Juvenile court reconsiders placement at youth treatment center after recent reports of fighting
Alex Bracken, Toledo Blade, Nov. 21, 2025.
Lucas County’s juvenile court is reconsidering its relationship with an Ashland County youth treatment center after being made aware of recent reporting that detailed fights inside the facility.
The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization focusing on criminal justice, detailed five clashes between children at Mohican Young Star Academy since November, 2024. The most severe of those incidents occurred in April, when a fight in a classroom began rippling across the campus, involved more than a dozen students, and injured students and teachers.
Ohio’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, reviewing footage of the incident, found 18 areas of noncompliance at the facility. Mohican Young Star Academy did not respond to a request for comment.
County commissioners unanimously approved the contract with Mohican at their meeting Tuesday, allowing up to $150,000 of an Ohio Department of Youth Services grant to be used for placements at the facility.
The juvenile court’s administrator, Said Orra, said via email on Thursday that the court had placed a youth at the facility two weeks prior, but that “we have just become aware today of recent issues with Mohican in recent news articles and are considering alternative placement options for that youth.”
While the facility is currently licensed to operate, the Ohio attorney general in 2021 sought to remove its owners after “investigators determined that there was present danger to the health and safety of the youth residing at Mohican.” It has since changed ownership, but recent incidents have revived concerns over management’s handling of fights.
Before approving the resolution, Commissioner Anita Lopez asked in what situations juvenile court judges utilize the facilities, and Commissioner Pete Gerken asked if there were any similar facilities in the county.
“I always worry about the separation. Troubled youth can’t be separated from their families entirely; there’s a travel barrier if you take them across the state or to the south,” Commissioner Pete Gerken said.
Emily Simpson, the juvenile court’s general counsel, presented the contract at the meeting and said that Mohican Young Star Academy offers intensive treatment options that are sometimes determined to be necessary.
“I just know that [Mohican] services specific needs, so you have to balance keeping [children] away from their families with getting the support that they need. I know that the treatment programs are generally between six and 12 months,” Ms. Simpson said.
According to its website, Mohican Young Star Academy provides 6-12 month residential programs for mental health treatment, juvenile sex offenders, and drug and alcohol treatment.
County administration deferred to Mr. Orra for more information about the contract immediately following the meeting and made a similar statement deferring to the court on Thursday.
The court places youth at Mohican Young Star Academy “if there are no local facilities available to meet the placement needs of the youth,” Mr. Orra said via email.
Mr. Orra said the court was notified of the attorney general’s legal action in 2021 but said it has not had issues with the facility. The juvenile court previously contracted with the facility from 2016 to 2019, and its most recent one-year contract was approved Tuesday but effective since July.
The juvenile court manages the county’s 32-bed youth treatment center, the pretrial juvenile detention center, and a nonresidential community treatment center, according to its website.
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