AWOL At Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls: Prevention Plan Required

CLARIFICATION: Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center is one of three residential facilities on the Hawthorne campus administered by the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services. The Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Union Free School District is also on the campus. Some of the residents at the facilities are students at the school. It is the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center that is now working under directives from the state described in this article.

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — The Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center must now adhere to a demanding corrective action plan as a result of a string of episodes in the surrounding community. In a letter, the Office of Children and Family Services detailed a series of provisions the residential facility must now follow. Most of the directives are geared towards residents leaving the campus without authorization and increasing security around the facility's perimeter.

The treatment facility, which is managed by the Jewish Board of Family and Children Services, had already stopped taking in new clients. Hawthorne Cedar Knolls serves children and teens who have suffered physical and sexual abuse, severe neglect, or the loss of family members and friends.

"With the support of the New York state Office of Children and Family Services, we plan to apply for enhanced funding for Hawthorne Cedar Knolls that will allow us to intensify our services, increase staff-to-resident ratios, and enhance our security. We are also engaging in discussions with the State about our need to have greater input into the teens referred and placed with us," officials at the facility said. "We are optimistic that if we are given the authority to reject inappropriate placements and can secure more funding, we will be able to reduce occurrences like the incidents of the past several weeks, enabling The Jewish Board to be the good neighbor that we have been for decades."

In early May residents of the residential facility allegedly assaulted an elderly woman on the platform of the Valhalla Train Station taking money and her cell phone. That comes on top of a report last month that four residents of Hawthorne Cedar Knolls pushed a local restaurant owner after refusing to pay their bill, according to New York State Senator Terrence Murphy.

In addition to the closure of intake at the residential facility, citing a "historical pattern of youth leaving the campus without authorization," OCFS is also requiring the following actions:

• A full assessment of the residents on the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls campus to determine which of those youths pose serious risk to other residents and the community;
• Update the Individualized Crisis Management Plans of those residents to include appropriate interventions to protect the safety of the youth, other residents and the community;
• Develop a strategic action plan to address the pattern of youth leaving the campus without authorization and demonstrate sustainable reduction in the volume;
• Assess the perimeter of the campus and address areas where youth are leaving the campus;
• Seek consultation and technical assistance to strengthen the program for girls who are at high risk for leaving without authorization and develop a program model for OCFS review.

Furthermore, all "Critical Incidents" impacting the health, safety and well-being of youth at the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls campus and the Mount Pleasant community must be reported to OCFS within 24 hours.

"Once again Commissioner [Sheila] Poole and her office are putting forward common sense policies to address the concerns we continue to hear from the Mt. Pleasant community," Murphy said. "We have been working diligently on this issue together for nearly a year, making strong progress, but the recent episodes have forced OCFS to implement an escalated corrective action plan that focuses on the lax security and allowing residents to walk off the campus at will."

Murphy hosted a meeting Wednesday in Albany where all of the regulatory agencies who oversee the JBFCS Hawthorne Cedar Knolls campus discussed the need for greater coordination and communication.

Consequently, a task force led by OCFS is expected to be formed to examine the existing regulations and protocols that are in place at each agency and to devise a blueprint to address the systematic concerns that have been voiced by Murphy, Mount Pleasant Town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi and the Mount Pleasant community.

"Today was a crucial and positive step for a permanent solution regarding the issues our community is facing," Fulgenzi said. "I want to thank Commissioner Poole for her diligent support and continued work. There is clearly more that must be done but our focus remains on the safety of the students, residents and members of our community."

SEE: Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls School Stops Taking New Students

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