UPDATE: June 24, 2020
There have been several positive developments in the campaign to seek justice for Cornelius Fredricks, a 16-year-old black boy who died after being restrained for throwing a sandwich at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is run by the national for-profit company Sequel Youth and Family Services. After several weeks of online petitioning, public relations outreach, a social media day of action and demonstrations by activists in Kalamazoo to raise awareness of Cornelius’s story, national attention has finally turned to the tragedy of his death and actions have finally been brought down against Sequel Youth and Family Services.
- At 7 PM on Thursday 6/18, we learned that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services pulled its license for the Lakeside facility where Cornelius died. The state also announced plans to ban the use of restraints in all its public and private facilities. This is a solid first step, but advocates are calling for more accountability, an end to the use of private facilities, and more oversight through the creation of an ombudsman office.
- 6/19 details of the video of Cornelius' death were released citing he had been sat on for more than 9 minutes during the restraint.
- After a push from local advocates calling for a moratorium on out of home placements in the wake of Cornelius' death, Hennepin County MN stated they would end ties with Sequel.
- Later on 6/20, Governor Whitmer issued a statement: “Today I directed MDHHS Director Robert Gordon to take every step necessary to ensure Sequel Youth and Family Services — the company that provided staffing for Lakeside for Children where the 16-year-old died — no longer provides services for facilities licensed by the department.”
- On 6/22, a civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Estate of Cornelius Fredericks, against Lakeside Academy and Sequel Youth and Family Services. “The conduct of the Lakeside Academy staff was not only improper, but clearly excessive in nature.” They further allege negligence by failing to provide a safe living environment and to properly supervise employees. In the lawsuit, they state that the video showed that "Despite the presence of supervisors and nursing staff, and despite the fact that Cornelius was limp and unresponsive, the employees waited twelve minutes before calling 911."
NJJN continues to call for Sequel Youth and Family Services to be shut down in all states where it operates. Sequel has a documented history of perpetuating physical and sexual abuse against kids, with documentation of restraint leading to near death experiences dating back to 2012. Still, they continue to put profits over kids. They must be shut down.
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ORIGINAL STORY: May 29, 2020
NJJN member Michigan Center for Youth Justice (MCYJ) is leading a campaign to shut down Sequel Youth and Family Services from operating in Michigan as well as around the country.
On May 1, 16-year-old Cornelius Fredericks died after being restrained for throwing a sandwich at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is run by the national for-profit company Sequel Youth and Family Services. Such egregious use of force and tragic loss of life is appalling and is part of a pattern and practice of abuse that spans facilities and warrants immediate shut down.
“This situation is completely heartbreaking and no parent should have to receive the call that their child died while in a youth facility,” said Jason Smith, director of youth justice at the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, an NJJN member organization. “In the wake of Cornelius’s death, we have heard of similar incidents at other Sequel facilities – most notably, at Clarinda Academy in Iowa and Red Rock Canyon School in Utah.”
Cornelius's death at a Sequel facility highlights the harms faced by youth at for-profit facilities. Years of experience with for-profit juvenile and adult facilities shows privatization often leads to a variety of harmful outcomes such as: dangerous conditions, incentives to incarcerate kids longer, and prioritizing profits over public safety.
“The incident that took place at Lakeside Academy is only indicative of the pattern we see in privately-run, for-profit facilities: dangerous conditions, incentives to incarcerate kids longer, and prioritizing profits over public safety. We can’t stand by and let these private companies make money off the endangerment of our youth,” said Alyson Clements, NJJN Director of Membership and Advocacy.
NJJN is partnering with MCYJ in calling on Sequel Youth and Family Services to be shut down, and for governors to cancel their contracts with the company. We need all hands on deck to get #JusticeForCornelius and to #ShutSequelDown.
We are asking all NJJN members, allies and national partners to join us in this campaign by:
- Signing the petition to get Justice for Cornelius and Shut Sequel Down
- Using the Justice For Cornelius Social Media Toolkit to share posts and bring attention to the campaign
- Visit the Justice for Cornelius campaign online for updates.