‘Is this going to be the last time I see him?’ Mother concerned over son’s treatment at Polk Halfway House

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A state contractor that operates youth treatment centers across the state of Florida terminated four of its contracts after one of its Hillsborough County facilities was closed.

Authorities said a teenage girl took her own life at the site. The site has since been shut down, and the state terminated its contract with the company who ran it.

8 On Your Side has since learned that same company still operates 11 more state facilities across Florida. Now, another local mom is coming forward, concerned because her own child is in their care.

“He writes letters to his younger brother whose eleven ‘don’t make the same mistakes I did,’” said Lydia Perkins, mother of 13-year-old Caydenn Huff.

Perkins said her son struggled for years, running away from home, getting into trouble. So last year, Perkins agreed to commit Caydenn to Polk Halfway House in Bartow.

The site is state-owned and serves 24 males, ages 10-16, in a moderate risk residential commitment program, according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The program focuses on assessing and identifying youth with mental health and substance abuse issues.

“We were led to believe that he was going to get the support that he needed in a stable environment with mental healthcare therapy, and he would be safe, but in the end, it’s caused more harm than helping him,” Perkins said.

Perkins claimed Caydenn has suffered medical neglect, intimidation by staff, and physical abuse at Polk Halfway House.

“They would just let anybody restrain him, and every time we went there, there was a new bruise,” she said.

Perkins said Caydenn also went without his medication for months.

“Finally, when we were able to get him on his medication, they were actually giving him his sleeping meds at 3:30 because the nurse left at 4 o’clock,” Perkins said.

Polk Halfway House is run by a state contractor, TrueCore Behavioral Solutions . If that sounds familiar, it’s because TrueCore is the same provider that ran Lake Academy in Hillsborough County where 17-year-old Zy’kiria Bell took her own life in May. The DJJ has since terminated TrueCore’s $31.5 million contract to operate Lake Academy, but TrueCore continues to operate 11 others, including Caydenn’s.

“There was a time when I said, ‘is this going to be the last time I see him?’” Perkins would ask herself. “When is the DJJ going to stop having them hold contracts?”

The state pays TrueCore $12.5 million to run Polk Halfway House, but come Sept. 1, a new company, AMI kids, will take over.

A DJJ spokesperson sent 8 On Your Side this statement:

TrueCore Behavioral Solutions notified the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice of its decision to terminate the contracts for four residential commitment programs: Hillsborough Girls Academy, Polk Halfway House, Fort Myers Academy, Orange Youth Academy/Orlando Intensive Youth Academy effective August 31, 2024. The department is working to reassign these contracts to mitigate any disruption of services to youth.

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

As for TrueCore, the company’s PR firm would only give us this statement: “The termination of TrueCore’s operation at the facilities referenced had been planned for months. TrueCore’s decision to terminate preceded the tragic passing of Ms. Bell. TrueCore continues to operate several facilities as planned, separate and apart from that tragedy. TrueCore is advised by its counsel that privacy related statutes preclude broader discussion of Ms. Bell, but it should be noted that TrueCore has never had a contract terminated for cause.”

As for Caydenn, he is now at another TrueCore-run site, Tampa Residential, but Lydia Perkins isn’t convinced her son’s care will be any better.

“They [the DJJ] need to start holding TrueCore accountable,” she said.

By Sept. 1, TrueCore will still operate seven state-owned sites for the DJJ. All seven of them care for vulnerable children in need of counseling and treatment.

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