Many states have reportedly revoked contracts with Sequel (but not Alabama). Here's everything you need to know about "The Grinch" sequel, plus the best books your kid can check out now. Local investigators found that the facility failed to . SHERIDAN Normative Services Academy, Inc. will close its doors March 22 "after an evaluation of viability of the Normative Services program," according to a press release sent Wednesday morning by NSI Executive Director Clayton Carr. 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.. Tevin did not feel safe at Sequel Tuskegee. The Training Manager is responsible for directing, planning and implementing the training program.Also, takes the lead with staff training and personnel development. TorHoerman Law was responsible for handling a medical case for our family. Neither side disclosed the terms of the settlement. In December 2021, Sequel closed both locations of its Forest Ridge Youth Services treatment program in Iowa. Before they got out, the two crossed paths at a psychiatric hospital, where they were sent after trying to harm themselves. Responsibilities of Executive Director: Manages 5 - 10 subordinate supervisors who supervise a total of 50 - 55 employees. When you think about the amount of money that these facilities and Sequel are receiving, he said, it makes you wonder: Where exactly is that money going?. All of my questions were answered quickly and in a way I could understand. Ratings by category. She said she regularly witnessed staff members putting girls into violent restraints, to the point where they struggled to breathe, allegations also documented by the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and in NBC News interviews with other former residents. Alabama Sequel Facility a House of Horrors for Foster Child, Lawsuit Claims. Hunter is now receiving psychiatric treatment at a hospital, she said. Sequel TSI in Owens Cross Roads emailed a statement reading "TSI . The company later said in an email that in cases where a child's safety is threatened, "we take all necessary actions from employee termination, to policy and process changes, to staff-wide retraining to ensure we live up to our high standards of care for the youth we serve.". Nobody joins our industry, you know, unless they're actually here for the kids, she said. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequel's . 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. 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. They severely underpay their staff! Altamont invested nearly $40 million over the past three years, not the past two years. 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. 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 . In wooing states, Sequel has an advantage: It offers to take children with the most severe challenges, who are hardest to place. You deserve to be heard and we believe you. After her mother received a terminal cancer diagnosis, she became depressed and defiant, and struggled with suicidal thoughts. Program, pp. Websites for three former Sequel facilities in Utah and Tennessee indicate that they are now run by Rite of Passage, a company based in Nevada. The level of abuse is staggering and very disturbing. In 2020, Emmet County Sheriff Mike Martens contacted the state to complain about the burden Forest Ridge was placing on his department. In February 2019, Courtland employees called Patricia to tell her that Hunter had tried to hang himself, she said. The same facility will reopen under a new name with new services while an attorney prepares to file another lawsuit against the facility. Sequel staff members shared the companys side of the issue and discussed how to deal with concerns among state lawmakers. Thank you TorHoerman Law! California, Maryland, Oregon and Washington have also stopped placing children in programs run by the company. He complained that Forest Ridge was admitting children they were not qualified to care for, were allowing children to prey on one another, and were failing to keep children safe by allowing them to leave the facility unsupervised., The report also includes an email Martens sent the state last April: It is time for a change of how business is conducted. 2. Jun 27, 2019, 15:09 ET. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. That is our motto and that will always be our reality. 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. Ripley started in the juvenile corrections business in the early 1990s, when he helped start Youth Services International with his boss and mentor James Hindman. 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. To learn more about how our law firm helps the injured, check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page. According to Tristan, and confirmed by state records and accounts from advocates and four former foster children, the staff regularly used seclusion, sometimes for days, at Tuskegee and Owens Cross Roads. 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. Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequels Courtland and Tuskegee facilities. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Lawrence County Circuit Court claims Sequel TSI of Alabama has a history of staff physically abusing children at its facilities, encouraging fights among children and . 102. 