Kay Ivey, a Republican. Responsible for the recommendation of all admissions, transfers, and discharges of . He said the attorney for the Sequel Youth Services of Michigan has refused to provide the Fredericks family the video of the incident that resulted in the teen's death. Thank you TorHoerman Law! A Profitable Death Trap: Sequel Youth Facilities Raked in Millions While Accused of Abusing Children. Those contracts, which Ivey signed, allow Sequel to continue to run Courtland through September 2022. For more of NBC News' in-depth reporting, download the NBC News app. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Sequel Youth and Family Services, alleging abuse of all sorts and negligent behavior of staff and management. 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. Below are some of the allegations from victims, staff, and advocates which were shared during the NBC investigation and a report filed by the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program of what was seen at just one Alabama location: Parents and adoptive parents have stated, "they come out worse than they were when they went in.". Alabama cannot wait for the death of a child before severing ties with Sequel, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program told state agencies in its July report, which called on the state to end its contracts with Sequel and revoke the companys licenses. Youth Residential Treatment Facility Abuse Lawsuit. If you have been exposed to Paraquat and diagnosed with Parkinsons disease may be eligible to pursue compensation, and entitled to participate in the paraquat lawsuit. I was extremely impressed with their professionalism and ability to react quickly. Get a free online case evaluation and find out if you qualify for compensation instanly. A typical day consisted of supervising juvenile males aged 13-18, during their daily activities including school, groups, meal times, hygiene, etc. If you or a loved one took Elmiron and subsequently suffered vision loss, blindness, or any other eye injury linked to the prescription drug. After acquiring a new facility, Sequel uses its marketing arm to increase capacity and occupancy, as Ripley put it in a 2017 call to investors. Though their marketing and public statements espouse an aura of care and reverence for the well-being and progression of the residents they house, their company has been named in lawsuits that allege rampant physical, sexual, and mental/verbal abuse. On January 26, 2022, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Tevin Pike against Sequel TSI of Alabama, Sequel TSI of Tuskegee, and Sequel Youth & Family Services LLC (Sequel), alleging that Pike was a former 15-year-old resident at an Alabama treatment facility for children run by Sequel TIS of Tuskegee, a residential psychiatric facility, for about two months in 2018, during which Pike was allegedly choked, beaten, punched, slapped and slammed to the ground by employees and other residents. He named his new business Sequel because it was his second foray into the industry. For more information about potential legal action, you can contact an experienced Sequel abuse lawyer at TorHoerman Law for a free, no-obligation case consultation. Lawsuit: Teen screamed 'I can't breathe' during restraint WEST . Since 2016, the company has secured contracts worth more than $68 million from the states Department of Human Resources. My client lived in a house of horrors. Sequel markets itself as a national leader in providing specialized care for at-risk youth. The company told investors it was well positioned to serve as industry consolidator, thanks in part to its clean regulatory and litigation history.. Sequel TSI in Owens Cross Roads emailed a statement reading "TSI . 4. Courtland was one of the last facilities Tristan Broadrick lived in before he aged out of the foster care system. However, advocacy groups say that Sequels track record should be a red flag to states that send Sequel their most troubled children along with millions in taxpayer dollars. Sparkman, the Alabama Department of Human Resources spokesman, said the agency could not comment on individual cases. 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 . 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. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, the company currently operates youth behavioral centers in 17 states, totaling 34 establishments. 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. They severely underpay their staff! Many states have reportedly revoked contracts with Sequel (but not Alabama). Sequel Youth & Family Services collected hundreds of millions in tax dollars to care for vulnerable children, despite abuse and negligence allegations. In Alabama alone, Sequel received nearly $25 million in Medicaid payments from 2018 to this August. You can make money in this business if you control staffing, said Ripley, who at the time made $104,167 per month from Sequel as chairman, according to a financial disclosure. All consultations are completely confidential and discrete. We've recovered over $4 Billion in verdicts & settlements, 16 Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Diseases & Symptoms, Sequel Youth and Family Services Abuse Lawsuit. Sequel Youth & Family Services has also faced criticisms. Everything you need to know about the Disney California Cookware / 16 hours ago There were feces on the floor, stuck inside the doorframe, stuck around the window.. The Alabama Department of Youth Services contracts with the facility as a private provider, placing boys there for a maximum stay of 120 days. 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. Children were abused, neglected at house of horrors psychiatric facility, suit says. 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.. 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. If you are representing a victim who is under the age of 18 and falls under your legal care, you may qualify to file a lawsuit. Sequel Youth and Family Services owns Falcon Ridge Ranch, the Utah center with the highest rate of reported sex crimes. Ohio recently announced it was forcing Sequel Pomegranate to relinquish its license to operate its residential treatment facility. Multiple state departments have urged their respective states to cut ties with Sequel Youth and Family Services while some states have recently signed contracts, one in Alabama worth almost $13 million. Is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the facility. 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.. These children are re-traumatized daily by continuous abuse and neglect.). Its part of what we do, Jarrett Shoemaker, a Sequel marketing agent, wrote to a Washington state child welfare official in 2014. In 2020, 16-year-old Cornelius Frederick died after he was reportedly smothered to death by Sequel employees in Michigan after he threw a sandwich. . ET): A previous version of this article misstated the timeframe of Altamonts recent investments in Sequel. 