These cookies do not store any personal information. Rappleyeis a reporter with the Investigative Unit at NBC News, with a focus on criminal justice, social issues and the environment. 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