State of Michigan DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BUREAU OF CHILDREN AND ADULT LICENSING RICK SNYDER

MAURA D. CORRIGAN

GOVERNOR

DIRECTOR

February 4, 2014 Kimberly Bracewell-Thorpe ACTS II Ministry For Teens PO Box 227 Nazareth, MI 49074 RE: License #: CI390311366 - Let's Talk About It Home For Young Men Investigation #: 2014C0110014 Dear Ms. Bracewell-Thorpe: Attached is the Special Investigation Report for the above referenced facility. Due to the violations identified in the report, a corrective action plan is required. The termination of Johnny Berry serves as a correction to the violation of R400.4112 and R400.4137(c) & (h). A written corrective action plan is required for the violation of R400.4137(e) – withholding of food and MSA X.B.1 (page 47). Please note that violations of any licensing rules are also violations of the MSA and your contract. The corrective action plan is due 15 days from the date of this letter and must include the following: • • • • •

How compliance with each rule will be achieved. Who is directly responsible for implementing the corrective action for each violation. Specific time frames for each violation as to when the correction will be completed or implemented. How continuing compliance will be maintained once compliance is achieved. The signature of the responsible party and a date.

Please review the enclosed documentation for accuracy and feel free to contact me with any questions or if you desire technical assistance in addressing these issues. In the event that I am not available and you need to speak to someone immediately, please feel free to contact Greg Corrigan, Area Manager, at (269) 337-5289. Sincerely,

Steve Ragsdale, Licensing Consultant Bureau of Children and Adult Licensing Unit 13, 7th Floor 350 Ottawa, N.W. Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 916-5869 P.O. BOX 30650 • LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909 www.michigan.gov • (517) 284-9700

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BUREAU OF CHILDREN AND ADULT LICENSING SPECIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT

I. IDENTIFYING INFORMATION License #:

CI390311366

Investigation #:

2014C0110014

Complaint Receipt Date:

01/23/2014

Investigation Initiation Date:

01/30/2014

Report Due Date:

03/24/2014

Licensee Name:

ACTS II Ministry For Teens

Licensee Address:

PO Box 227 Nazareth, MI 49074

Licensee Telephone #:

Unknown

Administrator:

Eliakim Thorpe, Designee

Licensee Designee:

Eliakim Thorpe, Designee

Name of Facility:

Let's Talk About It Home For Young Men

Facility Address:

406 Eldred Kalamazoo, MI 49006

Facility Telephone #:

(269) 567-9409

Original Issuance Date:

01/23/2012

License Status:

REGULAR

Effective Date:

07/23/2012

Expiration Date:

07/22/2014

Capacity:

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Program Type:

CHILD CARING INSTITUTION, PRIVATE

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II.

ALLEGATION On 1/16/14, Resident A was involved in an altercation with Direct Care Staff [DCS] Johnny Berry. The altercation occurred as a result of DCS Johnny Berry refusing to give Resident A breakfast on multiple occasions. DCS Johnny Berry then threw Resident A outside into the snow, without a coat and wearing flip flop slippers. DCS Johnny Berry then locked the door.

III.

METHODOLOGY 01/23/2014

Special Investigation Intake - 2014C0110014

01/24/2014

Special Investigation Initiated – Telephone Interview of Resident A’s caseworker.

01/30/2014

Face to Face Interview of Resident A at Kalamazoo Central HS

01/31/2014

Contact - Telephone call made – Amanda Doane, DHS Contract Department

02/03/2014

Contact - Telephone interview of Resident B

02/03/2014

Contact - Telephone interview of Resident C

02/03/2013

Telephone interview of Chief Administrator Kim Bracewell-Thorpe.

