DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (AP) - The head of Tennessee's Department of Children's Services said she is aware of allegations of misbehavior by youths at a treatment center and the agency is working to improve safety at the facility.
Police have been called to address riots, assaults on employees, vandalism, escape attempts and other incidents at least 50 times at Mountain View Academy for Young Men since 2016, according to an investigation by WBIR-TV. Multiple Tennessee law enforcement agencies have responded several times to the facility since July, records show.
The problems began before TrueCore Behavioral Solutions took over the facility in the summer of 2017 but have continued on their watch, the station has reported.
Children are referred to Mountain View for treatment after they have committed crimes, such as murder, as well as significantly lesser offenses.
"The majority of the staff is getting assaulted," said former shift supervisor Beverly Stroupe, who worked 15 years at Mountain View before leaving in September 2019. "The youth are destroying everything. It's on a day-to-day basis that they're breaking windows out. They're breaking TVs. They refuse to go to school."
Other current and former employees told the station about youths smoking cigarettes and marijuana, accessing pornography, and warning guards who tried to control them that they had better stay away. Employees told WBIR that they work double shifts to make up for short staffing.
Florida-based TrueCore is ending operations at Mountain View and other Tennessee facilities by Feb. 29, according to a statement from DCS. That includes three treatment facilities in Davidson County.
DCS Commissioner Jennifer Nichols said in a statement provided to WBIR that the agency is "aware of the recent allegations regarding the problems at Mountain View."
"Though no youth have escaped, I am ever mindful of our responsibility to ensure that the youth in state custody, as well as the communities in which they live, are safe and secure," Nichols said.
Nichols said DCS has identified a provider "who we intend to assume responsibility of operations at Mountain View."
She said the provider, who was not named in the statement, has met with the Jefferson County attorney and mayor, and the Dandridge police chief and town administrator.
"The immediate focus will be on the safety and security of the facility, and that focus was communicated clearly to the same city and county officials," Nichols said.
A TrueCore spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from the station.