Author Topic: Daystar Restraint Death 5 Nov 2010  (Read 3201 times)

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Offline FreeOfCC

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Daystar Restraint Death 5 Nov 2010
« on: November 16, 2010, 03:25:40 PM »
Brazoria County has not sent children to Daystar since '04
DA noted home's deadly history of restraints, decided risk too great
By TERRI LANGFORD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 9, 2010, 10:53PM
DAYSTAR DEATHS: Four restraint-related deaths have occurred at Daystar Residential Inc. since 1993.

• 1993: Dawn Perry, 16, dies of an apparent restraint applied at what was then called Behavior Training Research.

• 2001: Stephanie Duffield, 16, dies at Shiloh Residential Treatment Center after restraints are applied.

• 2002: Latasha Bush, 15, dies at Daystar after restraints are applied.

• June 2002: Daystar placed on probation.

• June 2010: Houston Chronicle/The Texas Tribune report that Daystar staffers encouraged girls to fight one another for a snack.

• Nov. 1, 2010: State notifies Daystar officials they again will be placed on probation.

• Nov. 5, 2010: Michael Keith Owens, 16, dies after restraint is applied at Daystar.

Source: Houston Chronicle research and news reports
The history of restraint deaths at Daystar Residential Inc. so troubled Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne that she would not allow troubled children to be placed at the Manvel home — and hasn't since at least 2004.

"I won't take the risk," Yenne told the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, a day after law enforcement revealed that Michael Keith Owens, 16, died Friday while a restraint was applied by a Daystar staffer.

Owens' death on Nov. 5, inside a closet of a bedroom he shared with an autistic teen, is the fourth restraint death to occur at Daystar or its sister facilities at the same address in Manvel since 16-year-old Dawn Perry died in 1993.

Stephanie Duffield, 16, died in 2001. Her family settled with Daystar for an undisclosed amount.

Latasha Bush, 15, died in 2002. Her death, which was ruled a homicide, resulted in a court settlement with Daystar.

Owens' death came four days after the facility was notified it was to be placed on probation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, following a state-appointed monitor's report and the agency's own recent findings.

A preliminary investigation reveals Owens died of asphyxiation, although an autopsy has not been completed.

But it was the last two girls' deaths, nearly a decade ago, that forced Yenne to take a stand, she said.

"We have a great concern about restraint holds as they have occurred in the past," Yenne wrote in a July 7, 2004, notice to Brazoria, Harris and Galveston counties' court personnel. "This has fallen on deaf ears but we are not going to be a party to a future disaster. Any orders of transfer to our county, we will not handle in this regard because this situation is that severe."

Her office, which handles both criminal juvenile matters and placements of abused children who may need the intense supervision Daystar offers, put the state on notice years ago, she said.

Staff training a concern
DFPS had no comment on Yenne's policy regarding Daystar, one of 80 residential treatment facilities that house some of the most troubled children in state foster care, outside of a psychiatric hospital.

Since September 2006, Daystar has received about $15.3 million in taxpayer funds, including $321,000 since Sept. 1.

This summer, the Chronicle and Texas Tribune revealed that Daystar staffers forced developmentally disabled girls to fight one another for a snack in 2008. It was one of 250 confirmed abuse incidents that occurred at residential treatment centers.

A state monitor, assigned to live at the facility for 90 days, left in September but not before reporting to the state that the reliance on restraints at Daystar was problematic.

Yenne concedes that the children placed at Daystar are difficult, but she is concerned about how well the home's staff is trained to handle the most difficult situations.

"I really worry about how they're being trained," the district attorney said.

Sheriff wants to see video
Brazoria County Sheriff's Investigator Ronnie Falks said his office has asked for video taken from cameras inside Owens' living quarters to be subpoenaed. There are no cameras inside children's bedrooms, but there are cameras in the hallways or common areas, he said.

Falks said Owens, a large teen at 5-foot-6 and 230 pounds, was diagnosed with a mood disorder and lived in a room with an autistic teen. His bedroom was located in a double-wide trailer, where he lived with six other children, some with mental deficiencies, and two adults.

