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TOUGH LOVE TURNS
DEADLY:
Deaths in youth residential facilities
    
    
     
(More
pictures below)
By Isabelle Zehnder
© August 21, 2007
- Deaths of youth in residential
facilities and programs
- The failure of child welfare
agencies and law enforcement officials to properly investigate
allegations of child abuse and neglect at these facility;
- The need for immediate
governmental action to insure that evidence is preserved and
witnesses are interviewed, including all children currently housed
in residential facilities;
- The huge gap in current law which
allows facilities such as those mentioned in the summary to be
unlicensed and to escape unannounced and routine inspections by
child welfare agencies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose
Angellika "Angie" Arndt: Bubbles in My Milk;
News re Angie's death
Aaron Wright
Bacon: Died of malnutrition and hypothermia in Wilderness program
Alex Harris: Death allegedly resulted from
forced exercise
Anthony
Haynes: Died of dehydration and near drowning
Caleb Jensen: Death under investigation;
medical neglect allegedly played role in death
Chase
Moody, Jr.: Died
asphyxiation by
restraint
Candace Newmaker: Death from rebirthing
Charles Collins: Allegedly died after forced to exercise
Children who
have died in restraints (summary)
Children who have died in residential
treatment facilities
Elisa
Santry: Allegedly allowed to hike in 110 degree weather when not
feeling well
Gina Score: Collapsed (hyperthermia); left out in sun
for 3 hours.
Giovanni "Joey" Aletriz: Letter to Estelle
Richman, Secretary, Dept. of Public Welfare (PA)
Giovanni "Joey" Aletriz: Letters during his
last days of life
Isaiah's
Simmons: Restraint Death
Linda Harris: Restraint
death
List
of restraint deaths of children in residential treatment facilities
Martin Lee Anderson: Beaten by guards; ammonia capsules
shoved in his nostrils
Matthew Goodman: Restraint and medical neglect
Nicholas Contreras: Serious medical neglect
Photos of children who have died "in the name
of treatment"
Travis Parker:
Restraint, denied asthma medication
(For complete list
of deaths tracked by CAICA,
click here)
PURPOSE
The purpose for this summary is to
prove that some deaths of children and teens occurring in
residential treatment facilities including boot camps, wilderness
programs, behavior modification programs, therapeutic boarding
schools, juvenile justice systems, etc., are no accident. Often
staff are not innocent bystanders and children who died in their
care died painful needless deaths.
I will share important information
about the deaths of children who were held captive in private
residential facilities operated by for-profit businesses. The
purpose is to expose wrongdoing by businesses to which frustrated
parents entrust the lives of their children. All too often, that
trust is misplaced. But the parents have no way of knowing what is
really going on behind closed doors in these places which call
themselves "boot camps," or "behavior modification programs," or
"residential treatment programs," or "boarding schools," or
"wilderness programs."
When the programs are located
hundreds or even thousands of miles from the family home, how can
parents know what is really happening to their child? The risk of
abuse, neglect, and death at these facilities is even greater
because many programs require parents to sign over parental
authority to the program, prohibit relatives from visiting or
contacting the child for several months or more, and tell parents to
distrust any complaints they eventually hear from the child.
The problem is further aggravated
by the fact that most of these facilities are not licensed by the
state and are not regularly monitored by child welfare agencies.
While this summary raises serious
concerns that children have died in these programs,
it does much more than that. It calls into question the resolve of
the State and Federal Government to protect vulnerable children
within its borders and the ability of government agencies to respond
effectively when evidence of child maltreatment is presented to
them.
There is no
federal or state agency, that we know of, that tracks the number of deaths
of youth in residential treatment facilities, boot camps, wilderness
programs, behavior modification programs, etc., nor is there any
federal or state agency that tracks the number of deaths of youth
after they leave such programs. Every effort has been made to ensure
accuracy.
Legislation passed in
2000 by Congress (Children's Health Act 2000) that requires
treatment facilities who receive federal funds to report deaths
caused by restraints and seclusion procedures within 24 hours after
the child has been removed from restraint or seclusion or when it is
reasonable to assume the death is a result of the restraint or
seclusion.
STATS: 1988 to 1997 - 27 restraint deaths;
1998 to August 2006 - 48 restraint deaths; TOTAL RESTRAINT DEATHS
TRACKED BY CAICA: 75
CHILDREN WHO HAVE DIED IN
RESTRAINT:
