LAKE TOXAWAY, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina health officials said Friday that they are removing all children from the care of a nature-based therapy program nearly two weeks after the death of a 12-year-old New York boy .
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that while it cannot comment on specific details of its investigation of Trails Carolina, this action “needed to be taken to ensure the health and safety of the children.” Health officials declined to say how many children were involved, citing confidentiality rules, but Trails Carolina said later Friday that 18 children were forced to leave.
In a letter notifying Trails Carolina of the suspension of admissions until April 14, Chief Deputy Secretary for Health Mark T. Benton wrote that the secretary determined that the “character and degree of conditions at Trails Carolina are detrimental to the health or safety of the children in your care.”
The move came days after health officials told the program to stop admissions and take other steps to ensure children’s safety while the boy’s death is being investigated.