CHRIS McGONIGAL
PRISONERS OF PROFIT
or being fired after violent incidents. Three years into the contract, in 2006, a state review found that 96 percent of the staff had left during the previous year. Eight cases of child abuse by staff were ultimately substantiated that year, according to contract documents. According to HuffPost’s review of police reports, internal Department of Juvenile Justice investigations and youth grievance forms obtained through public records requests, Florida facilities run by Youth Ser-
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vices International continue to be plagued by violence, high turnover and unprofessional staff. Youth counselors for YSI — those who work directly with juvenile inmates — earn about $10.50 an hour, or just under $22,000 per year, according to contract proposals from 2010. Because of frequent turnover and absences among staff, double shifts are common, adding additional stress to the job, former employees said. One night in July 2012, a juvenile inmate at Thompson Academy was lining up with other boys
Bowers walks by a playground outside her home on May 29, 2013, in Orlando, Fla.