On Tuesday, the Chronicle reached Daystar Executive Director Call Salls, who referred questions to the facility's attorney, John Carsey.

"I don't have any comment for you," Salls said before taking a message for Carsey, who was in Manvel at the facility .

Salls, who did not fully hang up the phone, then told Carsey, who was in the same room, that the news organization had called and wanted him to call back. They did not appear to realize the Chronicle was still waiting on the phone.

Crisis response defended
The conversation between Salls and Carsey then switched to a discussion of the videotape of Owens' final and fatal struggle with a Daystar employee.

"I think we've determined what the video shows. It is now a good video. It shows things happening as they should be," Carsey told Salls.

But Carsey acknowledges the limitation of the video camera, which, according to Brazoria County investigators, is in the hallway of the double-wide trailer Owens and six other Daystar residents called home.

"We're never, ever going to see what happened in the room," Carsey told Salls.

Late Wednesday, Carsey elaborated in an e-mail about what he meant.

"My statement about the video is based on the fact that it shows very professional and responsible actions by the Daystar staffers in a crisis situation," he wrote. "The incident was reported as soon as it happened and emergency personnel were on the scene within 10 minutes. The hallway camera just shows the staff and emergency workers entering and exiting the room at varying times."

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Offline Inculcated

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Re: Daystar Restraint Death 5 Nov 2010
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2010, 01:50:52 AM »
Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation
A 16-year-old boy has died of an apparent restraint-related asphyxiation at the Daystar Residential Treatment Center, the same facility where children with disabilities were forced to fight each other a couple of years ago.
Michael Owens died Friday night after he stopped breathing at the Manvel facility, outside of Houston. A monitor who was ordered to the facility in light of the forced fights has since left Daystar and was not there when the death occurred, according to the Houston Chronicle.
A news release indicates Brazoria County authorities are conducting an investigation into the child's death. Daystar attorney John Carsey said he hadn't heard about Friday's death. "That's news to me," he said.
Earlier this year, the Tribune and the Houston Chronicle revealed that workers at Daystar provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising as staffers laughed, cheered and promised the winners after-school snacks.
The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of confirmed abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers during the past two years, based on the Tribune/Chronicle review of state records.

The following excerpted from:Teen's death puts Daystar facility under scrutiny again -By TERRI LANGFORD and EMILY RAMSHAW HOUSTON CHRONICLE / THE TEXAS TRIBUNE Nov. 9, 2010, 9:00AM

"Boy placed in restraint 4 days after agency was put on probation"
...'Persistent concerns' As Owens' death surfaced for the first time Monday, the agency that supervised his care, DFPS, told the Chronicle and the Tribune that it had placed Daystar on probation four days earlier.
"Several days before the death, on November 1, DFPS informed Daystar management that the facility would be placed on probation because of persistent concerns about the facility and the children in its care," an agency statement read.
DFPS officials released a report by a Daystar monitor who was after hired by the state after a Chronicle/Tribune investigation in June found 250 abuse incidents at residential treatment centers, including one in 2008 where Daystar staffers encouraged girls to fight one another.
After the story, DFPS suspended new placements at Daystar, which is paid by taxpayers to care for some of the state's most troubled foster care children.
A state monitor, Jeff Enzinna, who was paid $43,691 for about 90 days of observation, left Daystar two months ago. In his Sept. 2 report, Enzinna noted shortcomings with care and pointed out the reliance on restraints."From reviewing incoming documentation," Enzinna wrote, "my impression was there was a frequent use of emergency personal restraint and emergency medications."Enzinna also noted that Daystar relied upon a one-size-fits-all type of treatment for children at the facility."Based upon chart reviews, the treatment plans for behavior problems are essentially the same for all clients," Enzinna wrote.

