OPINION

Shining a light

Children confined to our state's 13 psychiatric residential treatment facilities endure hundreds of instances of abuse, neglect, over-medication and other forms of mistreatment that create an unsafe environment, according to findings in a database updated by Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA) designed to shed light on such dark deeds.

It makes me feel good to know there is a group interested in the welfare of those under 21 afflicted with mental and emotional disabilities. It doesn't get much worse in a civilized society than abusing children, even more so when they are patients in state psychiatric facilities.

Lani Jennings Hall, director of marketing and communications for DRA, punctuates the bottom line: "Arkansas children deserve to be safe. Unfortunately, that is not what we are seeing in the psychiatric residential treatment facilities around the state."

The DRA updated its database by using Freedom of Information Act requests and data collection with the specific goal of increased transparency and accountability, compiling licensing violations, abuse, neglect, maltreatment reports, and police responses in a single, accessible location.

The public deserves to know what happens to these children, the group's leaders say. How can any adult disagree?

"Children live in these places. They eat there, they sleep there, they go to school there," says Tom Masseau, DRA executive director. "We must ensure they are safe there, and we are all failing them if they are not safe. It's unfortunate that our small organization must stand alone in documenting the abuses that occur in these facilities through the database while the state and Child Welfare Agency Review Board (CWARB) are doing so little.

"Additionally, some of these are not-for-profit organizations that raise money from the community, presumably on the premise that they are keeping children safe, providing intensive and supportive care in a therapeutic environment. When will the board members, the state, and our community finally demand change?"

DRA leaders say they have spent hours over the past two years monitoring these facilities, meeting with state Department of Human Services officials, attending review board meetings and providing detailed information related to their findings.

Their records reveal 204 calls to the police about the facilities, and 293 serious occurrences reported to DRA in 2021 alone. However, the group's leaders say the state has yet to propose new licensing standards and Child Welfare Agency Review Board members take little action beyond attending meetings.

"These institutions were developed to provide treatment and therapy to youth who needed intense treatment. Instead, we have seen too many instances of over-medication, sexual assault, physical restraints, chemical injections, and neglect by staff," says Masseau. "Information has been provided to DHS Secretary Cindy Gillespie, DHS Deputy Director of Youth and Families Keesa Smith, [Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education] Director Tonya Williams and the Child Welfare Agency Review Board, but we have seen no change."

"Children deserve quality services in safe environments," says Reagan Stanford, the Abuse and Neglect Managing Attorney at DRA, and that isn't what a majority of the residential treatment facilities in Arkansas are providing, this group's admirable efforts show. "The Child Welfare Agency Review Board needs to revise the minimum licensing standards, create a standardized progressive discipline scheme and hold providers accountable. The board's inaction is hurting our children and standing in the way of safer and more therapeutic programs."

The DRA maintains that it shouldn't take two years of active campaigning to end the documented abuse and neglect, and hopes its database and social media campaign will get Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders, policymakers and others to take notice.

Readers can review the DRA's findings and a case study on its website at disabilityrightsar.org/prtf.

Count me among those who agree with this important group about the work others should be doing without excuse. It's clearly past time for every agency responsible for ensuring child safety to insist on accountability from those whose solemn responsibility is to properly care for and protect ailing children. Perhaps they need to form a joint task force?

It's become obvious Arkansas is sorely in need of adult gatekeepers who will insist the state's psychiatric facility care providers go above and beyond to provide children under their watch safe treatment. Thankfully, at least the good folks at DRA have been doing their part and are now thankfully sounding the alarm.

State overseers certainly can't claim ignorance of these problems now that the bright lights are burning statewide, can they?

Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.


Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.

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