LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The death of a teen boy at a youth facility in Kalamazoo is sparking change across the state.
On Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services introduced new emergency rules that prohibit state-licensed childcare facilities from using dangerous restraints that involve placing children face-down or any other restraint that restricts breathing.
This comes after 16-year-old Cornelius Fredericks was held down for about 12 minutes by at least seven staff members after he threw a sandwich in the cafeteria of Lakeside Academy on April 29th. The video shows staff members laying across the teen’s upper torso during the restraint.
Fredericks went into cardiac arrest and passed away in the hospital two days later. His death was ruled as a homicide as a result of restraint asphyxia,
Now, these new rules limit the duration of restraints and circumstances when restraints can be used. It also requires that families and the state are notified in a timely manner when restraints are used.
But health officials are hoping to take these safety measures even further.”Restricting restraints is an important step, but the ultimate goal is to reform the system so young people get the care they deserve,” MDHHS Director Robert Gordon said.
Additionally, the department released recommendations from national experts that are aimed at ending the use of large-scale institutional care for children and are moving toward the goal of ending the use of restraints altogether.
In a written statement, JooYeun Chang, executive director of MDHHS’s Children’s Services Agency, said, “Children should be raised by families. When foster care is absolutely necessary to keep kids safe, we have worked to place more children in family-like settings rather than in residential facilities. If we must place children in child-caring institutions, it should be for therapeutic purposes to meet the child’s individual needs, and it should be for a limited amount of time. Using restraints is not a therapeutic or caring way to address behavioral issues. It’s been overused, and it can be dangerous. That is why our goal is to eliminate this practice and put restrictions in place until we can do so.”
So far three people are facing criminal charges in Fredericks’ death and the state has already suspended Lakeside’s license, but now the department is working to permanently shut down the facility.
