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| Report criticizes Miami-Dade juvenile center's response to teen's suicide attempt |
| By South Florida Sun Sentinel |
| Published: 05/31/2004 |
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Nearly a year after workers at the Miami-Dade (Fla.) Regional Juvenile Detention Center ignored the pleas of a young man who later died of a burst appendix, the state has found staff in the same center unresponsive to the attempted suicide of a 16-year-old boy. An inspector general's report, provided to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel last Tuesday, states that an officer radioed a supervisor and waited for help to arrive before entering the cell of a 16-year-old suicidal boy found face down on the floor March 3 with a pillowcase around his neck. The Department of Juvenile Justice, in response to questions from the newspaper, said therapist Juliet Alvarez, who contracts with the state to treat the children and was first on the scene, also did not render aid but, instead, called the officer. Other juvenile justice officials, including a nurse, responded quickly. The boy, who was not identified in the report to protect his privacy, survived. The report also states that administrators at the lockup regularly discouraged mental health providers from assigning one staff worker to watch suicidal youths around the clock, as required in serious cases, "due to staffing shortages." The findings are the most disturbing of numerous failings substantiated by the inspector general regarding the incident. |
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