Fort Behavioral Health halts adolescent programs after allegations of mistreatment
Fort Behavioral Health, a residential treatment center in Fort Worth, is halting its adolescent programs, which have been cited by state regulators for dozens of violations this year.
The center in southwest Fort Worth has several programs to treat adolescents with autism, substance use disorders and other diagnoses, as well as a separate adult unit. Fort Behavioral began notifying families last week that the adolescent programs would be closing, according to two employees and a parent whose child was being treated there.
The facility has not publicized the closure and executives have not responded to repeated requests for comment.
[Read the Star-Telegram investigation into Fort Behavioral Health]
The closure is the second one at Fort Behavioral this year. In late January, the state temporarily shut down the facility’s adolescent unit over concerns of abuse and neglect, but then allowed it to reopen on a one-year probation.
The latest closure does not appear to be state-mandated, and comes on the heels of a Star-Telegram investigation into the facility. That investigation showed that Fort Behavioral had been cited repeatedly by the state for incidents where children were harmed or abused, and also uncovered issues with understaffing and underreporting.
The Star-Telegram investigation, which was published in late September, also included concerns from former employees about whether the facility could become safe for children even after its reopening under probation. Fort Behavioral CEO Stephen Mallick denied that the facility was unsafe; in email responses to the Star-Telegram in September, he said that “investigations and allegations are a part of the daily lives of residential treatment centers.”
On Monday, a recently laid-off Fort Behavioral employee said that the adolescent programs had indeed continued to have problems since its reopening. The former employee requested to remain unnamed in fear of retaliation, but her identity and employment has been confirmed by the Star-Telegram.
Administrative staff at the facility told employees in September that they were halting new adolescent admissions, the former employee said. Then, she said, the facility’s administration called another meeting last week and notified staff that the adolescent programs were closing. Fort Behavioral staff then began notifying parents and families of the closure, and told them their children needed to be picked up this upcoming Wednesday.
Another employee — who also requested anonymity but whose identity and employment have been confirmed by the Star-Telegram — said she was similarly called into a meeting last week and told about the closure. Direct care workers, she said, have not been formally told whether they still have jobs as of early this week.
“They have not told us anything beyond this meeting,” she said. “Higher-ups have not confirmed anything at all.”
One parent, Carla Egbert, said Fort Behavioral called her late last week and told her she needed to pick up her son, who had been admitted to the facility’s autism program Camp Worth. She said she was told she had to pick up her son from Camp Worth no later than this Wednesday. (Fort Behavioral’s Camp Worth program is separate from and unrelated to the recently closed Camp Worth facility on East Seminary Drive.)
When the Star-Telegram called Fort Behavioral’s admissions line on Monday morning, an employee said the facility was not accepting new adolescent patients and that existing adolescent patients were being sent home. The employee did not answer additional questions, and instead forwarded the call to an administrator’s voicemail.
Egbert and the former employees were given somewhat different reasons for the closure. It’s unclear how long the facility’s adolescent programs will remain shuttered, or if they might reopen later.
The Star-Telegram has repeatedly requested comment from Fort Behavioral’s executives, including owner Bobby Patton and Mallick the CEO. The executives have not responded to those calls and emails. Additionally, Fort Behavioral attorney Craig Crockett, reached by phone Monday afternoon, declined to comment.
In September, Patton directed questions about the facility’s violations to Mallick but added, “I don’t know much except that it doesn’t seem very profitable.”
It’s clear, though, that this closure is different from the facility’s temporary shutdown in January.
That 30-day shutdown was ordered by the state Health and Human Services Commission. This time, HHSC said that it did not issue any type of closure order to Fort Behavioral. Instead, the closure appears to be the facility’s choice.
After the January shutdown, the Star-Telegram reported on families’ difficulty in finding alternative treatment for their children. At least two of the children displaced by that closure ended up in the emergency room as a result.
Egbert said it’s a struggle that she’s now facing, too. After picking up her son from Fort Behavioral over the weekend, Egbert said she hasn’t yet found a treatment center that has a bed available and takes insurance. And private pay options can cost tens of thousands of dollars up front, she said, which isn’t an option for her.
“It’s like, you really want your kid to get help,” Egbert said. “And parents need help, too.”
A spokesperson for HHSC said on Monday that the state has not received any notice of Fort Behavioral’s closure of its adolescent programs. Under state statute, the facility is required to notify the state “as soon as possible, but no later than 10 days after” the closure.
