Newspaper says Polk's juvenile facilities have most confirmed cases. The Associated Press
ORLANDO -- More than 600 cases of youth abuse or neglect have taken place at Department of Juvenile Justice facilities in the past decade, with nearly two-thirds of the cases happening since 2000, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The 661 confirmed cases at department facilities since 1994 were scattered across the state, and range in type from physical to sexual abuse, according to an Orlando Sentinel review of state records.
Polk County facilities reported the largest number of confirmed cases, 93 cases in the past decade. Fifty-seven of those took place at the Polk Youth Development Center in Polk City, one of the biggest facilities in the state, with 350 high-risk offenders.
C. George Denman, acting Juvenile Justice secretary, called his department "a good public agency," but said it must change. "Any time we have one confirmed case of child abuse, it bothers us," he said. "The higher the numbers go, the worse it is."
The department has been coping with a series of high-profile incidents in the past year, including the death of 17-year-old Omar Paisley from a burst appendix in a Miami-Dade County detention center last June.
Since then, nearly two dozen agency employees -- from the head of the department to guards at the facilities -- have taken extended leaves, stepped down or been pushed out.
Six children have died under the department's care since 1998. The Department of Children & Families, which investigates all reports of child abuse throughout Florida, attributes two to abuse or neglect -- the 2001 suicide of Shawn D. Smith, 13, at a Volusia County center, and the 2000 death of 12-year-old Michael Wiltsie, who was crushed by a 320-pound counselor at a facility near Ocala. A grand jury attributed Paisley's death to abuse and neglect.
The newspaper's review of DCF records found the number of abuse or neglect cases peaked in fiscal year 2001-02, with 119 verified incidents. Last year, that number dropped to 72.
Juvenile Justice spokeswoman Catherine Arnold said the variations could depend on the number of children confined, reporting methods or staff training.
The newspaper's analysis showed many facilities have just a few confirmed cases, often clustered within a short time.
The department oversees about 8,500 youth offenders between ages 11 and 18, at nearly 200 programs and facilities. Eighty percent of the juveniles in custody are at long-term facilities, the majority of which are run by private contractors.
A House Select Committee investigating the facilities has focused on the 25 short-term centers holding an average of 2,000 youths daily.
But the newspaper's review shows most cases of child abuse and neglect took place at residential facilities, where an average of 6,600 youth offenders are serving sentences each day.
Chairman of the House committee, Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach, said he was "appalled" by the numbers. Barreiro said he wants to expand the scope of the inquiry, which would require approval from House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City.
Since Denman started his job less than two months ago, he has taken some steps to stem the problems. He recently prohibited the "hammerlock," a hold in which workers twist an offender's arm behind his back and lift, after a 14-year-old boy's arm was broken at a Panhandle facility March 21.
Premier Behavioral Solutions Inc., the company running that facility, said it fired the worker.
Last year, Premier had the highest number of abuse and neglect cases, of any of the state's private contractors. Most of the 11 cases happened when staff tried to restrain offenders, Chief Operating Officer Jorge Rico said.
