Youth Transferred From Aurora Facility Amidst Abuse Allegations

AURORA, IL—Students at Aurora’s Northern Illinois Academy (NIA) will begin transferring out of the facility after allegations including physical and emotional abuse were brought to light.

A state-commissioned review of the residential treatment facility, which is home to students with mental illnesses, found “serious concerns at the facility, including staffing, incident reporting, treatment planning, the use of seclusion and isolated time-outs, and improper restraints.”

Based on that review

Northern Illinois Academy is an 87-bed private youth residential treatment facility and therapeutic day school located in Aurora and operated by Sequel Youth and Family Services.

The for-profit company has announced closures of 12 facilities since 2019 amid decreasing enrollment that followed pressure from state regulators and disability rights groups, according to the review.

Residents of the facility can range in age from 6-21, and have co-occurring mental illnesses, autism with co-occurring mood disorders, or mental illness combined with neuro-developmental delays.

“The problems documented by Equip for Equality (Illinois’ protection and advocacy organization for people with disabilities) are deeply troubling,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “As a consequence … we are revoking approval of the facility and helping school districts to transition their students to better learning environments ahead of the next school year.”

Districts currently have 17 students placed at NIA and must find alternative placements for those students in order to continue receiving state reimbursement for those placements.

Equip for Equality said its review included approximately 1,600 staff hours spent on on-site monitoring at NIA on five different days from Feb. 3, 2021, through Feb. 10, 2021, with visits to all the units and the therapeutic day school.

The group also conducted interviews with approximately 23 staff, 19 youth served by NIA (past and present), 19 guardians and family members and seven stakeholders.

“Removing approval from this facility holds NIA accountable and ensures a better future for the children who have been in their care,” Ayala said. “The state previously provided NIA with ample opportunity to improve its services.”

In January 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) terminated NIA’s certification as a psychiatric residential treatment facility, citing NIA’s dangerous restraint techniques and lack of staff training. NIA remains decertified.

In December 2020, ISBE changed NIA’s status to Pending Further Review, thus halting any additional placements to the facility.

A corrective action plan was developed by the ISBE, and on-site monitoring was conducted before Equip for Equality was contacted in January to conduct a more comprehensive review of the facility.

“The top priority of the Department of Children and Family Services is protecting vulnerable children by ensuring they receive the best available support and service,” said Marc Smith, acting director of the Department of Children and Family Services. “It is unacceptable when any facility is not meeting the strict standards established by DCFS.”

DCFS is working to transition 15 students it has living at the facility.

“Our team is taking steps to thoughtfully and carefully transition our youth in care to other facilities that can provide the nurturing, supportive environment our kids deserve,” Smith said.

DCFS said it expects to have all youth settled into a safe and appropriate setting within 120 days.

The Equip for Equality review is 41 pages long, and includes testimony from dozens of current and former NIA residents.

A youth who has been at NIA for many years was interviewed and stated that her favorite time is when she goes to bed, “because it is quiet and peaceful then.” She said waking hours are “chaos,” and that she does not feel safe at times. She expressed that she “would like to start a new life and go somewhere else,” but did not know what she needed to accomplish to leave NIA.

Others mentioned being thrown to the ground, dragged, and denied medical treatment.

A guardian expressed other concerns including ill-fitting clothing, and poor hygiene practices, including untrimmed fingernails, overgrown hair, poor oral care, and overall lack of cleanliness.

Equip for Equality’s review found significant problems with NIA’s programming, training, and protocols that created a negative environment for the children placed there. Findings include:

• Inadequate and overextended staffing
• Insufficient incident reporting, including elopements
• Lack of meaningful programming and treatment planning
• Undocumented and improper restraint and seclusions
• Insufficient adherence to COVID-19 health and safety requirements

“All children deserve to be educated by qualified, trained, and compassionate adults with the individualized supports they require,” Ayala said.