SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem announced on Thursday that she will push legislation to increase oversight of privately-run treatment facilities for youth after long-standing allegations of abuse were discovered at one facility.
The Republican governor plans to change how private treatment facilities for youth are licensed and inspected by the state. Her recommendations come after an investigative report found that young adults at Aurora Plains Academy in Plankinton suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse for a decade. The state had limited oversight of the facility.
The report from South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit investigative journalism outlet, found that 400 child abuse or neglect complaints were filed against the facility over a decade but only 39 of the complains were investigated by the state. The facility is the only Intensive Residential Treatment Center licensed in the state and treats youth and young adults between the ages of 10 and 20 who have a documented history of physical or sexual aggression.
Children and young adults who were sent to the facility alleged that some staff unnecessarily put them in physical restraints that resulted in rug burbs, black eyes, and injured limbs. Girls at the facility alleged they were touched sexually by staff.
Clinicare Corporation, which operates the Aurora Plains Academy, released a statement that said it welcomed the proposed changes from the governor and that it has has a “strong working relationship” with the state’s Department of Social Services.
David Fritsch, the president of Clinicare, said in the statement that he could not comment on specific allegations but noted that the center takes “any allegations of mistreatment of residents very seriously.”
Fritsch said the center is in good standing with regulating authorities.
The state used to inspect treatment facilities once a year on an announced visit. That could soon change.
After the report was released in June, Noem ordered the Department of Social Services to recommend reforms to overhaul how private youth treatment facilities are regulated
The Department of Social Services suggested increasing the number of inspections, sometimes making them unannounced, and legislation that would create an external grievance monitor to respond to complaints. from children and youth. There is also a push for more transparency: the department may open its reports to the public and publish an annual report that would include numbers on how many complaints of abuse and neglect are made against facilities.
Noem said she would follow the agency’s recommendations with a push to change the current laws in the state legislature. “We cannot let kids fall through the cracks,” she said. “In the 2020 session, I will bring legislation that prioritizes the safety of at-risk kids.”
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