The Greenville-based treatment center has closed after the death of an 11-year-old boy the day before Thanksgiving.
The state has shut down a residential treatment center in northeast Texas, three months after one of its charges — an 11-year-old boy — died in an incident that foster care officials and local law enforcement are investigating.
The boy died in a Greenville movie theater during an outing the day before Thanksgiving, according to three people who are familiar with the investigations. Other boys who lived at the center told Joe Sterner, the Lone Oak school district’s police chief, that the boy had complained about a stomach ache and had sustained a head wound in recent days.
“I guess when they were about to head out to go to the movies, he was in the bathroom, crying real bad that he was hurting real bad and they still told him to get on the van,” Sterner said.
It is not known if the child died from an underlying illness related to stomach pain or from a wound that he had on his head before he entered the Greenville movie theater.
The boy and his fellow housemates watched the movie and by the time it ended, the child was dead, one of the people familiar with the case said.
“The lights came up and the child had blood coming down his nose and he was deceased,” said one source, who spoke on condition that their name not be used because they do not want to hurt their professional relationship with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which oversees the state’s foster care system operations.
It is not clear if Thompson’s staff members who accompanied the children to the movie theater, sought medical treatment for the child. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which oversees licensing of foster care facilities, said Thursday that Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center license has been revoked.
“HHSC determined Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center posed an immediate threat to the health or safety of children,” Jennifer Ruffcorn, commission spokesperson said in an email.
DFPS moved quickly to terminate its contract with Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center, but the action was also made quietly following dozens of previous deficiencies alleged in state records and by nearby residents. The residential treatment facility, or RTC, where the boy was staying is one of dozens contracted with the state to house and treat the most traumatized and mentally ill foster care children.
News of the child’s death surfaced publicly for the first time Monday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing focused on the state budget. DFPS and the Hunt County Sheriff’s Department are each investigating the boys’ death. Both agencies declined to publicly speak about their separate inquiries.A DFPS spokesperson confirmed that the boy, whose name has not been released, died on Nov. 27. The death occurred six weeks after the state won a legal battle in federal court that removed the judge presiding over a 14-year lawsuit against Texas’ child welfare system.The Tribune made several unsuccessful attempts to reach the facility. Public records suggest it is owned by Chaun Thompson, who spent seven years in the NFL playing first for the Cleveland Browns, then the Houston Texans until he was sidelined by an injury in 2009. He also could not be reached.
The Tribune was able to reach Julie Fox, who according to LinkedIn, was Thompson’s treatment director from November 2009 through December 2024, but she declined to comment.The Tribune learned of the child’s death from a passing comment made by state Sen. Angela Paxton more than two hours into Monday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing. Senators and Texas Health Commissioner Cecile Young and her chief financial officer, Trey Wood, were discussing a budget proposal that would add regulatory staff for inspections of long term care providers.
Source: Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune
Photo: Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center in Greenville, pictured here on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, has closed after the death of an 11-year-old foster care boy who was living there. Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune