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 . Sequel settled a lawsuit from Fredricks family in December. Sequel Youth and Family Services was founded in the late 1990s by former employees of Youth Services International. 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. The most common issue reported at youth residential treatment facilities is physical abuse, either at the hands of employees or other residents. Learn more about hospital sexual abuse lawsuits from our team of attorneys. See Monitoring Report for Sequel Youth and Family Services of Courtland, Ala. Disabilities Advoc. Story continues. KALAMAZOO, MI -- A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of Cornelius Fredricks, the 16-year-old who died after being restrained at a Kalamazoo youth facility, seeks more than $50 million. majority stake in Sequel was bought by Altamont Capital, established Vivant Behavioral Healthcare in order to buy a majority of Sequel, article from APM Reports analyzing Riverside Academy in Kansas, closed because of reported abuse by staff, and improper restraints were highlighted in news reports surrounding the closure, 16 year-old resident named Cornelius Fredricks was killed at a Kalamazoo, Michigan facility run by Sequel, employee at a Sequel facility in Utah was arrested for sexual battery, highest rate of sex crimes reported in the state of Utah, estate of Cornelius Fredricks filed a $100 million lawsuit against Sequel. Violence, Often Instigated by Staff, Has Become Common at Red Rock Canyon School in St. George for Troubled Children. In a statement, Sparkman wrote that the agency investigates allegations and that subsequent investigation records are confidential based on Alabama law.. All rights reserved. Laurie and Tristan Broadrick are expecting their first child. Edwardsville Daycare Injury & Abuse Cases, You were previously (or are currently) a U.S. military service member who used standard issue 3M Combat Arms earplugs; and, Physical abuse (including unnecessary restraint), Mingus Mountain Academy (Prescott Valley), Palm Beach Youth Academy (West Palm Beach), Pompano Youth Treatment Center (Pompano Beach), SequelCare of Florida (Pinellas Park, Port Richey, Port St. Lucie, West Palm Beach, and Vero Beach), North Shore Pediatric Therapy (Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Lincolnwood, and Naperville), Woodward Community Based Services (Urbandale), SequelCare of Maine (Bangor, Rockland, Searsport, and Yarmouth), SequelCare of Oklahoma (Antlers, Broken Bow, Durant, Hugo, Poteau, and Tulsa), Pine Cone Therapies (Keller, Missouri City, and Southlake), Auldern Academy, Siler City, North Carolina (2009 2021), Clarinda Academy, Clarinda, Iowa (1999 2021), Kingston Academy, Kingston, Tennessee (2009 2019), Lakeside Academy, Kalamazoo, Michigan (2007 2020), Lexington Academy, Lexington, Indiana (1996 2017), Mount Pleasant Academy, Mount Pleasant, Utah (2016 2019), Normative Services Academy, Sheridan, Wyoming (2003 2021), Northern Illinois Academy, Aurora, Illinois (2021), Red Rock Canyon School, St. George, Utah (2016 2019), Riverside Academy, Wichita, Kansas (2011 2019), Rose Rock Academy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (2011 2016), Sequel Pomegranate Health Systems, Columbus, Ohio (2016 2021), Sequel TSI Madison, Madison, Alabama (2009 2019), Sequel TSI North Carolina, Pittsboro, North Carolina (2009 2010), Sequel TSI of Kissimmee, Kissimmee, Florida (2009 2016), Sequel TSI Paint Rock Valley, Trenton, Alabama (2009 2011), Sequel TSI Sierra Vista, Hereford, Arizona (2009 2011), Starr Albion Prep, Albion, Michigan (2014 2020), Union Juvenile Residential Facility, Raiford, Florida (2009 2019), Other losses as a result of abuse in a Sequel facility, Sequel Youth Facility and Family Services, Staff members who held management positions and failed to report abuse, Overseeing government agencies or representatives. The firm went above and beyond. Sequel, she said, has also invested millions in improving care, staff training and oversight of its programs, doubling the size of its corporate compliance team. A typical bedroom at Sequel's Courtland facility. An NBC News investigation sorted through tens of thousands of documents and found dozens of reports of sexual and physical abuse. Both Altamont and Sequel said the sale would help Sequel expand to serve more children. 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. 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. 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. Their team of personal injury lawyers are experienced, personable, and well versed in a range of litigation areas. For children who qualify, Medicaid reimburses Sequel for medical and mental health treatment. They described physical abuse by staff, Johnson said, and being denied medical care. 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. No information shared in consultations is shared unless first approved by our clients. Toys litter the floor at Sequel's Courtland facility. The company kept growing by taking over other youth facilities and programs, fueled by investments from a handful of private equity firms. TorHoerman Law was responsible for handling a medical case for our family. Our team is what has made TorHoerman Law a very special place since 2009. If you are representing the estate of a loved one who has died as a result of abuse, or as a result of self-harm from abuse, you may qualify to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Sequel or at-fault parties. Jun 27, 2019, 15:09 ET. That's not what we saw.". On January 26, 2022, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Tevin Pike against Sequel TSI of Alabama, Sequel TSI of Tuskegee, and Sequel Youth & Family Services LLC ("Sequel"), alleging that Pike was a former 15-year-old resident at an Alabama treatment facility for children run by Sequel TIS of Tuskegee, a residential psychiatric facility, for about two months in 2018, during which Pike was . 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. 38% of employees would recommend working at Sequel Youth & Family Services to a friend and 28% have a positive outlook for the business. But some of Sequels operations are continuing under new ownership. You can also sue facility staff members who are no longer working for Sequel. 3. 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. We're ready to be your ally. The lawsuit, filed by the parent of a child, identified as Hunter C., placed at Sequel's Courtland facility in north Alabama in early 2018 at age 14, claims he suffered long-term abuse at the . Despite that, the facilities passed regular inspections and public dollars continued to flow. Sequel Youth and Family Services received nearly $9 million in reimbursement payments from the state of Michigan in 2019, according to the state. A lawsuit filed against a Courtland psychiatric youth treatment facility in the Lawrence County Circuit Court System claims a teenage boy suffered abuse and neglect during his stay at the facility. Vivant hasnt bought all of Sequels remaining assets. What type of abuse qualifies for the Sequel lawsuit? 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. 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