You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Tyler Kingkade is a national reporter for NBC News, based in Los Angeles. We took the feedback from the report, we identified areas for improvement, we worked with the state to come up with a manageable plan to make those areas of improvement, Birmingham said. We have been lucky to have Sequel programs available to serve our kids, Marshall wrote. Toxic chemicals in Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF Firefighting Foam) have been linked to numerous types of cancer, including: AFFF Firefighting Foam lawsuits aim to hold manufacturers accountable for putting peoples health at risk. Oregon state Senator Sara Gelser has spent years demanding accountability for Sequel, and she is continuing the crusade against Vivant. 1:07. Turn to us when you dont know where to turn. An Altamont press release said Ripley would "remain involved with the business as chairman of the board through its next phases of growth." Multiple lawsuits have been filed in Alabama, alleging rampant abuse in Sequel's . 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. Jay Ripley speaks at the Merrick School of Business in Baltimore in 2015. Ask a Question. The first morning he woke up in the room, Tristan said, he waved his arms at the camera, pounded on the door and shouted for the staff to let him out to use the bathroom. My client lived in a house of horrors. University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business, according to Kansas City public radio station KCUR. The company told investors it was well positioned to serve as industry consolidator, thanks in part to its clean regulatory and litigation history.. 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. We encourage the following groups of people to step forward in confidence: An NBC News investigation sorted through more than 10,000 pages and records from 14 states, and interviews with former Sequel residents and parents showing how Sequel became one of the largest behavioral health youth facilities in the United States. 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. He mentioned how "you can make money in this . 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. They contacted me the next day. 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 . Sara E. Teller, Alabama father brings lawsuit against Sequel facility alleging staff abused his son, LegalReader.com, Jan. 1, 2021 (available at https: . Contact TorHoerman Law for a free, legal consultation today. Sequel is a privately-owned, for-profit operator of behavioral healthcare facilities for children and youth in the United States. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Fredericks went into cardiac arrest April 29. To find out what the statute of limitations is in your state, contact TorHoerman Law for a free, no-obligation legal consultation today. 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. 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. January 24, 2020 How Our Alabama Law Firm Investigates Nursing Home Abuse. 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. The closure was voluntary, but it came at the end of a difficult period for the program. The name isn't the problem. Sequel Youth & Family Services: Second Lawsuit Settled in Death of Teen at Sequel Lakeside Facility January 12, 2022. The treatment centers were run by Sequel Youth & Family Services, a "for-profit, $500-million company backed by Bay Area investors." . Sequel, a company with locations in 20 states that turned a $25 million profit in 2016, markets itself as a national leader in providing specialized care for at-risk youth. Vivant is using the change of ownership to fight litigation against the treatment centers formerly owned by Sequel. Her family couldnt afford private care options that cost up to $4,000 a month, but social workers determined Lauries needs were so great that she qualified for state care. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Sequel declined to comment on Lauries and Tristans cases. Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media. Former Students at Utah Troubled-Teen Centers Say Their Reports of Sex Abuse Were Ignored. Children also reported being slapped and choked by staff members. After helping launch YSI, Ripley became the chief executive of Precision Tune Auto Care. A lawsuit was filed Wednesday against Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC in Macon County, Alabama Circuit Court, asserting claims of severe abuse and neglect of a 15-year-old boy at Sequel's . In 2020, Emmet County Sheriff Mike Martens contacted the state to complain about the burden Forest Ridge was placing on his department. Hunter was assaulted multiple times by other children, including by his roommate, in full view of Sequels staff, according to a lawsuit his family filed against Sequel this week. Nearly all of Sequels programs run on government funding: States pay Sequel $275 to more than $800 a day per child to provide residential and therapeutic services. 97. As of 2021, Sequel operates youth behavioral centers in 17 states. Records show that about two weeks later, Department of Human Resources Commissioner Nancy Buckner forwarded two new contracts with Sequel to Alabama Gov. . Attorney Tommy James has a record of helping individuals file lawsuits for compensation against those who have harmed them. The company dreamed of dominating Americas $220 billion behavioral health care industry. But despite those efforts, in 2020, a 16-year-old boy died after staff at Sequels Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, held him on the floor for 12 minutes. Sequel was founded as a company in 1999. They are supported by a dedicated team of staff that are as equally friendly and helpful. We've recovered over $4 Billion in verdicts & settlements, 16 Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Diseases & Symptoms, Sequel Youth and Family Services Abuse Lawsuit. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Lawsuit: Teen screamed 'I can't breathe' during restraint WEST . 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. The leadership is the problem.. The company kept growing by taking over other youth facilities and programs, fueled by investments from a handful of private equity firms. Sequel is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama and owns a nationwide network of over 40 facilities in more than 15 states, including residential treatment centers, group homes, special schools, and community-based programs. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. 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.. But some facilities might have new life under a different name and one of the original founders. 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. 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. A 14-year-old boy with a bloody gash just beneath his hairline told her that staff members had shoved him headfirst into a wall, Johnson said. In 2017, when a private equity firm bought a controlling stake in Sequel Youth & Family Services, it had 35 residential treatment centers in 16 states. Contact us today to see if you qualify for the Paraquat Parkinsons Disease Lawsuit! Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, the company currently operates youth behavioral centers in 17 states, totaling 34 establishments. If you or a loved one suffered injuries or other damages as a result of abuse suffered while under the protective care of a Sequel youth facility you may qualify for legal action. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and damages. Enter your email below to receive notifications of new stories. 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. 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. 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. Ohio announced recently that it was forcing the Sequel Pomegranate location to relinquish its license to operate the treatment facility. Earlier that year, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare wrote a scathing report accusing the treatment center of significant failure in staff oversight and training resulting in over 100 incidents of aberrant sexual behavior by five children over at least three months, and possibly as far back as seven months.. But rather than get better, Laurie said, girls at Owens Cross Roads seemed to get worse. 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 . Since then, 17 of those centers have closed.
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