Florida Institute for Girls - Sexual Abuse of Inmates Exposed

The Florida Institute for Girls has been besieged by reports of sexual misconduct and child abuse, having had numerous complaints of both in its three years of operation, so much so that the director has just been replaced. It also has struggled with high staff turnover, low worker morale and allegations of poor supervision. It is a privately run facility.

The Florida Institute for Girls is described in official literature as:

The program has a designated 50 of its 100 beds for Intensive Mental Health needs for high- risk female offenders with intensive mental health issues. On-site psychiatric and nursing services are provided. The average length of stay is eighteen to thirty-six months for the most serious female offender; minimum length of stay is eighteen months with approval of central placement authority required before recommending long term maximum risk to the court or prior to transfer.

The curriculum is designed to meet the problems specific to girls in the juvenile justice system, including the fact that many have been victims themselves of sexual abuse.

The facility is run by Ramsay Youth Services, a Coral Gables-based company, which was recently was purchased by Tennessee-based Psychiatric Solutions Inc. for $77 million. The company is being paid $30 million over six years to run the girls' prison for the state.

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