CAICA has tracked deaths of children in residential facilities,
including restraint deaths. Below is a list of 52 children who have
died in restraints between 1996 and 2007, undoubtedly there are
more. (Click
here for children who died in restraint deaths,
click here for others who died in
treatment.)
In special memory of these, and all, children who have died
"in the name of treatment":
On February 22, 1996, 16-year old Eric Roberts was
wrapped in a plastic foam blanket with Velcro for one hour at
Odyssey Harbor. According to the autopsy he stopped breathing due to
pressure on his chest and died.
On August 16, 1996, 17-year old Bobby Sue Thomas
was restrained, face-down at the Northwood Childrens’ Home. She died
of acute cardiac arrhythmia.
On September 26, 1996, 17-year old Bobby Joe Randolph
was taken to the floor and restrained by two aides at the
Progressive Youth Center in Houston, Texas. She died of asphyxia due
to pressure that was placed on her neck. Her death was ruled a
homicide.
On April 21, 1997, 12-year old Robert Rollins was
restrained for 10 minutes, face down on the floor, after a dispute
over his teddy bear at the Devereaux School in Rutland,
Massachusetts. Investigators found a significant delay in emergency
response. The staffer who restrained the boy left him lying,
unresponsive, on the floor. He later died, cause of death was
asphyxiation. No criminal charges were filed.
On June 5, 1997, 12-year old Shinaul McGraw died of
hyperthermia and extremely high body temperature after he was
wrapped in a bed sheet with gauze over his mouth, restrained to a
bed at New Directions 2nd Chance.
On June 10, 1997, 18-year old Sakena Dorsey was
placed in a face-down prone restraint with a staff member lying
across her back at the Foundation Behavior Health Center in Bucks
County, Pennsylvania. Sakena stopped breathing while she was being
physically restrained and later died. No criminal charges were
filed. She had a history of asthma and problems with swollen tonsils
that hindered her breathing.
On July 15, 1997, 19-year old Michael Arnold tried to leave
the Keystone City Residence day camp. He was held down in a
restraint, pressure placed on torso. He died of asphyxiation due to
chest compression.
On July 24, 1997, 19-year old Judith Young climbed
out of a window at the Adult Family Home (a private group home in
Washington). She became entangled in the straps that were used to
restrain her. She had been dead six hours before workers noticed she
was hanging from the window.
On August 18, 1997, 16-year old Rochelle Clayborne
was pinned, face-down by aids at Laurel Ridge, and was given
tranquilizers. She died from cardiac arrhythmia.
On September 20, 1997, 6-year old Jimmy Kanda was
strapped to his wheelchair and left unattended at Crow’s Nest Family
Care in San Martin, California. He became strangled and 911 talked
staff through CPR, but Jimmy died of asphyxiation. The home was shut
down as a result of his death.
On September 26, 1997, 17-year old Jeffery Demetrius
died from strangulation while he was restrained at the Crockett
(Texas) State School. Jeffery lost consciousness while being
physically restrained by two staff members after assaulting
staffers. It was the second time he was restrained that day. A grand
jury did not issue any indictments.
On November 2, 1997, 13-year old Chris Campbell was
restrained four times at the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toleda, Iowa
during the last 24-hours of his life. Cause of death undetermined.
Chris, who had a pacemaker, had been transferred to four different
facilities in the last five months of his life.
On February 2, 1998, 15-year old Edith Campos was
looking at a family photograph when a male aide instructed her to
hand over the “unauthorized” personal item. The dispute escalated
into a face-down restraint at the Desert Hills Center for Youth and
Families in Tuscon, Arizona. Edith died of asphyxia from the
restraint. Charges against the aide were dismissed.
On March 1, 1998, 14-year old Dustin E. Phelps died
when the owner of the Lancaster Foster Home in Ohio wrapped him in a
blanket and a mattress, wrapping them together with straps. He was
left on the mattress for four hours and later died as a result.
On March 4, 1998, 17-year old Kelly Young was
restrained in a basket-hold restraint and taken to the ground by
staff at the Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center in Wall
Township, New Jersey. She died as a result and the cause of death
was positional asphyxiation. A grand jury convened but no
indictments were issued.
On March 4, 1998, 16-year old Tristan Sovern died
after he was restrained by workers face-down on the ground at the
Charter Behavioral Health, Greensboro, Psychiatric Hospital in North
Carolina. During the struggled staffers placed a towel over
Tristan’s mouth and held a bed sheet around his head. No one checked
his breathing or pulse during the restraint. One criminal indictment
was issued against a staffer.
On March 22, 1998, 11-year old Andrew McClain was