2.8. Sequel often receives government funding to take in youth residents from both the foster care system and juvenile justice system. These cookies do not store any personal information. Sequel was founded as a company in 1999. Fredericks went into cardiac arrest April 29. And the company vowed to reduce the use of physical restraints on children. Following a barrage of abuse scandals and media attention, including a 2020 investigation by APM Reports, the company has shut down close to half of its treatment centers and sold most of the rest to a new company called Vivant Behavioral Healthcare. I guess we just lifted each other up.. Youth Counselor Supervisor (Former Employee) - Courtland, AL - August 17, 2022. Attorney for Cornelius Fredericks Files Civil Lawsuit against Youth Facility Where He Died. In Alabama, where Sequel is headquartered, records reveal that reports of troubling conditions in the companys facilities have been made to state agencies for years, including mandatory child abuse and injury reports and whistleblower accounts by former Sequel employees. At TorHoerman Law, we believe that if we continue to focus on the people that we represent, and continue to be true to the people that we are justice will always be served. Ohio recently announced it was forcing Sequel Pomegranate to relinquish its license to operate its residential treatment facility. Sequel treatment centers closed since 2017. By clicking ACCEPT ALL, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and damages. But some of Sequels operations are continuing under new ownership. Tommy James, an attorney representing the boy identified only as Hunter C., said his client lived at Sequel TSI of Courtland in 2018 and 2019, where . Our firm is about people. Cornelius tragic death has been a watershed moment for the fight against abuse in these facilities. 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. Three employees of the facility were charged criminally in . I highly recommend this law firm! Sequel operates youth psychiatric care facilities in 19 states, including several facilities in Alabama. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, the company currently operates youth behavioral centers in 17 states, totaling 34 establishments. 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 . Steve and the entire staff were friendly and professional. 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. You may qualify to take legal action, to seek compensation for the damages that you incurred from the abuse in a Sequel facility, if you or a loved one suffered: This applies to, both, currently operational facilities and closed facilities. For what theyve done, and what theyre not doing. Sequel Youth and Family Services, which operates numerous youth treatment and residential facilities in several states. It's a hard industry.. As of 2021, Sequel operates youth behavioral centers in 17 states. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the timeframe of Altamonts recent investments in Sequel. 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. "My client lived a house of horrors," Tommy James said. An employee at a Sequel facility in Utah was arrested for sexual battery and showing pornography to minors. My client lived in a house of horrors. Alamo Drafthouse revealed it is selling itself as the dine-in cinema chain filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday -- and one of its new co-owners is a private-equity firm that has been engulfed in a . The state pays Sequel Youth and Family Services about $330 per day, per child, the lawsuit states. Its part of what we do, Jarrett Shoemaker, a Sequel marketing agent, wrote to a Washington state child welfare official in 2014. We were both in a really bad place, Laurie said. A concrete slab at Sequel's Courtland facility where thin mattresses are placed for children to sleep. Turn to us when you dont know where to turn. These children are re-traumatized daily by continuous abuse and neglect.). HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequel Youth and Family Services today announced that Chris W. Roussos has been appointed the Company's Chief Executive Officer. In Alabama alone, Sequel received nearly $25 million in Medicaid payments from 2018 to this August. He has a bulging, bloody laceration on his forehead. Sequel Youth and Family Services was founded in the late 1990s by former employees of Youth Services International. Sequel Youth and Family Services owns Falcon Ridge Ranch, the Utah center with the highest rate of reported sex crimes. We dont want anything like this to happen to any other kids. She was taken to a psychiatric hospital, where, she said, you get emotional help that you would actually need, rather than just four walls and people screaming at you and a very hostile environment.. 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. Mr. Roussos brings nearly two decades of experience building and leading healthcare organizations with vibrant service-oriented . The lawsuit alleges staff sat on his chest as he screamed . Forms of abuse that qualify for the Sequel lawsuit are: If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to abuse at a Sequel facility, or you represent the estate of a victim, or you are the legal guardian of an underaged victim, you may be able to represent the victim in a lawsuit. . Jay Ripley speaks at the Merrick School of Business in Baltimore in 2015. . (Sequel said the free trips are not standard practice.). 