Lakeland Girls Academy, a residential facility for troubled teens, has closed nearly two years after the death thereof 17-year-old Naomi Wood of Vermont.
“The school closed March 4, 2022, and that is the only information that I have to provide,” wrote Marilyn McGraw, director of Human Resources for Adult and Teen Challenge Southeast in a statement.
A 2021 DCF report found administrators declined Woods’ requests to see a doctor about chronic stomach pains. Wood’s parents told News Channel 8 they plan to file a wrongful death negligence lawsuit against the parent organization Teen Challenge.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death, but no criminal charges were filed.
Meanwhile, dozens of former students came forward to talk about their experiences at the school.
Teen Challenge had no comment about closing the Lakeland site. However, the organization says it is looking for a new location somewhere else in Florida, so they can open a new school.
At the time, her parents, who lived out of state, refused an interview after their daughter’s death was made public, but they wrote on the website of their business, “We are so grateful for the staff and the love they gave Naomi in her short time there, and we were excited for the direction she was finding for herself.”
Now that the school is closing, Naomi’s parents are telling a different story.
“It is great that it is closing. It should be closed,” Naomi’s dad, Al Wood said. “The directors there terribly mismanaged the whole scenario with our daughter.”
The Wood family says it plans on filing a civil suit against Teen Challenge in Polk County by the end of the week.