The Arizona Daily Star, March 7, 1998
Court suggests removing youths at Desert Hills
By Rhonda Bodfield
The Arizona Supreme Court yesterday morning recommended that
juvenile county courts remove delinquents from Desert Hills
behavioral treatment center within 30 days.
The court's administrative office also suggested a one-year
ban on placing children there because of concern over the
center's use of restraints and staffing levels.
Pima County Juvenile Court - the only juvenile court with
youths still at Desert Hills - later announced that it will
remove its 15 delinquents and state wards by early April.
The Supreme Court has oversight over lower courts, but not
direct jurisdiction.
On Feb. 2, Edith Campos of San Ysidro, Calif., slipped into a
coma after being restrained at Desert Hills and died two days
later. A Child Protective Services report stated that a
psychiatric technician lay on top of Campos, who was placed in
the facility through private insurance.
Also yesterday, three state agency heads met with Desert
Hills officials in Phoenix to discuss removing roughly 70 state
wards - almost half of the center's patients at its two Tucson
facilities.
The state officials from the Departments of Health Services,
Economic Security and Juvenile Corrections decided to increase
monitoring by each placing a monitor at Desert Hills every day.
The stepped-up monitoring begins this weekend, with no cutoff
date.
The state group decided not to remove any youths from the
center, pending further review.
Some participants reported privately that it appears the
state will not revoke Desert Hills' license. Instead, the
agencies asked Desert Hills Center for Youth & Families to flesh
out the three-page draft action plan it presented to state
officials.
The plan states the company will:
- Provide restraint and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
training to all employees.
- Conduct training on how to defuse power struggles and
``identify patient problems in conflict situations.''
- Hire three additional nurses to bolster staffing and
form a medical team to review all restraints weekly.
- Review all restraint procedures and revise them if
necessary.
The state health department oversees 22 youths placed at the
center, while the juvenile corrections department has 30 inmates
at Desert Hills. State agencies pay roughly between $112 and
$195 per youth per day at Desert Hills.
Desert Hills officials told state officials that they have a
stronger commitment to care than the previous owner, Youth
Services International, which owned the center from November
1996 to November 1997.
Youth Services eliminated the training coordinator position
last August, for example, but the current owner reinstated that
position in December, according to the center's action plan.
The company that took over, Youth and Family-Centered
Services of Texas, has started addressing ``the lack of strong
management structures previously at Desert Hills,'' the draft
action plan states.
The state Supreme Court's recommendation came after an
independent review by a court employee, who spent two days
reviewing records of juvenile court wards placed at the center.
Donna Noriega, a spokeswoman for the court, said the employee
identified several concerns that made the higher court's
administrative section ``uncomfortable'' with placing youth at
the center.
Those concerns included:
- The types of restraints used at Desert Hills.
- Failure to report injuries caused by restraints to the
court or probation officers.
- Inadequate staffing levels.
- The absence of a core staff system, where employees are
assigned to specific units and programs.
She could not elaborate on the findings. The court employee who
completed the study was unavailable for comment.
``We're hopeful that Desert Hills has great intentions to get
additional staff on board and make the necessary changes, and
we'll be happy to look at (the facility) again once those
changes are in place,'' Noriega said.
Desert Hills issued a written statement saying officials were
``saddened'' by the court's decision.
``We understand the political necessity for them to take an
extremely conservative position even if there is no immediate
evidence of wrongdoing by Desert Hills' staff,'' said Dick
Hardin, Desert Hills' new chief executive officer.
Hardin said he hopes the youths will return once the Tucson
police criminal investigation into Campos' death is complete.
``Unfortunately, we are the only facility in this region
capable of working with many of these children, kids who have
already failed in a number of other treatment settings. By
making this decision, the state could be denying vitally needed
care to the children and their families.''
Hearings in Pima County Juvenile Court will begin next week
to determine where to place the youths to be removed from Desert
Hills.
Many of them may go to Charter Behavioral Health System of
Arizona, a private treatment center in the Phoenix area, said
Gabriela Rico, the Juvenile Court spokeswoman.
Of Pima County's 15 juveniles at Desert Hills, one is a
9-year-old delinquent, while the others are Department of
Economic Security wards supervised by the court. Juvenile Court
judges have autonomy over dependent and neglected children.
Navajo County removed its six juveniles this week after a
14-year-old Navajo County girl suffered a broken vertebra during
a restraint last month.
John Clayton, DES deputy director, could not comment on the
Juvenile Court decision, which effectively removes 14 of the 17
state wards at Desert Hills.
Clayton said the agency plans to make recommendations by next
week on whether to remove youths placed by DES at Desert Hills.
First, the agency will review Desert Hills' response to his
requests for more information.
In the interim, any DES placements or their parents can ask
the agency for removal from Desert Hills.
Clayton said he still has concerns, for example, that the
facility does not have a strong enough patient advocate. He also
said he is worried about the center's restraint procedures.
Clayton said, for example, that Desert Hills told him there
were 107 restraints in January. The two facilities at 2797 N.
Introspect Drive and 5245 N. Camino de Oeste house 140 youths.
In February, the month Campos died, restraints dropped to 54.
Senate Health Chairwoman Ann Day, R-Tucson, said the state
action should be consistent.
``Clearly, there is a health and safety problem. How
extensive it is I don't know, but . . . I clearly feel that if
any children have been removed, then the others need to be
removed. For the others to stay, that makes no sense.''
But Linda Palmer, assistant director of the state health
department, said it is important for agencies ``to not jump the
gun. Everybody really is trying to not overreact and to do what
is best for the individual child.''
Palmer said that from her perspective, Desert Hills' draft
action plan showed the center is being pro-active, since the
department has not yet cited it for any deficiencies.
``Is Tucson going to be better off without the facility? Do
we not want anyone associated with Desert Hills providing
services to our children? We really need to look at that.''
Arizona Daily Star reporter Jane Erikson
contributed to this story.
