April 2, 2006
No charges will be filed in
teen's death
Report from advocacy group calls for changes at
residential facility.
By Dan Shope and Joanna Poncavage Of The
Morning Call
No charges will be filed in the case of a
teenager who died at a behavioral treatment center after reportedly
being restrained for disruptive behavior, authorities said.
But a report released Saturday from a nonprofit
watchdog group recommended changes at the Ephrata, Lancaster County
facility where the Allentown teenager died.
Lehigh Valley Local Links
An autopsy showed that Giovanni ''Joey''
Aletriz, 16, had an undiagnosed heart condition that could have
contributed to his death on Feb. 4 while being restrained at the
SummitQuest Academy, Lancaster County District Attorney Donald
Totaro said Friday.
Lawyer Peter Karoly,
right, holds a press conference Thursday, Feb. 9, 2006 with Cynthia
Allen, center,
and Jaime Aletriz, both of Allentown, the parents of Giovanni
Aletriz, 16, who died after reportedly being
restrained for disruptive behavior.
The results angered his mother, Cynthia Allen
of Allentown, who on Saturday held a 3-foot by 4-foot piece of white
cardboard covered with handwritten messages from her son's friends
at SummitQuest Academy.
''This can't happen to somebody else's son,''
she said. ''I don't want to see somebody else's son beaten to
death.''
Allen was upset with Totaro's ruling that she
said was based on the Department of Public Welfare's assessment that
the academy followed policy and procedure for restraint.
''If they had followed policy and procedure my
son would be alive,'' she said.
He had asthma, she said, and SummitQuest knew
he had it and never should have restrained him.
Allen, a licensed practical nurse, said she has
been working with the Mental Health Association of Southeastern
Pennsylvania and plans to be at a news conference at 11 a.m.
Wednesday on the steps of the Capitol in Harrisburg with the
organization's Executive Director Sue Walther.
Allen's attorney, Peter Karoly of Allentown,
said she wants justice for her son and plans to propose both state
and federal legislation to protect children with mental illness.
Aletriz suffered from bipolar disorder, which
often can be controlled with medication.
''This is a case that started with problems
over a skateboard,'' Karoly said. ''The case manager here
recommended that he go to SummitQuest.''
Allen and Karoly requested a review of
SummitQuest by Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy, a nonprofit
organization designated by the state to protect those with
disabilities.
''SummitQuest inappropriately restrains the
youth in its care ... resulting in both abuse and neglect,'' said
its March 22 report, which Karoly released Saturday.
Among 13 recommendations, the advocacy group
said SummitQuest should prohibit prone restraints, adopt a
non-physical model for treatment, get experts' advice on how to
provide care and establish a plan to decrease the population at
SummitQuest within two years.
''Although some may legitimately question the
wisdom of using manual restraints on children, the evidence shows
that these procedures were approved by the Department of Public
Welfare and they were followed by employees of SummitQuest,'' Totaro
said in a statement.
Aletriz's death was the second at SummitQuest
in less than two months. Another resident, James White, 17, died in
December of what the Lancaster County coroner determined was natural
causes.
The state Department of Public Welfare has
placed SummitQuest on a six-month provisional license because of
''significant health and safety concerns for the kids at the
facility,'' said department spokeswoman Stacey Ward said.
SummitQuest has appealed that decision.
Officials did not return calls for comment.
Allen didn't understand why no charges have
been filed.
''How are you going to run a behavior and
anger-management place when every time you turn around, you're
angrily restraining children?'' she said.
SummitQuest is a 129-bed facility that treats
teenagers and preteens who have problems with mental health, sexual
offenses and sexually inappropriate behavior.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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