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, the Laredo Democrat who has repeatedly filed unsuccessful anti-restraint bills, called Friday's Daystar death "horrifying and heartbreaking." She said she has pre-filed a bill this session to reduce use of restraints in state-supported living centers and will soon expand the bill to include residential treatment centers.[/b]"A restraint is like a hog-tie, is what it is," Zaffirini said. "But somehow this issue doesn't seem to get on the radar screen until there's a tragedy."

The state has 1,600 children living in about 80 residential treatment centers, nearly half of them in the Houston area. Since 2006, the centers have received more than $300 million to care for the most troubled or disabled children taken into foster care.
"These really aren't places we should be entrusting the children the state of Texas has taken responsibility for caring for," said Mary Christine Reed, an attorney and director of the Texas Foster Youth Justice Project. "I hear stories all the time about restraints being used for a routine disciplinary situation."A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, Katherine Cesinger, would not comment on the state's investigation, but the governor's office has directed DFPS to immediately take actions to ensure the safety of other residents at Daystar.
"Despite the state's efforts over the past couple of years to improve the safety net for children in foster care, the governor is concerned about the continuing incidents involving death and injuries to children in foster care," Cesinger said.



Other Daystar Abuse Threads:
KIDS CHOKED, STRIPPED, BEATEN AT FACILITIES
Daystar caught Abusing kids again
Nov 9th 2010 News Clip: Foster care facility under fire after teen's death
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Offline Ursus

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Deputies investigating death of teen at Manvel facility...
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2010, 01:51:54 PM »
Backing up a bit, to include some of the earlier coverage of this incident...

How's this for a disturbing synopsis:

    Investigators said the teen had been restrained by two staff members because of something he was hiding behind his back. It turned out to be a pen cap.[/list]

    -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    khou.com · Houston, Texas
    Deputies investigating death of teen at Manvel facility for troubled, abused kids

    by khou.com staff
    Posted on November 8, 2010 at 12:19 PM · Updated Monday, Nov 8 at 6:07 PM


    MANVEL, Texas—The Brazoria County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of a 16-year-old resident of a Manvel treatment facility for abused and troubled children.

    Paramedics were called to the Daystar Facility in the 3900 block of CR 736B just before 7 p.m. on November 5.

    When they arrived, they found staffers performing CPR on Michael Owens.

    Paramedics continued life support measures on Owens while he was taken to Memorial Hermann, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

    Investigators were looking into Owens' death because the preliminary cause of death was thought to be asphyxiation.

    Investigators said the teen had been restrained by two staff members because of something he was hiding behind his back. It turned out to be a pen cap.

    "That's what we're doing with these interviews is trying to figure out if the proper restraints were used," Ronny Falks of the Brazoria County Sheriff's Department said.

    The final cause of death will be determined by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences at a later date, investigators said.

    The Daystar Facility has already been under state scrutiny.

    The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services assigned a state monitor to Daystar and refused to send foster children there after reports surfaced in June that some developmentally disabled girls at the center were provoked into fighting to win after-school snacks. The fight, in April 2008, resulted in the firing of a supervisor and at least one other worker.

    Owens was from Howard County in West Texas. He was in the conservatorship of Child Protective Services and had been in state custody since June 4, 2008, agency spokesman Patrick Simmons said Monday.

    The death came a few days after the Department of Family and Protective Services informed Daystar management that the facility would be placed on probation because of "persistent concerns about the facility and the children in its care," Simmons said.

    Since June 11, the department has withheld placing foster children at Daystar. A special monitor was hired to work at the facility from June 21 until Sept. 30.

    Daystar did not immediately return a telephone call Monday seeking comment.

    Daystar Residential Inc. describes itself as an alternative to institutionalization. It offers services to "clients" between the ages of 3 and 22 who are hearing impaired, mentally impaired, or have pervasive developmental or emotional disorders.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.


