The Secrets of Whispering Hills: Childcare Facility Has History of Problems

An investigation by the Record into allegations of abuse and neglect at Whispering Hills Achievement Center near Flatonia revealed serious problems going back years.

The privately-owned residential facility contracts with the State of Texas to house special needs children who are in the care of the State. Back on April 9 we reported that a sevenyear-old special needs resident ran away from the facility. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office found him that evening barefoot in a field about a mile away and in need of medical attention.

That child was the fifth runaway from Whispering Hills in the previous 12 months. Since then, the Record obtained reports from state inspections of the facility over the past five years. Those reports document a history of abuse by caregivers, inadequate supervision and a poor facility maintenance.

The Record attempted to contact Whispering Hills several times for a comment on these findings. A receptionist forwarded our calls to Whispering Hills Administrator Darryl Ashford.

Ashford has not returned our calls or email.

The Texas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) periodically inspects such facilities. Violations at Whispering Hills documented by DHHS ranged from rotten tomatoes in the refrigerator and doors coming off their hinges to one case in which a caregiver slammed a child into the floor so hard that it broke the child’s collarbone.

The following list of violations at Whispering Hills came from the Texas Department of Family Protective Services (dates are when the incidents occurred):

Nov. 25, 2019 – “It was identified during the course of this investigation that a child in care crossed a barrier surrounding the operation, entered a road with oncoming traffic, and made statements which suggested the child wished for traffic to hit them. Administrator and Treatment Director conducted an allstaff training to educate staff on the requirements for reporting serious incidents.”

June 2, 2019 – “During this investigation it was discovered that a child refused to go to bed, wandered about the home, and was placed in a restraint which ultimately resulted in a bench falling and causing a physical injury to the child’s head. Documentation was received via email from the operation’s administrator showing that compliance was met by re-training staff on the Satori assisting process used to de-escalate a child and proper implementation of a containment.”

June 8, 2017 – “The staff were out of ratio when a fight happened between two (residents). One of the residents was hurt during the fight. The ratio at the time of the fight was 1:10 instead of 1:5.”

Feb. 4, 2016 – “Direct care staff failed to provide adequate supervision which resulted in a child in care attempting suicide.” And another violation from that same incident: “The operation failed to notify (state officials) of a suicide attempt by a child.”

Jan. 30, 2016 – “A child’s service plan noted five prescribed medications with no evaluation of their effectiveness, in addition, it was noted the child has lost 15 lbs., and no explanation as to related to side effects of his medications.”

Of the five runaway attempts in the past year, only one of those five incidents appears in Whispering Hills’ compliance history with the Department of Family Protective Services for the past 12 months although other self-reported incidents from that time period do appear.

Perhaps the most serious incident happened on April 3, 2017. According to the State’s report, a staff member was observed on video footage lifting a 14-year-old boy with special needs and forcefully slamming him into the floor, resulting in a fractured clavicle. That staff member was eventually indicted by a Fayette County Grand Jury on felony charges of injury to a child. Records at the Fayette County District Clerk’s Office showed that the staff member received a five-year probation sentence and a $1,000 fine.

The State of Texas pays facilities like Whispering Hills between $45 and $400 per day to care for each child, depending on the severity of the child’s disabilities. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services authorizes Whispering Hills to house up to 20 youth ages 5 to 17. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office reported that 19 youth were living at the facility at the time of the runaway incident earlier this month. The children live in three trailer houses on the property.

In addition, Flatonia ISD provides educational services at Whispering Hills. According to the most recent financial data available from the Texas Education Agency, Flatonia ISD spent over $248,000 in the 2017-18 school year to educate the children at Whispering Hill. Flatonia Superintendent Dr. Andy Reddock told the Record that FISD provides teachers and an instructional building on the property.

Reddock said FISD was aware of the runaway incident last month. He said FISD is not involved with the care of the students outside of the school day.

“Whispering Hills is basically the parents to these students,” Reddock said.

Lt. David Beyer of the Sheriff’s Office told the Record that more than 25 deputies and other personnel assisted with the search of the runaway youth on April 9. He said that one call likely cost the County thousands of dollars in pay for the off-duty officers who were called to assist.

Beyer said the facility does not have fences capable of keeping the children inside if they run away. He said an adequate fence around the place might prevent some incidents.

“We got lucky we found him when we did,” Beyer told the Record at the time. “My concern is for the kids.”