TAMPA, Fla. — A company that operates youth detention facilities for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has announced it is terminating multiple contracts with the state.
The state shut down Lake Academy in June after a 17-year-old girl died there.
TrueCore Behavioral Solutions lost its contract to operate that facility a short time later.
The ABC Action News I-Team has learned that TrueCore will end four other multi-million-dollar contracts with DJJ at the end of the month.
The affected facilities are Hillsborough Girls Academy, Polk Halfway House, Ft. Myers Academy and Orange Youth Academy/Orlando Intensive Youth Academy.
Hillsborough Girls Academy is a maximum-risk residential program located on the same campus as Lake Academy.
TrueCore facilities have a history of problems
For months, the I-Team has been reporting about issues at Lake Academy, which was operated by Tampa-based TrueCore Behavioral Solutions.
Three former teachers came forward, saying they were attacked by students even though TrueCore employees were supposed to protect them.
“Sucker-punched me right in the temple and I ended up with a concussion and went down to the floor,” said former Lake Academy teacher Barb Wishart-Harley. “Immediately my vision went blurry and off I went to the emergency room.”
“It was just a complete downhill spiral the entire time,” said a substitute teacher who worked at Lake Academy, who asked for anonymity because she feared retribution from her employer.
“I had my back to her. Never saw it coming. She jumped on me from behind,” said former Lake Academy teacher Heather Cleveland, who said she was attacked twice while teaching at Lake Academy.
A 17-year-old girl’s death in late May triggered ongoing investigations by the DJJ Inspector General’s Office and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
“I hope we find out what happened, why it happened and how on earth it happened in a facility where every door is locked, there’s windows, there’s cameras. Yet a youth died,” said Barb Wishart-Harley.
Florida DJJ moved dozens of girls to other facilities statewide following Lake Academy’s closure.
TrueCore: Termination of contracts “planned for months”
Now, the department says TrueCore is terminating contracts to operate Hillsborough Girls Academy, Polk Halfway House, Fort Myers Academy, and Orange Youth Academy.
A TrueCore spokesperson said in an email, “The termination of TrueCore’s operation at the facilities referenced had been planned for months.”
He said TrueCore planned to terminate the contract before the girl’s death.
The existing contracts will end on August 31.
Lydia Perkins and Timothy Huff’s special needs son was previously assigned to Polk Halfway House.
“He had been restrained more than 20 times in that time frame. His body was pretty much covered in bruises. He wasn't being medicated properly,” Huff said.
The couple told the I-Team in July that they believe the state should end all contracts with TrueCore to operate residential facilities.
“And they're still allowed to hold a contract, not just one, but several. And you have to stop and think and say, why is this still happening?” Perkins said.
Contract costs taxpayers big bucks
These facilities cost taxpayers plenty.
According to state records, TrueCore had a five-year, $11.7 million five-year contract to operate for the 22-bed Hillsborough Girls Academy, which was set to expire in 2028.
That breaks down to $106,000 per bed/per year.
TrueCore still has multiple other state contracts to run residential facilities.
“It's the kids that suffer and they continue to just profit over these children,” Perkins said.
The Department of Juvenile Justice says it’s working to reassign those contracts to get another company or companies in place within the next two weeks to minimize disruption to the children who reside in those facilities.
