http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/5956508.htmPosted on Wed, May. 28, 2003
State probing Bethel Boys Academy
13 children were removed last week; no charges filed
By KAREN NELSON
THE SUN HERALD
LUCEDALE - Three state agencies are conducting a combined investigation of the church-based Bethel Boys Academy, the offshoot of an institution that has been the focus of similar investigations and allegations of abuse in the past.
Thirteen boys were removed from the home late last week and given a place to stay by the state's Department of Human Services. The state Health Department, which regulates residential homes, and the state Attorney General's Office are also investigating.
By Tuesday, no charges had been filed against the home. And home officials said they were awaiting an explanation for the removal of the boys before they comment.
The Bethel Boys Academy is sponsored by the Bethel Baptist Church of Lucedale. It takes at-risk adolescents from around the country into a military-style, disciplined environment.
According to the DHS, the boys removed last week were found to be abused or neglected. A spokesman for the agency said its priority is the welfare of the children, not whether the academy should be allowed to stay open.
The Attorney General's Office started the investigation based on a complaint by the parents of one child, said Nancy East, a spokeswman for the office. The state Health Department became involved because the academy is required to register with it as a residential home and must meet certain requirements.
The home is run by John Fountain, the son of Herman Fountain, who ran Bethel Children's Home. That home, founded in 1978 and predecessor to the academy, had similar investigations and children removed through the years. In the fall, the academy was investigated on allegations of child abuse and neglect but after interviews with dozens of children, no children were removed from the home and no charges were filed.
The academy must comply with the state Child Residential Home Notification Act, passed in response to problems at the Bethel Children's Home in the late 1980s. The act requires operators of homes for children to give health officials the names of the children, their parents and the home's staff members.
The Attorney General's Office can ask a Youth Court or Chancery Court judge to close the home or remove children if it fails to comply with the act or meet state Health Department inspections.
Children are usually placed at the academy by their parents and tuition for the 12-month program is based on their ability to pay. The military-style program calls its counselors drill sergeants and each dorm floor a platoon, but also uses biblical scripture and a religious program. Currently, without the 13 recently removed, the academy has 104 children enrolled with a staff of about 20.
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Home's record of problems
1988: State welfare officials with the help of police took custody of 72 children found to have been abused or neglected, prompting a new state law regulating residential homes for children. The law went into effect the next year.
1989: Two children were placed in the custody of the state by order of a Youth Court judge. An employee of the home was charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest during the initial raid and was later convicted.
1990: A Chancery Court judge ordered 13 more children removed from the home; the same judge closed the home based on non-compliance with the new law. Then a federal judge permanently enjoined the home from violating federal child labor laws.
1994: The home reopened as Bethel Boys Academy.
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Karen Nelson can be reached at 769-5480 or at
klnelson@sunherald.com