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. Do I qualify for the Sequel abuse lawsuit? KALAMAZOO, Mich. The family attorney for Cornelius Fredericks's estate fought to enter new evidence in the on-going civil lawsuit against Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth Family Services, but . Use the CB Insights Platform to explore Sequel Youth and Family Services's full profile. 80. Sequel Youth and Family Services is a diversified behavioral health services provider that develops and operates programs for people with behavioral, emotional, or physical challenges. Plus, you will join a work environment where collaboration and support come naturally. Sequel Youth and Family Services received nearly $9 million in reimbursement payments from the state of Michigan in 2019, according to the state. The company cares for over 9,000 clients across the United States, including foster children, children in the state juvenile justice system, and children whose parents are unable to handle their behavior. I was extremely impressed with their professionalism and ability to react quickly. Sequel marketing agents contacted state officials in Oregon before and after a story aired on NBCs Nightly News last year detailing allegations of sexual and physical abuse at Clarinda Academy. According to Daniel Sparkman, spokesman for Alabamas Department of Human Resources, the agency made unannounced visits to Sequel facilities in the wake of the advocacy groups report, but by then, most, if not all deficiencies had been addressed. The agency continues to send children to Sequel facilities. Most of the former Sequel treatment centers that remain open are now controlled by Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, which was founded in 2021 by Jay Ripley, one of three people who founded Sequel in 1999. 5. Both Altamont and Sequel said the sale would help Sequel expand to serve more children. An Altamont press release said Ripley would "remain involved with the business as chairman of the board through its next phases of growth." A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against a Kalamazoo youth home after a 16-year-old boy was restrained and later died earlier this year. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. He was forced to go to the bathroom on his own breakfast tray, he said. He and the other children at Sequel Tuskegee were treated like animals by staff. He watched through a window as children made their way to class. You may be eligible to file a Tepezza Lawsuit if you or a loved one took Tepezza and subsequently suffered permanent hearing loss or tinnitus. Since then, 17 of those centers have closed. If you or a loved one was the victim of abuse at one of these facilities, contact TorHoerman Law for a free, no-obligation case consultation with a member of our team or use our chatbot below to receive a free instant online case evaluation today. Ohio recently revoked the license of a Sequel psychiatric facility in Columbus over multiple instances of violence. The lawsuit alleges that Pike was placed in isolation as punishment, sometimes for days, during which he had no access to food and water and was forced to urinate in the corner of the segregation room. This rating has decreased by -5% over the last 12 months. In a public letter, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program wrote that it has grave concerns about the immediate safety and welfare of the nearly 100 children, aged 12 to 18, currently in facilities run by Sequel TSI of Alabama, a Huntsville-based provider. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals . For more of NBC News' in-depth reporting, download the NBC News app. The lawsuit alleges: Tevin did not receive the necessary mental health treatment he needed but was instead physically abused and emotionally traumatized at Sequel Tuskegee. 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. I recall walking in and the stench was overwhelming. Christy Johnsons heart dropped in February when she first stepped into a facility for children with serious mental and behavioral health issues in Courtland, a few miles from the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, run by Sequel Youth & Family Services. The lawsuit states the boy "had a propensity to engage in . Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and California have also either shut the facilities or are ending their relationships with Sequel Youth and Family Services in wake of concern around the abuse. He named his new business Sequel because it was his second foray into the industry. I dont want any other kid to have to go through that, Tristan said. Sequel Confronts More Abuse Allegations amid Concerns about Its Finances. TorHoerman Law is a personal injury law firm comprised of individuals who are dedicated to getting justice for those wrongfully injured by the tortious acts of others. He mentioned how "you can make money in this . In a court filing last week in Alabama, it argued that the lawsuit should be moved out of state court because the Ripley family is based in Virginia and an intricate series of business entities that comprise and control Vivant are incorporated in Virginia and Delaware. 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