Bill Myers, The Examiner
2008-01-09 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

A District of Columbia teenager was consigned to months in a Massachusetts shock-therapy clinic after officials there went to a Bay State court and had him declared unfit to conduct his own affairs, The Examiner has learned.

The unusual legal action put Donnell Childs, a D.C. public school student, into the custody of the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Mass., court documents show. D.C. officials learned about the action Tuesday during a surprise inspection of the Rotenberg Center, which has been home to dozens of District children for more than a decade.

Rotenberg is one of the only schools in the country authorized to use electric shock and other “aversive” therapy on mentally ill and disabled patients and children. It charges the District more than $227,000 per child per year for its services.

The change in guardianship meant that Childs, who was about to turn 18 when the court order took effect, couldn’t sign himself out of the clinic. It also meant that Rotenberg officials were able to continue to bill D.C. for his treatment. Rotenberg spokesman Ernest Corrigan didn’t respond to requests for comment. Nor did Rotenberg lawyer Michael P. Flammia, who argued for Childs’ guardianship.

Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles declined to discuss the Childs case Tuesday.

Critics of D.C.’s special education system say that thousands of kids like Childs are lost in the system.

According to school and court records, Childs was placed in Rotenberg after District school officials ignored federal deadlines to come up with an education plan for him. School officials were supposed to put the plan in place by January 2006. They didn’t meet with him until the following August, school records show.

“No documentation was provided in regard to what occurred after 8/3/06,” an internal memo written by Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee said.

Got a tip on special education? Call Bill Myers at 202-459-4956 or e-mail, bmyers@dcexaminer.com.