02/03/2014

Email contact with Ben Moe, Director the Ark of Kalamazoo - RE Medication instructions

02/04/2014

Telephone exit conference with Kim Thorpe

ALLEGATION: On 1/16/14, Resident A was involved in an altercation with Direct Care Staff [DCS] Johnny Berry. The altercation occurred as a result of DCS Johnny Berry refusing to give Resident A breakfast on multiple occasions. DCS Johnny Berry then threw Resident A outside into the snow, without a coat and wearing flip flop slippers. DCS Johnny Berry then locked the door. INVESTIGATION: Seventeen-year-old Resident A was interviewed at Kalamazoo Central High School. Resident A reported that he enjoyed his residency at Let’s Talk About It Home for Young Men except that one staff, DCS Johnny Berry, continually picked on him and tried to get him upset. Resident A described DCS Johnny Berry as the regular overnight staff and stated that he was on a power trip and frequently came into work smelling of alcohol or marijuana. Resident A guessed that this had a direct affect on how DCS Johnny Berry treated residents. Resident A stated that he is prescribed Lexapro, 2

Lamictal, and Seroquel. Resident A’s psychiatrist reportedly told him that he should take these medications with food or milk – and not on an empty stomach. Resident A stated that if he doesn’t eat when he takes his morning meds, his stomach is upset before he ever arrives at school, where a free/reduced price breakfast is available. Resident A stated that on multiple occasions, DCS Johnny Berry refused to give him anything to eat in the morning and sometimes would give food, such as a Kellogg’s Pop Tart, to other residents. On the night of 1/16/2014, when Resident A saw that DCS Johnny Berry was working the overnight shift and would be the supervising staff in the morning when Resident A left for school, Resident A asked DCS Johnny Berry if he would be able to get breakfast in the morning. DCS Johnny Berry began calling Resident A “Little girl”, “Little boy”, and telling Resident A that he had, “Girl tendencies”. DCS Johnny Berry then “chest bumped” Resident A out of his way and entered the staff office. Resident A became angry and kicked the office door open. DCS Johnny Berry then placed Resident A in a restraint, threw him outside into a snow bank, and locked the door. Resident A reported that he didn’t have a coat or shoes and was wearing basketball shorts. Resident A went to a Jimmy John’s Sub Shop and called the police, who arrested him and took him to jail because DCS Johnny Berry also called the police. Resident A stated that the police believed DCS Johnny Berry over him. Resident B reported that he came downstairs after the argument between Resident A and DCS Johnny Berry had already started. The first thing he saw was Resident A kick the office door. Then he saw DCS Johnny Berry, who is much bigger than Resident A, place Resident A in a bear hug and take him outside. DCS Johnny Berry then threw Resident A in the snow twice before returning to the house and locking the door. Resident A was initially thrown into the snow without a shirt, but his shirt was left on the ground. Resident A put on the shirt, departed without a coat or shoes, and was not seen again. Resident B reported that he is also required to take his medication with food and on many occasions, DCS Johnny Berry told him that he couldn’t have breakfast and to wait until he got to school to eat. Resident B has also seen DCS Johnny Berry refuse to give Resident A breakfast food on multiple occasions. Resident B described DCS Johnny Berry as, “on a power trip” and “arrogant”. Resident B also noted that DCS Johnny Berry frequently comes to work high and drunk. Resident B stated that he knows this because he can smell it on DCS Johnny Berry. Resident B reported that on the Thursday prior, he witnessed DCS Johnny Berry give both he and Resident C a Pop Tart for breakfast and refuse to give one to Resident A. Resident B believed this to be the reason for the Sunday night altercation. Resident C reported that he came downstairs when he heard an argument between Resident A and DCS Johnny Berry. The first thing that he heard was Resident A screaming, “Don’t put your hands on me.” Then he saw Resident A kick the office door open. Resident C described DCS Johnny Berry as much bigger than Resident A and stated that DCS Johnny Berry put his hands around Resident A’s neck, then placed him in a headlock, and then a bear hug. DCS Johnny Berry then dragged Resident A outside and threw him in the snow. DCS Johnny Berry then locked the door and Resident A left. Resident A was wearing basketball shorts and flip flops, with no shirt. Resident C stated that the whole argument was about a Pop Tart and explained that on

