The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says Via-Quest Behavioral Health has violated several state rules, including leaving two boys unattended, allowing one to sexually abuse the other.

The state faults ViaQuest for allowing a maintenance man into a girl’s bedroom unsupervised, restraining children without immediately telling their parents or legal custodians, and altering medication or failing to give it to youngsters. The agency also says ViaQuest didn’t comply with a corrective-action plan created after the death of Kasey Warner, a 13-year-old Westerville boy who was found face down in 10 inches of water in a bathtub on Oct. 8, 2004.

"These are kids with serious problems," said Rick Smith, deputy director of the department’s Office for Children and Families. "They didn’t get into ViaQuest for nothing. We have to protect them from acts that could result in further abuse, including death, injury, illness, neglect or exploitation."

ViaQuest officials said they take the most troubled, hardestto-treat children no one else wants, which might account for some of the problems.

"We deal with the toughest kids around with the most significant emotional, behavioral and psychiatric issues," said Richard Johnson, founder and president of the Dublin-based company. "Incidents happen, but we self-report everything to the state, which makes us look bad."

The company disputes some of the claims.

"We admit that in a couple of instances two boys over the age of 16 were left alone — five minutes here, 10 minutes there — and found their way to a bathroom where they had some kind of sexual contact," said Chris Wolf, ViaQuest’s vice pres- ident. "The staff clearly didn’t do what they were trained (to do) and we fired them. But we disagree that the child was sexually exploited."

Last month, the state notified ViaQuest it was revoking its certification, as well as denying its application to add two homes for 10 more children.

Job and Family Services certifies group homes every two years. ViaQuest’s certification expired in December, and the company had applied to be recertified.

ViaQuest can serve up to 65 youths in 15 homes in Columbus, Mentor, Painesville, Westerville and Willoughby. The company also has group homes and a 129-bed treatment center in Pennsylvania.

It has appealed the revocation, opening the door for a hearing. If it loses, the Ohio child-welfare agencies that send children to the company will have to find other group homes for their children.

Franklin County Children Services has 28 children in Via-Quest’s care. Last year, it paid the company $3 million to care for 331 kids at various times.

"I believe they are committed to providing the best services they can," Executive Director John Saros said. "But they’ve had some problems with inconsistencies."

Caseworkers have determined that the 28 children are safe, Saros said.

The agency has been working closely with ViaQuest since the boy drowned. A worker left the boy alone in the bathroom for more than an hour. Children Services said the boy was never to be left out of sight.

The worker found Warner in the tub lifeless at 4:45 a.m. He said he immediately called 911, but police records indicate the call was made at 5:37 a.m.

The teen’s parents settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against ViaQuest in October but can’t discuss the case because they signed a confidentiality clause, their attorney said.

"Every time we’ve beared down on ViaQuest, they’ve done what we have asked," Saros said.

But others question Via-Quest’s track record.

"There is no advocate or oversight for these kids," said Christopher Shaffer, principal at Alum Crest High School, which serves Columbus students with behavioral problems. "They’re out of sight, out of mind, and ViaQuest knows it."

He said the ViaQuest teens who attend his school often come to class distraught and wearing ill-fitting clothes.

"To say the homes are deplorable would be kind," said Shaffer, who worked in a residential treatment center for troubled children in Dayton for 12 years before coming to Alum Crest two years ago. "ViaQuest gives the kids substandard care with little to no psychiatric treatment, positive rewards or social outlets."

School officials have filed several complaints with Children Services related to Via-Quest, including concerns about youngsters being hurt while restrained.

ViaQuest officials said they work with the children every day in individual and group counseling and link them to community services, such as anger management.

"We ask them how their day was, if anything set them off and what we can do to help them cope with problems that arise," said Mitchell Snyder, the company’s state director.

A northeastern Ohio man whose daughter lived in a Via-Quest home for several months last year described the company as having "noble goals but incompetent staff."

"It always seemed to me they were an organization that meant well but weren’t capable," said Michael Ratcliffe, of Painesville.

During her stay, his daughter, now 18, had sex with a maintenance man and repeatedly ran away. Twice, a retired park ranger pulled her from dangerous situations: Once, he found her in a crack house. Another time, she was in a seedy apartment with older men who were trying to talk her into making sexually explicit videos, Ratcliffe said.

"My fear has always been that the more time she is on the streets, the more likely she’ll end up in jail or dead," he said. "I’m so worried she’ll have a short, very painful life if she doesn’t get the treatment she needs. These places are nothing more than glorified warehouses."

In January, the state cited ViaQuest for allowing a child who had threatened suicide to take an unsupervised smoke break. The girl found broken glass outside and cut herself. The company waited until the next day to take the girl to an emergency mental-health treatment center. Last year, the company got in trouble because several children were hurt while being restrained.

In addition, ViaQuest has been cited for allowing maintenance issues to build up. In one case, inspectors smelled urine in a spare bedroom and the home’s heating registers.