'It will never get fixed': Teen sues DCS-contracted home after assault, pushes for oversight
It took just a few moments for the fight to escalate on the basketball court at Hollis Academy in October 2021.
By the time staff at the residential youth home responded, the 13-year-old had been flipped onto his back, cracking his head against the concrete court as another resident punched him in the face and head.
He slipped in and out of consciousness as Hollis staff drove him to a local hospital, where doctors arranged a flight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville for fear the teen could be paralyzed.
The teen's guardians say the fight, and his subsequent injuries, had been a long time coming.
He is now suing the residential facility and its parent company, alleging its staff was warned that he was experiencing neglect, was in danger and needed to be moved from the facility, which is overseen by the Department of Children's Services.
“[He] already had problems, but he had a lot of anxiety and trepidation after this,” said Mary Parker, the attorney who filed the complaint in Wayne County Circuit Court in September. The teen is technically represented in the case by a guardian ad litem, a neutral party appointed to navigate a child’s best interests in the legal system, as minors cannot sue in their own names. Though he's named in the complaint, The Tennessean is not naming him as he was a minor when the assault allegedly occurred.
Though DCS is not mentioned in the lawsuit, the teen's family and advocates say the embattled department bears responsibility for the conditions at Hollis Academy. DCS contracts with and oversees Wayne Halfway House, the home's parent company, and maintains the ultimate legal custody of youth in Wayne's care.
DCS currently faces myriad issues related to systemic understaffing, case load woes and alleged abuses at its highest security juvenile justice center for youth. A Knoxville juvenile court judge told lawmakers last month the department is "near collapse," while a Davidson County judge warned lawmakers understaffing has affected DCS' ability to manage their existing cases appropriately.
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“I think [his family members] are very frustrated that warnings came to light, everyone knew he needed to be moved, and Wayne and DCS dragged their feet when they knew of these significant warnings,” Parker said.
DCS has declined to confirm or deny specific details about the incident provided by Park and the teen's father, Obriya Carr.
Wayne Halfway House spokesperson Joe Hall declined to answer specific questions about the allegations. Attorneys for Wayne have filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the guardian ad litem listed in the case hasn't been officially appointed. The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
"The company does not respond to inquiries about juveniles in their care," Hall said.
The department would not confirm if it had specifically investigated the alleged assault or conditions at Hollis after the teen's hospitalization, citing a section of Tennessee law that prevents the department from releasing any information that “would identify a child receiving services from the department.”
“[There] were complaints in 2021 and 2022 that resulted in site visits from department staff to review and discuss issues with Wayne’s Halfway House,” said John Waddell, the senior associate counsel at DCS. But Waddell declined to answer if DCS took any action or recommended any changes to the facility.
Obriya Carr has called for additional oversight of state-contracted facilities.
“Somebody needs to be looking after the kids, besides the facility,” Carr said. “It will never get fixed if the facilities are looking into their own incidents.”
'Reasonably foreseeable' risk
The teen first arrived at Hollis Academy in June 2021, after trouble at home with his mother, who was in the middle cancer treatments, Parker said.
Through the summer and early fall, he complained of overcrowding and issues with bedbugs, Carr said. By September, the family thought he would be transferred soon. But he stayed in Waynesboro until the confrontation on the basketball court on Oct. 10, 2021.
The lawsuit alleges Hollis staff should have known the assault was “reasonably foreseeable” after another resident threatened him.
“When they’re put on notice of a significant risk, such as this one, they need to remove the child and put them somewhere safely,” Parker said. “There are workers all over the state, there’s no reason they couldn't have called someone within Wayne County in a day and at least picked him up.”
After he hit the concrete on Oct. 10, the other resident continued to beat him in the face and head until staff arrived to separate the two, Parker said.
Instead of calling 911, staff picked him up and drove him to the local hospital.
“The [hospital] thought he might be paralyzed. He did have a spinal injury, he was in and out of consciousness,” Parker said. “Upon arrival to Vanderbilt, they described him as drooling and unable to speak.”
He was ultimately diagnosed with a neck fracture, hospitalized for several days and required rehabilitation, Parker said.
At the same time, his mother was hospitalized with an increasingly poor prognosis. Though he was released back to her custody in mid-October, she died weeks later in December 2021.
Carr said his son has struggled since the assault and his mother’s death, but he’s also concerned about others caught in the same Tennessee system.
“If that happened to him, there are more kids in danger,” Carr said.
DCS contracts with private operators for youth residential facilities
DCS provided total overnight hospitalization numbers for youths living in DCS-contracted residential facilities last year, stating 48 children were hospitalized overnight for “in-patient medical/surgical services” and 53 for psychological services in 2021.
But DCS has declined to answer multiple questions from The Tennessean regarding the number of residential facilities Tennessee contracts with. The state classifies a range of residential youth facilities on a scale from 1 to 4, referencing the severity of security measures required and the possible reasons youth are in state custody.
DCS confirmed it had dropped one contract since 2021, the Knoxville-based Norris Academy, because it could “no longer meet the requirements of the contract.”
Hollis Academy, based in Waynesboro and opened in 1992, has 84 beds to house level 2 and 3 youth involved in the juvenile justice system and “dependent/neglected” youth. The facility reported 84 residents this summer during a presentation to state lawmakers.
The company also runs four other residential facilities across the state: Nashville-based Standing Tall Music City, Dandridge-based Mountain View Academy, Columbia-based Hollis Residential Treatment Center and a Jackson-based Jackson Academy. Wayne took over Mountain View in 2020, which houses level 3 and 4 juvenile justice-involved youth and is an enhanced security facility. Hollis Residential is home to young women, while Jackson Academy houses the lower level 2 youth.
Jason Crews, Wayne's CEO, appeared before a Tennessee General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee this summer, telling lawmakers investigating juvenile justice issues that he makes frequent visits to his facilities.
“It’s important for them to see staff and for the kids to see my face,” Crews said. “I’m not one to sit behind the desk."
Crews has also had a hand in other DCS-contracted youth residential facilities in recent years. NewsChannel5 reported in 2019 on solitary confinement conditions at a controversial Maury County facility, Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center.
Crews held a partial ownership stake in the company but appeared to be a figurehead for the company, according to DCS. DCS said the center was in good standing at the time, despite criticism from youth advocates and community members.
Do you have an experience to share about Hollis Academy, Wayne Halfway House or other residential youth facilities in Tennessee? I'd like to hear your story. Contact Melissa Brown at mabrown@gannett.com.