Residents out of control at youth facility

“The kids also call their ombudsman all the time,” Fiore added. “It’s as if they have a personal defense attorney at their side. There are cameras all over the facility. And every restraint is investigated. The kids have their civil rights protected, but the staff does not.”

Not a safe sanctuary
The state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has recently implemented the “sanctuary model” — a non-violent system to promote recovery, healing and growth in troubled clients.

The way the method has been implemented at Tryon has led to a total breakdown in discipline. This has led to increased violence against the staff.

For the method to work, discipline is needed as well as more mental health resources, as many of the residents have been diagnosed with mental illness, according to PEF Director of Health and Safety Jonathan Rosen.

It’s fixable
PEF is working with OCFS and CSEA to develop an agency workplace violence program as required by the state Workplace Violence Prevention Law.

“As part of the effort, we enlisted the University of Maryland, with which PEF has a strong partnership, to do focus groups of PEF and CSEA staff,” Rosen said. “This documented many of their concerns regarding the increased violence against the Tryon staff.”

Another step forward is having assaulted members file criminal complaints with Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira.

“This is something they have not done before,” said Ed Ray, a PEF field representative. “The DA is giving our members her support. We are also assisting assaulted members with workers’ compensation claims.”

Ray also sent two letters to OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion with photos of assaulted Tryon staff members. He received a reply from Deputy Commissioner Joyce L. Burrell, who agreed “an inordinate number of staff assaults have occurred” and said actions would be taken to reduce future incidents.

And, within the last four months, a new administrator has taken the helm at Tryon who is willing to hold joint labor-management meetings. Pettit plans on addressing the staff assaults at the May 21 meeting and is forming a coalition with CSEA.

By DEBORAH A. MILES
On February 14, Mark Gruder was punched in the eye by a resident at the Tryon Residential School for Girls in Johnstown, Fulton County. Gruder, an education supervisor at the school, said he was serving a “write-up” to a girl for wearing someone else’s sweatshirt and then throwing it at him.

“Get the (obscenity) out of my face,” the girl repeated over and over, according to Gruder. Then she hit him four times.

Another PEF member, Paul Fiore, an educational director at the boys’ residence on the Tryon Campus, said a resident grabbed him and threw him on the floor last winter.

“Then another resident punched me as hard as he could in the back of my head, causing my face to hit the floor,” he said.

Fiore called it a “major assault,” and said it happened when he was responding to a “code white” – an alarm notifying staff that violence among the residents might occur. In this case, Fiore had stepped in to counsel a resident who was throwing chairs across a classroom.

“The teacher was traumatized,” Fiore said. “In that same scene, another staff person suffered a broken wrist while helping to restrain the resident.”

Fiore’s head injury was so severe, he was out-of-work for six weeks.

On April 22, within two months after returning, Fiore was assaulted again.

“He just sent me flying and knocked me to the ground. I was cut and badly bruised,” Fiore said.

These are not isolated incidents. The youth development aides — mostly Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) members — are the victims of assaults at Tryon on almost a daily basis. What is worse, according to Fiore and Gruder, is the constant verbal abuse from residents, non-stop offensive language and total disrespect for the staff.

“The residents know they can get away with it,” Fiore said. “We’re sitting ducks. If we had the right system in place, these problems wouldn’t be happening. And the violence doesn’t allow the good kids to move forward with their educations.”

Council Leader Michael Pettit said, “The issue is they don’t hold the residents accountable. Not all of the young adults here are bad apples. But the gang leaders have control of the facility.”

Years ago and today
Staff beatings and vulgar language weren’t always the norm at Tryon. Gruder remembers when he started about 12 years ago as a culinary teacher.

“Knives were available for use and we never had a problem,” he said.

Within the last 18 months, Gruder and Fiore noticed how this facility for troubled youths has changed from a learning environment to one that is riot-bound. It’s more than just increasing assaults on staff. The residents are attacking each other.

“They need tough love,” Fiore said. “There must be reasonable consequences for misbehavior. With the lack of consequences, it only encourages more violence.”

“Staff can’t intervene until a punch is thrown by the child,” Gruder said. “The residents today can bust up property, but because it is only equipment, we are not allowed to use restraints. In our judgment and experience, we realize the behavior probably will escalate to violence against staff and residents. Our hands are tied.”

(Continued on next column)