Experts concerned after report details lack of supervision at local mental health center

BANNER ELK, N.C. — There are new concerns about a lack of supervision of teenagers at a local mental health treatment center.

In a state report, obtained by Channel 9, teens receiving care at Grandfather Children’s Home, a psychiatric residential treatment center in Banner Elk, admitted to sneaking out of their room’s window to have sex.

In a separate incident, teens reportedly had oral sex in the facility’s van during an outing, while staff members were sitting in the van's front seats.

“Kids are sneaky. I get that. But this is recreating a trauma when they’re engaging in sexual behavior because the trauma and sexualized behavior – they’re linked,” said Dr. Frank Gaskill, a licensed child psychologist.

Gaskill has weighed in on several Channel 9 investigations into mental health care centers for children. He told Eyewitness News anchor Liz Foster there is a need not just for better supervision, but for better, and ongoing, training for staff.

The state report from September also includes details from a log filled out by a security officer who monitored cameras overnight.

State investigators noted: “Clients were out of their rooms 9 times after lights out” within an hour and a half and “Security had placed a call to the facility to awaken staff 10 times.”

Foster noticed there is no fence around the facility. She checked with Avery County’s dispatch center and learned in the last year, there have been 39 calls for service at the facility; some which included law enforcement helping find a client who left the property.

The state report details changes Grandfather Home for Children has made; including installing alarms on doors and windows, assigning some staff members to stay awake overnight, having a staff member at the back of vans to keep an eye on teens during outings and more.

“I feel like it needs to go a step further in terms of what high quality treatment are these kids getting? And they may be getting it, I don’t know, but I find it to be rare in the state,” Gaskill said.

The non-profit organization that operates Grandfather Home for Children, Children’s Hope Alliance, sent Eyewitness News Liz Foster this statement.

CHILDREN'S HOPE ALLIANCE STATEMENT: 

At an onsite visit from state regulators, deficiencies were reported last year on one of our cottages on the Grandfather Home campus.  Grandfather Home immediately responded with the following improvements:

• Additional cameras installed to monitor youth for safety

• Alarms added on all doors and windows 

• Safety plans reviewed and updated for all youth 

• The cottage shifted to a male-only facility

• Enhanced staff training specific to complex needs of youth

• Increased presence of administrative staff and model experts on site

As a result of the changes above, our program was brought back into compliance.  As always, we remain committed to providing high quality services and supports, additional improvements related to quality of care, safety and supervision of youth, and training of staff have been implemented. Grandfather Home has served children and families in need for over 100 years.  This gives us the unique ability to learn, innovate, improve and provide the best care possible for our children even when resources do not cover the full costs of staffing, training, and other supports. 

We choose to focus on a difficult population of children who have experienced trauma, abuse, and neglect, to benefit families and communities across the state of North Carolina.  Providing quality mental health treatment for children in a safe and secure environment is a top priority for us.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

Cox Media Group