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Four emergency placements over the Christmas period appear to be the root of recent problems at Adriel Schools, President and CEO Todd Hanes said Thursday.
“Typically, Christmas is a time when we won’t see any new kids until after the new year,” he said. “It’s a time when judges in the 44 counties we work with try to return children to their families.
“We had six positive discharges this year and some of those had been for as long as two years.
“However, this year we also took in eight referrals and four of those were emergency placements.”
Adriel’s campus is approved to handle up to 62 residents, but those numbers have been down under Mr. Hanes’ leadership.
Over New Year’s weekend, there were 39 residents on campus.
Emergency placements can occur for a variety of reasons, he said. The child may be in danger of further abuse or may be a threat to themselves or others.
It may have been that Adriel was one of the places with space, he said.
Regardless, the four emergency placements were not good fits for Adriel, Mr. Hanes said, and their actions kicked off outbursts that began Saturday and continued into Wednesday evening.
Two girls forcibly stole vehicle keys from a secured office early Monday and led authorities on a high-speed chase into Springfield.
Authorities feared for the public’s safety and called off the chase.
The girls, who have ties to Dayton, remain at large.
Six other residents were lodged in the Logan County Juvenile Detention Center and Marysville Juvenile Detention Center for running away and fighting over the weekend, while another nine were taken into custody and lodged locally after two separate incidents Wednesday evening.
Under an 18-month-old memorandum of understanding, Adriel covers the daily cost of housing the residents at the local JDC.
Returning the residents to Adriel will take place under the Logan County Family Court’s direction and Mr. Hanes said he believes his staff, which includes licensed therapists, can use the returns as “teachable moments.”
“This (Adriel’s residential program) is a mission,” he said. “It is losing money, but we feel it is an important service to kids who need a residential setting.
“But we can’t be successful if the child doesn’t want to be a part of it.”
Adriel receives as many as 60 referrals a month, he said. Of those, 20 might go through a review to determine if a child belongs at the campus.
Typically, no more than five make it to the campus. This helps the Adriel staff introduce the new residents into residences without radically altering the culture of the facility.
Obviously, the influx of eight with four emergency referrals was too much, Mr. Hanes acknowledged.
“We’re not happy about what happened,” he said, “but we understand most of the kids here respond well to the programs.”
Just as with any adolescent, there will be times of rebellion and upheaval, but the school has successfully helped many, he said.
Community support has grown, he said, as he has recruited churches and others to work with and visit the residents.
A recent Christmas dinner allowed the children and community to work together to serve more than 500 meals, he said, as positive example of the school’s impact.