    © 2009-2010 KHOU-TV, Inc., a subsidiary of Belo Corp.
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    Offline Ursus

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    Teen dies at residential treatment facility
    « Reply #3 on: November 17, 2010, 02:28:52 PM »
    There's some video news coverage at the link:

    -------------- • -------------- • --------------

    KTRK-TV · Houston, TX
    Monday, November 08, 2010

    Teen dies at residential treatment facility

    Christine Dobbyn

    MANVEL, TX (KTRK) -- Law enforcement officials are investigating a teenager's death at a treatment center in Brazoria County that's supposed to help children.

    This isn't the first time the Daystar Residential Facility on County Road 736B has been in the headlines and it's not the first time a child has died in its care.

    Brazoria County investigators say they spent the day talking with a staff member who was present at the time of the incident in the facility last Friday.

    Authorities say when Michael Owens, 16, was restrained, there were two staff members present and seven residents, but they are not able to talk with many of the residents given their mental disabilities.

    On Friday, Manvel EMS crews were called to the Daystar facility. CPR had been started on a 16-year-old juvenile resident. Manvel EMS arrived on scene and continued life support measures on the patient. Sheriff's deputies arrived shortly to assist.

    The teen was transported to Herman Memorial Hospital via ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

    We were told Owens had past issues with aggressive behavior and say he had been on some medication.

    Investigators are trying to determine exactly how Owens was restrained and what the facility's policy is at the home and what the staff members did. They are also requesting video of the incident, although the incident may have taken place in a bedroom where there are no cameras for privacy reasons.

    A spokesperson for the Department of Family and Protective Services said, "He had been in state custody since June 4, 2008, when CPS petitioned a court for his removal. The boy, whose home was in Howard County, had been at Daystar since March 24, 2010."

    The preliminary cause of death has been ruled asphyxiation.

    "They have a restraint policy there. We're still trying to figure out exactly what type of restraint policy they have. We're still unclear on that," said Ronny Falks with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office. "We know that they are able to restrain the juveniles if and when necessary to do so, but we're still not sure what type of restraints were used on this young man."

    An attorney for Daystar told us they are not ready to make a statement at this time.

    The state is familiar with the facility. Patrick Crimmins, a DFPS spokesman, said, "Several days before the death, on November 1, DFPS informed Daystar management that the facility would be placed on probation because of persistent concerns about the facility and the children in its care. Since June 11, DFPS has not placed foster children at the facility. A special monitor was hired and worked at Daystar from June 21 until September 30."

    This isn't the first time there's been a death at Daystar Residential. Back in February 2002, a 15-year-old girl, Latasha Bush, died at the center. She had only been there 12 days when she died. The Harris County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by complications of mechanical asphyxia.

    Daystar helps children with developmental and emotional disorders. Most of the patients at the facility are admitted at the suggestion of state agencies. According Daystar's website, the facility works closely with school districts so that many of their clients are able to go to public school.


    Copyright ©2010 ABC Inc., KTRK-TV/DT Houston, TX.
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    Offline Ursus

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    Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation
    « Reply #4 on: November 17, 2010, 03:12:28 PM »
    From the second post above:
    Quote
    Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation

    A 16-year-old boy has died of an apparent restraint-related asphyxiation at the Daystar Residential Treatment Center, the same facility where children with disabilities were forced to fight each other a couple of years ago.

    Michael Owens died Friday night after he stopped breathing at the Manvel facility, outside of Houston. A monitor who was ordered to the facility in light of the forced fights has since left Daystar and was not there when the death occurred, according to the Houston Chronicle.

    A news release indicates Brazoria County authorities are conducting an investigation into the child's death. Daystar attorney John Carsey said he hadn't heard about Friday's death. "That's news to me," he said.

    Earlier this year, the Tribune and the Houston Chronicle revealed that workers at Daystar provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising as staffers laughed, cheered and promised the winners after-school snacks.

