Aram Roston reports for BuzzFeed News :
“[National Mentor Holdings] has had troubling deficiencies in selecting, training, and monitoring its foster parents and foster homes. At least six healthy children have died in Mentor custody since 2005, including the grisly murder of a 2-year-old in Texas last year whose foster mother swung her body into the ground like an ax, and in nearly all these cases there have been allegations that negligence by Mentor contributed to the deaths. Other children have been sexually or physically abused, sometimes after clear warning signs.”
The report also states “in Texas, Mentor ranks dead last among large foster care providers, based on the number of severe violations found by state inspectors.”
The Texas Standard speaks with Roston, and Sarah Magazine, a national Spokesperson for Mentor.
“There is no question that we are striving for a rate of zero deficiencies,” Magazine says. “The state review of deficiencies – the term they use – is not new to us. We have always been aware of it. We took a very close look at it immediately after the tragedy involving Alexandria Hill. And while there is clearly work we have to do, as I said before, we are striving for zero.”
Listen to the full interviews in the player above.