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the previous Thursday, all of the residents were late and hurrying to catch the school bus. DCS Johnny Berry gave Resident B and Resident C a Pop Tart, but gave nothing to Resident A. Resident C split his Pop Tart with Resident A, but Resident A remained angry. Resident C reported that DCS Johnny Berry is disrespectful to residents and picks arguments with them. Although he did not hear name calling at the time of this incident, DCS Johnny Berry has a pattern of calling residents names such as “punk”, “scrub”, “sissy”, “little girl”, and “whiney baby”. Resident C also noted that DCS Johnny Berry has an odor and behaviors that cause Resident C to believe that he comes to work on drugs or alcohol. Chief Administrator Kim Bracewell-Thorpe reported that when residents first complained about the way that they were treated by DCS Johnny Berry, she arranged for him to get more training in sensitivity and child management. She thought that he was doing much better. Ms. Bracewell-Thorpe also noted that DCS Johnny Berry has less than an hour of resident contact per day, when he gets residents up and off to school. When residents first complained about DCS Johnny Berry’s substance abuse after the incident with Resident A, Ms. Bracewell-Thorpe arranged for DCS Johnny Berry to receive unannounced drug and alcohol testing. When DCS Johnny Berry tested positive for marijuana, his employment was terminated. Resident A’s DHS Foster Care Caseworker, Melissa Rutan, reported that she was aware that Resident A complained of stomach aches and had been told to take his medication with food, but she had nothing in writing from his psychiatrist. Ben Moe, the director of the Ark of Kalamazoo, reported that Resident A told staff at admission that he needed to take his morning medication with food. Director Ben Moe stated that this would not be a problem and would not have required written documentation because food was readily available. Amanda Doane, of the DHS Contract Department, reported that Let’s Talk About It Home For Young Men’s contract required the facility to provide three meals per day and snacks to each resident. Although a meal could be supplemented with school provided food, Let’s Talk About It Home For Young Men would not be in compliance with their contract if they told residents to wait until they got to school to eat. APPLICABLE RULE R 400.4137 Discipline and behavior management. (2) An institution shall prohibit all cruel and severe discipline, including any of the following: (c)Verbal abuse, ridicule, or humiliation. (e) Withholding of any meal. (h) Denial of shelter, clothing, or essential personal needs.

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ANALYSIS:

Resident A was called names and denied food, appropriate clothing, and shelter. As Technical Assistance, it is also noted that Rule 400.4169(2) requires that meals shall meet the nutritional allowances recommended by the Michigan Department of Public Health. It is doubtful that a Kellogg’s Pop Tart would fulfill this nutritional requirement.

CONCLUSION:

VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

APPLICABLE RULE R 400.4112 Staff qualifications. A person with ongoing duties shall be of good moral character, emotionally stable, and of sufficient health, ability, experience, and education to perform the duties assigned. ANALYSIS:

By refusing to provide Resident A food and locking him outside without a coat or shoes, DCS Johnny Berry demonstrated a lack of ability to work with children.

CONCLUSION:

VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS: INVESTIGATION: During the course of this investigation, a review was conducted of the reporting of restraints to the DHS Quality Assurance Department through JJOLT [Juvenile Justice On Line Tracking], as required by the Modified Settlement Agreement. I found that Let’s Talk About It Home for Young Men had never registered with JJOLT and thus did not report the restraint of Resident A in the manner prescribed in BCAL’s CCI Letters 201201 & 2012-02. MSA XI.B. page 47

JJOLT Reporting of Corporal Punishment B.

ANALYSIS:

Corporal Punishment and Seclusion/Isolation: 1. DHS shall prohibit the use of Positive Peer Culture, peer-on-peer restraint, and any other forms of corporal punishment in all foster care placements. All uses of corporal punishment in any placement, and all uses of seclusion/isolation in child caring institutions shall be reported to the Quality Assurance (QA) unit. Such reports shall be made available to the state’s licensing agency for appropriate action.

The physical management of Resident A was not reported to the DHS Quality Assurance Department.

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CONCLUSION: IV.

VIOLATION ESTABLISHED

RECOMMENDATION With an acceptable corrective action plan to the violations of Rule 400.4137(e) and MSA X.B.1 (page 47), it is recommended that no change be made to the license of this child caring institution.

Steve Ragsdale Licensing Consultant

02/04/2014 Date

Approved By:

Gregory V. Corrigan Area Manager

02/04/2014 Date

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