    The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of confirmed abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers during the past two years, based on the Tribune/Chronicle review of state records.
    Date, author, etc. for this story:


      The Texas Tribune
      Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation

      by Emily Ramshaw and Terri Langford, Houston Chronicle
      November 8, 2010


      <snip snip>


      © 2010 The Texas Tribune[/list]
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      Offline Ursus

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      Comments: "Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation"
      « Reply #5 on: November 17, 2010, 03:42:57 PM »
      An interesting observation was made regarding the apparent relative importance of pharmaceuticals versus actual residential services ... when it comes to the funding stream at Daystar:

      -------------- • -------------- • --------------

      Comments left for the above article, "Boy Dies Of Restraint-Related Asphyxiation" (by Emily Ramshaw and Terri Langford; November 8, 2010; The Texas Tribune):


      Evelyn White via Texas Tribune on Facebook · November 8 @ 12:47 p.m.
        How is it that this place is still open for business?????
      eyesopen · November 8 @ 2:34 p.m.
        Maybe someone who knows how to investigate can find out why the state paid Daystar Pharmacy over $4 million in the last three fiscal years (2008-2010) and almost $200,000 in payments so far in the first quarter of FY 2011. According to the Comptroller's website, the payments look like they are mostly for drugs and the residential care portion of these payments is very, very small.
      Alison Brock via Texas Tribune on Facebook · November 8 @ 10:08 p.m.
        What happened to the monitor?
      Alison Brock via Texas Tribune on Facebook · November 8 @ 10:08 p.m.
        Shameful


      © 2010 The Texas Tribune
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      Offline Ursus

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      Boy dies while being restrained at Manvel facility
      « Reply #6 on: November 17, 2010, 09:05:38 PM »
      Boy dies while being restrained at Manvel facility

      By TERRI LANGFORD
      HOUSTON CHRONICLE

      Nov. 8, 2010, 11:57AM


      Brazoria County authorities are investigating a restraint death of a 16-year-old boy at Daystar, a residential treatment facility for troubled, abused children.

      Last Friday, at about 7:34 p.m., Daystar authorities called the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office for medical services after Michael Owens stopped breathing at the Manvel facility, according to a press release issued today.

      Owens was taken to Herman Memorial Hospital by ambulance and declared dead upon arrival at the hospital in Houston, which is 30 miles north of Manvel.

      The Brazoria County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation into the child's death, the news release stated.

      Investigators have determined that restraint techniques were used to subdue Owens and his preliminary cause of death is thought to be asphyxiation.

      Earlier this year, the Houston Chronicle and the Texas Tribune revealed that workers at Daystar provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising as staffers laughed, cheered and promised the winners after-school snacks.

      The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of confirmed abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers during the past two years, based on the Chronicle/Tribune review of state records.

      The findings prompted the state to station an on-site monitor, who has since left Daystar and was not at the facility when the death occurred.

      Daystar attorney John Carsey told the Texas Tribune he hadn't heard about Friday's incident.

      "That's news to me," Carsey said.

      [email protected]


      Copyright © 2010 The Houston Chronicle
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      Offline Ursus

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      Teen's death puts Daystar facility under scrutiny — again
      « Reply #7 on: November 18, 2010, 10:56:50 PM »
      The following article was also excerpted in Inculcated's post above:

      -------------- • -------------- • --------------

      Teen's death puts Daystar facility under scrutiny — again
      Boy placed in restraint 4 days after agency was put on probation

      By TERRI LANGFORD and EMILY RAMSHAW
      HOUSTON CHRONICLE / THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

      Nov. 9, 2010, 9:00AM


      A 16-year-old emotionally troubled teen living in a Manvel residential treatment center died after a restraint was applied by a staffer in a closet — just four days after the home was placed on probation by the state, the Houston Chronicle and Texas Tribune learned Monday.

      Michael Keith Owens' death Friday night occurred after a Daystar Residential Inc. staff worker tried to restrain him. The teen, who had been in state foster care since 2008, fell unconscious, and staff summoned the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office for help.

      By the time Owens arrived at Memorial Hermann in Houston, about 25 miles away, he was dead. The initial cause of death appears to be asphyxiation.

      "We are extremely saddened by Michael's death," Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein said. "We are going to do everything we can to find out exactly what happened, and if this death was, in any way, preventable.

