The former operator of boarding home who faced 18 felony counts of adult abuse will not go to jail. Daphne Jones, under a plea agreement with prosecutors, pleaded guilty this morning to one reduced count of culpable negligence, a second-degree misdemeanor. Prosecutors dropped the remaining 17 charges. ...more

January 8, 2009

Priorities Upside Down During my 12-year tenure as a state legislator in New Hampshire, I had the responsibility at one point to serve as chairman of the House Committee on State Institutions in order to oversee the operation and standards of our Youth Development Center (YDC) along with other state facilities. Governmental overview of state institutions is always needed, although experience shows that it is seldom productive. ...more

January 7, 2009

A troubled youth mental health center in Riverview has laid off more than a third of its staff now that the state has removed many of the children in its care. ...more

January 4, 2009

A troubled youth mental health center in Riverview has laid off more than a third of its staff now that the state has removed many of the children in its care. ...more

January 3, 2009

PAST AND PRESENT •In late 2005, the Department of Children & Families stopped Tampa Bay Academy from admitting new patients after finding inadequate staffing, abuse complaints and an alleged sexual assault. DCF renewed the academy's license after subsequent inspections. ...more

December 30, 2008

Three years ago, the Department of Children & Families found many of the same problems at the Tampa Bay Academy that other state regulators found this month: inadequate staffing, abuse complaints and an alleged sexual assault. ...more

December 30, 2008

State officials found that an inadequate and poorly trained staff at the Tampa Bay Academy in Riverview led to abuse complaints, patient escapes and at least one alleged sexual assault. Three years ago. ...more

December 29, 2008

Sharon Meyer wants to know what happened to her daughter. The teenager was supposed to get better during her year at Tampa Bay Academy's mental health center. Instead, a child who was disruptive grew more violent and repeatedly escaped from what was supposed to be constant supervision. ...more

December 20, 2008

Tampa Bay Academy officials are trying to stop the state from suspending their license, despite accusations that they exposed their workers and the children in their care to danger. ...more

December 19, 2008

State investigators ordered the removal of 54 children and teenagers from the Tampa Bay Academy in Riverview after finding the academy failed to protect its residents and staff from "known and obvious dangerous behaviors." ...more

December 18, 2008