Troubled St. Mary's Home for Children under new management. Here's what to know.
St. Mary’s Home for Children, the North Providence agency that came under intense criticism in December by the state child advocate's office for gross mismanagement and child neglect, is under new management.
Tides Family Services has accepted an offer from the St. Mary’s board of directors to operate the state’s only residential psychiatric treatment center for children.
New management oversees day-to-day care
Under the agreement announced in a statement Wednesday, Tides Family Services will assume day-to-day management of all of St. Mary’s programs, including its residential psychiatric treatment center, outpatient department and home based treatment services through the state Department of Children, Youth & Families.
DCYF 'encouraged' by the change
St. Mary’s, which began in 1877 as an orphanage within the Episcopal diocese, now serves about a dozen high-risk children placed by the DCYF, although the department banned further placements in November because of unsafe incidents uncovered by investigators of the child advocate's office.
In a statement Wednesday, the DCYF said, “We are encouraged by this news and are looking forward to continuing to work with both entities in the coming days as they outline a plan for the operations of the facility going forward.”
More: 'A complete failure': The plight of 2 teens lays bare the absence of mental health care for girls
Still unknown: What it means for St. Mary's leadership
It was not immediately clear what the management change means for St. Mary’s leadership staff, including CEO Charles Montorio-Archer, who was brought aboard in January to stabilize the organization.
Montorio-Archer notified staff at St. Mary’s about the management change in an email this week and invited them to a meeting Wednesday morning to discuss it.
“Together, I am confident that we will continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those entrusted to our care,” he said in an email obtained by The Journal.
Also unclear Wednesday was whether the management change would affect an agreement between the state and St. Mary's for an $11-million, 12-bed addition to ease the desperate need for in-house psychiatric beds for children.
Background on trouble at St. Mary's
The child advocate's office began investigating St. Mary’s last April after a 17-year-old girl was found unconscious from an apparent drug overdose on the bathroom floor of a residential unit.
Investigators for the Office of the Child Advocate reported instances of children being physically assaulted by staff and by other children, sometimes sexually; of drug overdoses on campus; a biker club invited onto the grounds to protect children from any cruising sex traffickers and a management hierarchy indifferent to the concerns of overworked staff.
More: Overdoses, assault and restraints: Inside a damning report on St. Mary's Home for Children
Tides Family Services has a history in Rhode Island
Tides Family Services "has a 40-year record of helping vulnerable Rhode Island youth and their families through the provision of high quality educational and community-based behavioral health services,” said its CEO Beth Bixby.
“Over the coming weeks, Tides will begin to integrate our services staff, and move forward with an expanded continuum of care model ... to meet the behavioral health needs of children."
Jeff Cascione, president of the board of St. Mary’s, said the facility is “pleased to have reached an agreement with Tides ... We are confident that this agreement will ensure that the children and youth at St. Mary’s receive the services they deserve, and are confident in a smooth transition as Tides takes over day-to-day management and operations.”
Officials for St. Mary's and a spokesman for the home did not return phone calls Wednesday afternoon.
Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Tides Family Services takes over management of St. Mary's Home for Children
