KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has released a statement regarding the death of a teen at Lakeside Academy and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services decision to suspend their license.
Her statement reads:
“Protecting our most vulnerable is a top priority of my administration, and the senseless death of a youth at Lakeside for Children in Kalamazoo is intolerable and heartbreaking. We will take steps to prevent tragedies like this from occurring in the future and make sure there is accountability. Today I directed MDHHS Director Robert Gordon to take every step necessary to ensure Sequel Youth and Family Services — the company that provided staffing for Lakeside for Children where the 16-year-old died — no longer provides services for facilities licensed by the department.”
This comes after 16-year-old Cornelius Fredricks went into cardiac arrest and passed away on May 1st, just two days after he was restrained for reportedly throwing a sandwich at Lakeside Academy.
Lakeside Academy, or Lakeside for Children, is located on Oakland Drive, north of West Kilgore Road in Kalamazoo. It’s a youth residential treatment facility that works with the state to help youth who were placed through the abuse/neglect or juvenile justice foster care system or recommended by their parents to receive behavioral health services.
The state has already suspended Lakeside’s license which means the facility cannot house any children, but now the department is working to permanently shut down the facility.
MDHHS also announced that “it will eliminate the use of restraints against youth in its care, and review and reform its policies to prevent future tragedies,” according to the statement made by the governor.
More on the investigation can be found here.