restrained face-down with his arms crossed over his chest during his
stay at the Elmcrest Psychiatric Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut.
He died as a result, the cause of death was asphyxia and chest
compression.
On April 29, 1998, 16-year old Mark Soares died
from cardiac arrest after he was physically restrained by staff at
Wayside Union Academy. Aides thought he was faking unconsciousness.
On October 15, 1998, 18-year old Brandon Hadden was
restrained in a straitjacket and held facedown on a bed. He vomited
and choked to death while two staff continued to hold him down at
the Healthcare Rehabilitation Center in Austin, Texas.
In December 1998, 14-year old Mark Draheim was
forcibly restrained by three staff members at KidsPeace. He died as
a result of the restraint, cause of death was asphyxiation. In 2006
the case was settled. His family won $30K per year for 30 years.
On February 5, 1999, 16-year old Kristal Mayon-Ceniceros
suffered respiratory arrest and died after being restrained
face-down by four staff members at the New Alternatives Facility in
Chula Vista, California.
On March 11, 1999, 9-year old Timothy Thomas died
when he suffocated after being restrained by his teacher at the
Grandfather Academy for Children, a home for abused children that
had been the target of a number of complaints. He only weighed 53
pounds and was put into a basket hold by his teacher.
On November 2, 1999, 14-year old Jerry McLaurin
died after he was restrained at the New Horizons Ranch.
On December 28, 1999, 17-year old Joshua Sharpe
died after he was restrained at the Wisconsin Treatment Center.
On February 4, 2000, 9-year old Willie Wright, an
autistic boy, died at Southwest Mental Health Center, a mental
hospital in San Antonio, Texas, after he was restrained by hospital
workers. After he was restrained on his side for fifteen minutes
hospital workers noticed he was no longer breathing. They
administered CPR, but neither the workers nor an emergency crew
could revive him.
On February 5, 2000, 12-year old Michael Ibarra-Wiltsie
was restrained, sat on by a 320-pound counselor at the Eckert Youth
Alternatives program and died. Some time later his mom was found
dead in her garage with her 7-year old son in an apparent
murder-suicide. It is believed she took her life because she was
distraught over the death of her son.
On February 6, 2000, 9-year old Randy Steele was
restrained during a scuffle at Laurel Ridge facility. He vomited and
stopped breathing. After reviving him he was transferred to a
hospital where he died the next day. He had been restrained 25 times
during the 28 days prior to his death.
On February 10, 2000, 15-year old Sabrina E. Day
died after she was restrained at the North Carolina Group Home.
On April 18, 2000, 10-year old Candace Newmaker was
held under a stack of pillows, wrapped in a blanket, during a
“rebirthing” session at the Evergreen Attachment Center. She cried,
screamed, and pleaded for help. She vomited and defecated on
herself, yet they continued to restrain her. Finally, after she was
quiet for some time they released her and saw she was no longer
breathing. She died the next day of asphyxiation.
On September 18, 2000, 15-year old William “Eddie” Lee
suffered an injury to his vertebral artery at the base of his skull
after being restrained by counselors at the Obsidian Trails
Wilderness Camp.
On February 9, 2001, 11-year old Tanner Wilson
suffered from a heart attack and died while he was being physically
restrained at the Gerard, Iowa facility.
On February 11, 2001, 16-year old Stephanie Duffield
died after she was restrained at the Shiloh Residential Treatment
Center.
On May 14, 2001, 17-year old Carlton Eugene Thomas
suffered cardiac arrest and died when a staff member at the
Edgemeade-Raymond A. Rogers Jr. School cut off his oxygen during a
restraining hold.
On February 6, 2002, 14-year old Matthew Goodman,
died after he was kept in mechanical restraints for 16 months at the
Bancroft Institution in Haddenfield, New Jersey. He died from
pneumonia, respiratory distress, and blood poisoning.
On February 14, 2002, 15-year old Latasha Bush died
from complications of mechanical restraint and asphyxia after being
restrained at the Daystar Residential Treatment Center in Southeast
Texas. A DPRS investigation concluded she died after being
restrained. The medical examiner listed mechanical asphyxiation as
the cause of death.
On March 7, 2002, 14-year old Cedric Napoleon died
as a result of being restrained at the Manor Middle School in
Killeen, Texas.
On October 14, 2002, Chase Moody, Jr., was laughing
in his tent at the On Track Wilderness Therapy program operated by
the Brown School (CEDU affiliated). Staff ordered him to get out of
the tent when he continued laughing, threw him to the ground, and
restrained him. Within ten minutes he stopped breathing and died as
a result of the restraint.
On March 10, 2003, 15-year old Orlena Parker was
pinned, face-down, by at least six, possibly seven, adult staff
members at the Devereux Cleo Wallace facility in Colorado Springs.
