The Vermont Department for Children and Families sent multiple youths to two Florida residential treatment centers where violent incidents have occurred in the past two years, one just this past summer, according to the department.
Vermont youths were living at the facilities in different regions of Florida — the SandyPines Residential Treatment Center and Brooksville Youth Academy — during the two incidents, both of which caused injuries to residents and staff and led to multiple criminal charges, according to local law enforcement.
Vermont state agencies continued to place youths at both locations afterward, said Joshua Marshall, a spokesperson for the Department for Children and Families. After each incident, DCF interviewed administrators at the facility and the youths who were placed there, Marshall said, and determined both programs were safe…