      "We also are disappointed to be looking, yet again, at Daystar," Heiligenstein said. "We are going to ensure that this facility improves, quickly. Or, we are going to close it."

      It had been a tumultuous week for Owens. He was removed by police from Manvel High School after striking another school staff member on Monday, Nov. 1, said Shirley Brothers, spokeswoman for Alvin ISD.

      Owens spent the next four days at the Brazoria County Detention Center in Angleton before a Daystar staffer drove him to Manvel on Friday.

      Preliminary police interviews, according to Brazoria County Sheriff's investigator Ronnie Falks, suggest Owens became upset that his radio was gone when he returned to Daystar, and he became unruly, prompting a staffer to try physical restraints.

      "There was a struggle inside a closet," Falks said.

      Daystar's attorney John Carsey told the Texas Tribune he hadn't heard about Friday's incident.

      "That's news to me," Carsey said. Calls for further comment were not returned.

      'Persistent concerns'

      As Owens' death surfaced for the first time Monday, the agency that supervised his care, DFPS, told the Chronicle and the Tribune that it had placed Daystar on probation four days earlier.

      "Several days before the death, on November 1, DFPS informed Daystar management that the facility would be placed on probation because of persistent concerns about the facility and the children in its care," an agency statement read.

      DFPS officials released a report by a Daystar monitor who was after hired by the state after a Chronicle/Tribune investigation in June found 250 abuse incidents at residential treatment centers, including one in 2008 where Daystar staffers encouraged girls to fight one another.

      After the story, DFPS suspended new placements at Daystar, which is paid by taxpayers to care for some of the state's most troubled foster care children.

      A state monitor, Jeff Enzinna, who was paid $43,691 for about 90 days of observation, left Daystar two months ago. In his Sept. 2 report, Enzinna noted shortcomings with care and pointed out the reliance on restraints.

      "From reviewing incoming documentation," Enzinna wrote, "my impression was there was a frequent use of emergency personal restraint and emergency medications."

      Enzinna also noted that Daystar relied upon a one-size-fits-all type of treatment for children at the facility.

      "Based upon chart reviews, the treatment plans for behavior problems are essentially the same for all clients," Enzinna wrote.

      State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, the Laredo Democrat who has repeatedly filed unsuccessful anti-restraint bills, called Friday's Daystar death "horrifying and heartbreaking." She said she has pre-filed a bill this session to reduce use of restraints in state-supported living centers and will soon expand the bill to include residential treatment centers.

      "A restraint is like a hog-tie, is what it is," Zaffirini said. "But somehow this issue doesn't seem to get on the radar screen until there's a tragedy."

      About half in Houston

      The state has 1,600 children living in about 80 residential treatment centers, nearly half of them in the Houston area. Since 2006, the centers have received more than $300 million to care for the most troubled or disabled children taken into foster care.

      "These really aren't places we should be entrusting the children the state of Texas has taken responsibility for caring for," said Mary Christine Reed, an attorney and director of the Texas Foster Youth Justice Project. "I hear stories all the time about restraints being used for a routine disciplinary situation."

      A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, Katherine Cesinger, would not comment on the state's investigation, but the governor's office has directed DFPS to immediately take actions to ensure the safety of other residents at Daystar.

      "Despite the state's efforts over the past couple of years to improve the safety net for children in foster care, the governor is concerned about the continuing incidents involving death and injuries to children in foster care," Cesinger said.

      [email protected]


      Copyright © 2010 The Houston Chronicle
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      Offline Inculcated

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      D.A. says grand jury will consider criminal charges
      « Reply #8 on: November 30, 2010, 11:04:21 PM »
      D.A.: Youth Center With 4 Restraint Deaths Should Close
      By Stephen Dean POSTED: Friday, November 12, 2010 UPDATED: 6:37 pm CST November 12, 2010

      MANVEL, Texas -- Texas childcare workers have begun removing teenagers from a youth facility where four teens have died after being restrained by staff, Local 2 Investigates reported Friday.

      Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenni is urging the state to take more definitive action against the Daystar Residential Treatment Center, which houses disabled and emotionally disturbed children who are in protective custody of various childcare agencies.
      In a letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Yenni wrote, "I am asking that you take immediate administrative action to revoke Daystar's license."

      Brazoria County Sheriff's Department investigators said 16-year-old Michael Owens, of Midland, died of asphyxia after Daystar staff held him down on Friday. He had been placed at the facility by state childcare caseworkers.
      Beginning in 2002, Local 2 Investigates began reporting on similar deaths at Daystar:
      •   Stephanie Duffield, 16, died in February 2001 while being restrained.
      •   Latasha Busch, 15, died in February 2002 while being held down. As she yelled, she couldn't breathe
      •   Dawn Perry died in 1993 after being restrained. Her case was re-opened in response to the first two deaths.

      Daystar was sued and reached out of court settlements with the families of Duffield and Busch, but the lawyer who represented both families would not reveal how much Daystar paid.
      In the district attorney's letter, Yenni wrote, "We can no longer risk children in this regard. I am asking that this facility's license be immediately revoked and asking that you immediately remove all children in CPS custody for their safety as soon as possible."
      Child Protective Services (CPS) falls under the umbrella of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
      That agency told Local 2 Investigates on Friday that it has removed four children from Daystar since the latest death.
      In a written statement, the Commissioner of Family and Protective Services, Anne Heiligenstein said:

      "We've been tough, but fair, with Daystar. I never want to compromise the safety of our foster children, even in the face of real capacity challenges. Daystar is the most scrutinized facility of its type in our state, but that intense scrutiny has not provided enough protection for the children there. So, while our investigation into Michael Owens' death continues, we have visited each child at Daystar and we are moving children who may not be completely safe there. We will continue that process until we are satisfied that each child is completely safe."
      Family and Protective Services stopped placing foster children at Daystar on June 11 while the facility was on probation with the agency.

      There were 57 foster children in state custody at Daystar then, but that number had dropped to 41 children in state custody on the date that Owens died last week, according to agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins.

      As part of the probation, an inspector was hired to monitor operations at Daystar. In a report filed on Sept. 2, (nine page PDF) the monitor wrote that Daystar was cooperative and seemed truly interested in caring for children. However, she wrote that most behavior problems were addressed with restraint or by injecting kids with emergency medications. On the very day that Owens died, the state placed Daystar on probation again by sending a letter.(eight page PDF)

      The letter stated that, "The decision to initiate the probation of your permit is based on your failure to manage your operations in compliance with the Minimum Standard Rules for a(n) Residential Treatment Center and the Texas Administrative Code.
      "Daystar has a history of being placed on corrective action and then declining after it is lifted," the letter continued.

      When Local 2 Investigates first reported on the deaths in 2002, state records showed 18 past violation notices against Daystar for improper restraints used against children from 1995 to 2002. Four of the kids were injured. Another restraint violation was issued in October 2009, when a child's hands were twisted behind the back while being restrained.

      Some children remain at Daystar after being placed by other agencies elsewhere in Texas or in other states. Some children had been placed at the facility by the Travis County Juvenile Probation Department in Austin, but that agency did not return calls about whether its children are being removed from Daystar.

      In her letter to the state, the Brazoria County District Attorney said a grand jury would consider criminal charges in the latest death in the near future. She told Local 2 Investigates that leaders of Family and Protective Services took her up on her request to meet them in person. She said they were concerned and committed to taking action. She said they indicated that Daystar is being "de-populated" as each child is reviewed for placement at a different facility.

      Video linked within this article http://www.click2houston.com/video/25777892/index.html

      Previous Stories:
      •   November 8, 2010: Child Dies At Facility With Troubled Past
      •   March 29, 2002: Treatment Center Investigated For Childrens' Deaths
      « Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
      “A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free”  Nikos Kazantzakis