She died within 15 minutes.
On August 25, 2003, 15-year old Michael R. Lewis, III,
an autistic child, was restrained on his stomach by six employees on
his first day of school at Parchment High. He was dead within two
hours.
On October 12, 2003, 14-year old Maria Mendoza was
restrained at the Krause Children's Center, in Katy, Texas. The
Department of Protective & Regulatory Services did an investigation
and reported Maria died of "mechanical" or traumatic asphyxiation,
meaning external pressure or the position of her body prevented her
from breathing.
On December 23, 2004, 16-year old Garrett Halsey,
an autistic and mentally retarded boy, was restrained by six people
who sat on his back at the Grafton School, Inc., Grafton Group Home,
causing his death. This occurred on his second day at the group
home.
On April 21, 2005, 13-year old Travis Parker was
restrained for an hour and a half and was denied his asthma
medication when he attended the Appalachian Wilderness Camp in
Georgia.
On September 11, 2005, 12-year old Shirley Arciszewski
was restrained and died of asphyxia at the Charlotte Group Home in
South Carolina.
On September 18, 2005, 14-year old Linda Harris was
physically restrained by a male worker at the Chad Youth Enhancement
Center. She stopped breathing and later died.
On December 5, 2005, 12-year old Michael “Mickey” Garcia
was placed in a basket hold restraint by a staff member at Star
Ranch facility in Texas. Mickey stopped breathing, could not be
revived, and later died.
On January 6, 2006, 14-year old Martin Lee Anderson
died at a Pensacola hospital one day after guards at the Bay County
Sheriff's Office Boot Camp punched, kneed, and applied pressure to
his head in an attempt to force him to continue running laps. An
autopsy ordered by a special prosecutor concluded Martin died of
asphyxia after guards covered his mouth and shoved ammonia capsules
up his nose. A use-of-force report said the guards had thought
Martin was malingering.
On February 4, 2006, 16-year old Giovanni “Joey” Aletriz
died after being beaten and restrained at SummitQuest in Ephrata,
PA. The contents of his stomach were in his nasal cavity. One side
of his face was black and blue and the other side had a hemotoma
from his temple to his jaw. His organs were damaged and he had
bruising consistent with that of a slug or kick on different areas
of his body.
On May 26, 2006, 7-year old Angellika Arndt lost
her life at the Northwest Guidance and Counseling Center in Rice
Lake, WI. Angie had been restrained nine times in the month she was
there, each restraint lasting one to two hours, one time she was
restrained for “gargling milk”. She was restrained again the next
day, and the following she died as a result of the restraint.
On July 19, 2006, 21-year old Raymond Lee Mitchell,
an autistic young man, threw a temper tantrum. His mother called the
police who she believes escalated, rather than de-escalated the
situation. Ultimately, she saw 6 grown men on top of her son as they
restrained him. He died as a result of the restraint.
On August 4, 2006, 14-year old Danieal Kelly died
during a heat wave. She was bedridden, infested with maggots, and
nearly paralyzed with cerebral palsy. She died in extreme heat,
dehydrated, weighing just 46 pounds when she died. She wasted away
in bed with bedsores, under the nose of the city's social service
agency. According to an October 25, 2006, MSNBC article, she died of
dehydration and workers failed to notice neglect.
In August 2006 (exact date unknown), 3-year old Marcus
Fiesel died after he was wrapped in a blanket then taped to
a high chair and left alone for two days while his foster family
went out of town. When they returned, he was dead. They burned his
body.
On January 5, 2007, 18-year old Kevin Colindres, an
autistic boy, died at home. Kevin was restrained by police after
they were called to his home for a family disturbance. Kevin had
been abusive to his mother so she called the police for help.
Instead, they took Kevin to the ground, restrained him, and left him
in a coma. He died several weeks later.
On January 23, 2007, 17-year old Isaiah Simmons, III,
allegedly acted out in a dinner line and had to be restrained. The
incident occurred during dinnertime around 5 p.m. and officials were
not called until after 8 p.m., over three hours later. Officials
have shown concern as to what happened during that window of time.
On February 15, 2007, 13-year old Jonathan Carey,
died in restraints. Jonathan was a non-verbal autistic boy who was a
resident at the O.D. Heck Developmental Center, was restrained in a
van while staff were running errands. He could not be revived.
Jonathan was also abused in another facility in 2004. His parents
have been fighting to have his records unsealed so they can find out
what happened to their son.
CHILDREN WHO HAVE DIED "IN THE
NAME OF TREATMENT"
    
    
      
    
     
(Pictured above:
some of the children who have died "in the name of treatment")
GRIEVING FAMILIES
  
  
  
   
 
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