Abuse and allegations
published in the Republican oct 2020
The Devreux Advanced Behavioral Health center near Philadelphia has treated children with intellectual disabilities and mental disorders for over 100 years. Last August, there were allegations of sexual assaulton several campuses.
Forty-one allegations were reported and some of the alleged victims were as young as twelve. It is said that a pattern of neglect allowed the assaults to occur.
The Philadelphia Department of Human Services decided after a six-week investigation to remove 53 children from the Philadelphia campuses of Devreuxdue to neglect by the staff. The commissioner of the department, Kimberly Ali, said, “We found staffers doing nothing. They weren’t doing their jobs. They were not watching the children. And if they were doing it, some of them were doing it sporadically.”
Children with disabilities are often vulnerable to abuse and neglect due to the stigma that they live with. Unfortunately, many people think they can get away with it because nobody will know or care about it. It is our job to ensure that each child is treated with respect and is cared for. Agencies were put in place to safeguard the hiring of people who work with children to make sure there is no mistreatment.