Former Reflections Academy owner cleared of alleged neglect

A Montana district court has sided with a Thompson Falls woman in a case that alleged neglect.

A district court judge recently ruled that Michele Manning of Thompson Falls was not neglectful in the death of a teenager under her care.

According to court records, on August 20, 2021, the Department of Public Health and Human Services issued a neglect substantiation against Michele Manning relating to the June 25, 2021 death by suicide of a 17-year-old girl at Reflections Academy, a private alternative adolescent residential program which Manning opened in 2017 and served as director of. DPHHS alleged in the substantiation that Manning’s acts or omissions in operating Reflections caused harm or substantial risk of harm to the 17-year-old girl. Manning contested the action in a filing on September 17, 2021.

DPHHS issued Reflections a provisional license to continue operation but prohibited Manning from interacting with students or parents. Manning closed the business on October 30, 2021, she said, as a result of what she was going through.

Manning stated that Reflections averaged about 23 students. At the time of the death in 2021, there were 20 girls at the facility. They had two therapists and a total staff of about 15 people, she noted. Manning said the DPHHS court action has affected her greatly. “I lost my living. The things that I feel I do best, at this point in time I can’t do,” she stated. Her attorney, Matt Thiel, said that the case “completely ruined her reputation. She lost all her employees. Even though all the parents had nothing but good things to say about her in the investigation. She lost the property, lost all the capital improvements, lost the contacts. They (DPHHS) effectively put her out of business without ever getting to court first, and through all the appeals and extensions they asked for.”

The DPHHS Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) conducted hearings on the matter in December 2022 and January 2023. Administrative Law Judge Tricia Welnel issued a proposed decision in April 2023, ordering that the DPHHS substantiation be reversed. Thiel said both he and Manning were elated when the decision was issued in 2023. “That was really the day we had waited for nearly two years to clear Mickey’s name. I was elated and shocked because we had such an uphill fight. With substantiation you essentially start out guilty and have to battle out,” he expressed.

In response, DPHHS’ Child and Family Services Division petitioned for a review of the proposed decision. The final order in the matter was issued in December 2023 by DPHHS Deputy Director David Gerard. Manning petitioned the final order, stating that “the Final Order added additional language regarding the investigation, which contradicts several findings and conclusions in the Proposed Decision.”

The 1st Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County sided with Manning and ordered in September of this year that the original Proposed Decision be reinstated in its entirety. “Deputy Director Gerard’s ‘Final Order’ all but silenced Judge Welnel’s detailed Proposed Decision from public view and scrutiny resulting in an unwarranted exercise of discretion,” the court wrote in its decision. “DPHHS ‘possessed’ Manning’s public vindication. Judge Welnel’s Proposed Decision, in essence, restore Manning’s unjustly tarnished reputation arising from a tragic seventeen-year-old’s suicide. DPHHS literally held Manning’s professional and personal character in its hands for years, Judge Welnel vindicated Manning’s character, and Deputy Director Gerrard’s ‘Final Order’ swept that vindication under the carpet.” The court went on to say that Welnel’s Proposed Decision “vindicated Manning following what can best be described as being put through a ‘living hell’ by DPHHS.

The court awarded Manning attorney fees and costs in the amount of $44,192.96.

“I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Manning stated. “There was a student who died and obviously mistakes were made. In the end that was her choice. But there is still the issue of the department and what they do. They have absolute power. They ignored the rules and made up their mind that I was guilty.”

Manning said the legal action was frustrating and that no one would listen, but she never felt like giving up. She commended Thiel and how he fought for her. “If the reason I’m going through all of this is to help others and help the department to become more objective, then that’s what I’m doing,” she said.

Thiel said DPHHS has reserved the right to appeal in the case. The state has 60 days to appeal the court’s decision.