A St. Cloud child treatment center with a history of regulatory violations has been cited for failing to prevent three teenage residents from "daily and persistent" head-banging over a period of weeks last May, which resulted in multiple concussions, facial injuries and head trauma.
The St. Cloud Children's Home, a 60-bed treatment center for children with depression and other mental health problems, was cited for neglect and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, according to an investigation released last week by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
State investigators found that the three children banged their heads against walls and windows "to the point of bleeding" and required medical attention. At least two of the children received emergency medical treatment; they also sustained black eyes, swollen faces, headaches and abrasions. The children, who were ages 14 to 16 at the time, suffered from a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts.
Investigators concluded that staff knew the children were banging their heads violently but allowed the behavior to continue after a manager asserted that it would not cause permanent or serious brain damage. At one point, the three children were escorted to their bedrooms to prevent others at the facility from copying them, the report said.
This marks the fifth time since last December that the St. Cloud Children's Home or its staff have been found responsible for neglect, state records show.
In July, a 12-year-old resident with a history of self-injury got onto the roof four times, sustaining burns to both feet. Another child fractured a finger while being placed in a physical hold by staff but was not taken for medical care for eight days. Late last year, a 13-year-old child was dragged by staff across the floor, sustaining two rug burns, after breaking some of the facility's windows. And in 2013, the state temporarily placed the home's license on conditional status after investigators documented several incidents of inappropriate sexual contact between residents.
The state's latest determination is unusual because it holds the treatment center, not individual staff members, solely responsible for neglect.
In the last fiscal year, the department substantiated 349 cases of maltreatment at group homes, child care centers and other state-licensed programs; but in two-thirds of those cases, only individual staff members were found responsible. The provider, or facility, was held solely responsible in just 16 percent of the cases, state data show.
