(CAÑON CITY, Colo.) — A local family is seeking legal advice after their son, who has autism, was allegedly discharged from a residential treatment facility in Cañon City, following their interview with a Denver news station.
The discharge occurred shortly after Disability Law Colorado released a report documenting dangerous conditions at the Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center. The facility, which is licensed as a psychiatric facility with a therapeutic designation from the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health, has been under scrutiny for its practices.
Brandy Fogle, the mother of the discharged child, Channing, expressed concerns about the abrupt nature of her son’s discharge, stating, “I went to go pick him up and I was informed that he would be leaving with me. They had already packed all his things and that he was being discharged effective immediately.”
Fogle says advocates have told her state law usually requires youth treatment centers to create a transition plan before releasing a child, to make sure their care continues smoothly. But Fogle tells FOX21 that didn’t happen, “From what I understand, what I’ve been told, it’s a 30-day process.”
Disability Law Colorado monitored visits and interviewed nearly 50 children over the last three years before releasing their report. The report highlighted that Southern Peaks documented roughly 75 restraints per month as of May, down from 150 the previous year, but still significantly higher than other centers across Colorado.
Emily Harvey, Co-Legal Director at Disability Law Colorado, commented on the situation, saying, “I think some of that plays into the issue with staffing, because when you have staff who are working overtime in a difficult environment, they’re going to have less capacity to react in a way that maybe isn’t jumping to something like a restraint.”
Other families have reached out to Disability Law Colorado and FOX21, describing similar concerns. Katie Gallegos, another parent, emphasized the need for compassionate care, stating, “Just to treat the kiddos with compassion and give them the level of care that they need.”
Jayla Hunt, a former patient at the center, shared her experience, saying, “There was excessive restraints for minuscule stuff. Having all of those people on top of you is very scary. It’s harder to calm down when multiple people are talking to you at the same like like calm down, calm down, calm down.”
Families affected by the practices at Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center are advocating for improvements rather than closure, hoping the facility can better serve the children in Southern Colorado who need its services. FOX21 has reached out to the center for comment but has yet to receive a response.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by FOX21. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by FOX21 staff before being published.
