Juvenile correctional workers report health concerns.

[Guest guest]

Published Saturday, April 15, 2006

Health Panel to Review Facility

Juvenile correctional workers report health concerns.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060415/NEWS/604150349/1134

By Crouse

The Ledger

LAKELAND -- After five weeks of no school, two reports confirming

mold and pressure from the Polk School District, the Polk Juvenile

Correctional Facility is getting a review from the county Health

Department.

Friday, Health Department officials interviewed Sabal Palm employees

about health issues associated with the facility's environmental

conditions. The department will visit PJCF on Monday for interviews

with the staff and inmates.

Dennis Higgins, the Polk director of Alternative Education, has been

pleading with the Department of Juvenile Justice to conduct an

outside medical study since the school closed March 3.

DJJ has asked the Health Department to look at how the mold may have

affected the health of teachers, staff and students, said

Lorenzo, spokeswoman for DJJ.

Wesley Nall, an environmental supervisor with the Health Department,

said he's looking for patterns in health problems that are

consistent with mold allergies and reactions.

" We want to get an objective understanding of what's going on with

the people in the building, " he said.

Higgins also has been asking DJJ to tell the parents what's going on

with their children.

Lorenzo said several parents already have been told about the mold

problems informally when they visited the facility.

All parents should receive formal notification soon, she said. A

letter will be sent out to reassure parents that the DJJ chief

medical director is working with the Health Department to ensure the

safety of the young people at the facility.

Parents can expect to receive the letters late next week, Lorenzo

said.

About 200 young men, ages 14 through 21, are housed at the juvenile

detention center. Most are repeat felony offenders from throughout

the state.

Since classes at the facility's inhouse school, known as Sabal Palm,

closed in early March, 28 new inmates have been admitted to the

facility.

The site is overseen by the DJJ, which contracts out the day-today

operations to Group 4 Securicor Youth Services.

The Polk County School Board provides the correctional facility with

nearly 40 teachers, staff and administrators for Sabal Palm.

The Sabal Palm teachers complained of severe allergic reactions to

the air, and 19 of them filed workers' compensation claims in

February, citing respiratory problems.

On March 3, the district pulled out its teachers because of an

unsafe working environment, effectively closing the school.

Since then, two independent air quality experts filed reports

confirming significant mold growth in the school and parts of two

other buildings that make up the bulk of the DJJ facility.

DJJ has committed to a $5 million renovation and thorough cleanup of

the facility, provided the Florida Legislature comes up with the

money.

In the meantime, DJJ is installing six portable classrooms to

temporarily house the school. Two are already on site but without

utility hookups. The other four should be delivered next week,

Lorenzo said.

Higgins, the alternative education director, estimates it will take

a few more weeks for the others to be delivered and fully

operational.

A skeleton crew of eight teachers has returned to the facility for

individual tutoring sessions and remedial classwork outside of the

buildings.

But for Alnieta McKinzie, an ESE teacher, just being close to the

moldy buildings was enough to set off her symptoms.

Now, she speaks in a scratchy voice punctuated by hacking coughs.

She said her eyes are dry and itchy, fluid fills her ears, and her

nose often runs.

McKinzie worked at Sabal Palm for about three years. She said she's

only developed severe symptoms this past year, most likely because

of the frequent roof leaks and flooding accelerated the mold growth.

McKinzie said she felt so ill Thursday she had to leave a tutoring

session early.

" I'm not sure if it's being close to the buildings or using

materials that have been in there, " she said. " But just being away

from there a while, I've gotten better. "

Ultimately, Higgins said he would like to see a change in the way

DJJ oversees its facilities.

This time the issue was environmental, next time it could be

housekeeping or security, he said, citing the escape of an inmate

earlier this month.

" This shouldn't have to come to a crisis situation, " he said. " There

should be continuous oversight. "

Crouse can be reached at julia.crouse@... or 863-802-

7536.