Child's Death Spurs Phila. City Council Hearing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia City Council will hold hearings on conditions at the Wordsworth Academy after a 17-year-old died there in a scuffle with staff.
The residential youth treatment center has been closed, but the hearing's sponsor is worried about other programs that care for troubled teens.
The state ordered the facility closed after an investigation into the teenager's death on October 13th during a scuffle in which other residents reportedly heard him say, "get off me, I can't breathe."
"I can't breathe is not what you want to hear from a youth in the city of Philadelphia," says Councilman Curtis Jones.
READ: Wordsworth Academy Parents React To Death Of Teen At Facility
He says there were 80 other youths at Wordsworth when it was closed, and he wants to be sure they've been placed in centers where they're safe and well cared for:
"There's a high standard to that and that standard was not met with that young man."
Jones wants council to explore not just Wordsworth, but all of the private contractors entrusted with children's welfare.
"And then to listen for what will prevent that from happening ever again," he says.
The hearing has not yet been scheduled.
