State officials have ordered a troubled mental health treatment center to stop accepting new teenagers until it resolves its problems.
The 57-page state report cited 47 violations, including 16 involving the restraint of teenagers, such as one employee shoving a child during a “power struggle” and another child being restrained for an hour and 25 minutes.
During a two-day inspection, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services found the Youngstown Intensive Youth Services Center in disrepair — broken tile, missing furniture, empty hand sanitizer dispensers and a lack of required staff training and background checks.
Youth Intensive Services said in a written statement that it is making the requested changes and is confident enrollment will recover.
“Our facility’s accreditation remains in good standing and the children within our facility are well cared for,” the statement said.
The state’s action comes on the heels of a scathing report from Disability Rights Ohio, a nonprofit advocacy group that said in May that kids sent to Intensive Youth Services have been choked, slapped, held to the ground and verbally abused, and are regularly removed from school buildings.
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services ordered the center to stop accepting new admissions and submit a plan to improve its practices. Failure to comply could result in further sanctions, state officials said in a statement. State law allows for the center’s license to be revoked.
“Obviously, I’m glad they’re finally taking action, but I’m concerned it took 16 months,” said Kerstin Sjoberg, president of Disability Rights Ohio, a statewide nonprofit with a mandate to advocate for and protect people with disabilities in prisons, jails and other facilities.
Sjoberg said her team contacted state officials at least 12 times to raise the alarm. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services never told Disability Rights Ohio that the state had conducted an investigation in June or decided to suspend new admissions, she said.
“We’re hopeful. This is usually a great first step. But we’re not advocating because we’re not sure yet if it will really solve the problem,” she said.
Child protective services agencies in several counties, including Franklin, Summit, Stark, Carroll and Tuscarawas, are sending children to Intensive Youth Services.
In the first five months of 2024, there were 31 police reports of children running away from the facility. One child made it to a bus stop about 3.5 miles away before being found by police. Two other children who tried to escape the premises were left outside for 20 minutes during the winter while employees periodically checked on them from the entrance. Off-site, children are exposed to dangerous situations, sexual assault and injury, the DRO said in its report.
According to Disability Rights Ohio, Youth Intensive Services is licensed to serve 33 children between the ages of 12 and 18. The state licenses about 60 such residential facilities for at-risk children.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Ohio bureau, which serves The Columbus Dispatch, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
