Ysi

Less than a month after Youth Services International Inc.'s stock plummeted on the announcement that earnings would fall far below expectations, the company said yesterday that it has hired a consultant to evaluate ways to enhance shareholder value.YSI, an Owings Mills-based operator of facilities for juvenile offenders, said SunTrust Equitable Securities would study a number of possible actions, including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances.YSI's stock rose 50 cents a share to $8 yesterday, but that is still down considerably from the 52-week high of $20.375 reached April 3."

A lawyer representing the private contractor that operated the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School denied yesterday claims by the state that the company allowed conditions at the school to dangerously deteriorate and didn't adequately document all of its spending. As Correctional Services Corp./Youth Services International addressed the allegations for the first time, several key lawmakers said the state must permanently take over Hickey - or shut it down - rather than hire another private contractor to run the troubled juvenile detention center in Cub Hill.

Youth Services International Inc. posted a net loss of 17 cents a share for the second quarter yesterday, sending its stock price plummeting 19.6 percent to a 52-week low.The decline of $1.3125 a share to $5.375 comes as YSI is in discussions with several parties regarding its possible acquisition, or a joint venture, merger or strategic alliance, the Owings Mills-based company said yesterday. The company, which operates juvenile-offender facilities in 12 states, said the talks have moved past the preliminary phases, but officials declined to release details.

A state audit of Victor Cullen Academy has found chronic short-staffing, inadequate mental health services, sloppy financial procedures and a lack of training at the Frederick County facility for juvenile delinquents. The 170-page audit, released last night to The Sun after a public-information request, details numerous problems at the facility during the last three years. The investigation came in the wake of several escapes from Cullen during the past year, as well as the rape of a staff member at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School in Baltimore County.

Youth Services International Inc., the Owings Mills operator of facilities for juvenile offenders, rebounded from the sale of its former core business last year to report first-quarter income of $1.1 million, or 11 cents per share.The profit for the quarter ended March 31 is a 159.4 percent increase over the $424,000 made last year in YSI's continuing business, which includes its juvenile justice programs.Taking its former core business into account, YSI lost $21.4 million in the quarter.

Youth Services International Inc. yesterday named as its chief executive officer a top official of a company that operates prisons. He replaces the founder of the Owings Mills-based firm.The appointment of Timothy P. Cole to supplant founder W. James Hindman comes after a recent plunge in YSI's common stock, from a high of $39.50 per share in April to a closing price yesterday of $17.50 per share.Five-year-old Youth Services operates 18 residential and community-based centers for 4,000 troubled youths in 11 states.

Youth Services International said yesterday that it will sell its behavioral health business for $21.7 million in cash to Youth and Family Centered Services Inc. of Austin, Texas.YSI, which projects to have $80 million in revenue from its remaining business this year, expects to record a pre-tax gain of about $6 million on the sale.In March, Owings Mills-based YSI announced its intention to sell its nine behavioral health companies, which it valued at $9.7 million, and took a $27 million restructuring charge.

Hopes for a miraculous rehabilitation at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School have flourished again as a new private operator takes control of the Baltimore County juvenile reformatory.Each change at the Cub Hill institution over the past three years has inspired optimism that ultimately foundered on the hard realities of a recalcitrant population, obsolete facilities, an overwhelmed staff and frightened neighbors.This time, cautious hope may be warranted with the takeover of Hickey by Youth Services International, which has won respect for its management of the Victor Cullen Center near Thurmont, a state facility for 120 less hard-core delinquents.

USAir calls off deal with unionsUSAir Group Inc. said yesterday that it has called off a proposed deal for wage concessions with its three major unions a week after reporting sharply higher earnings.The airline took its offer off the table after the flight attendants' union this month rejected the tentative deal negotiated with pilots and machinists.USAir instead will pursue savings of $500 million a year through collective bargaining with each union separately, spokesman Rick Weintraub said.

A state audit of Victor Cullen Academy has found chronic short-staffing, inadequate mental health services, sloppy financial procedures and a lack of training at the Frederick County facility for juvenile delinquents. The 170-page audit, released last night to The Sun after a public-information request, details numerous problems at the facility during the last three years. The investigation came in the wake of several escapes from Cullen during the past year, as well as the rape of a staff member at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School in Baltimore County.

State legislators called top juvenile justice officials everything but competent yesterday in a pointed hearing that showed a series of fundamental mistakes led to a rape and the escape of five delinquents from Maryland's highest-security juvenile jails.Roberto de Jesus, secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, sat on the hot seat next to a top official from the company hired to run the jails. Both promised improvement while agreeing that a shortage of staff, blunders by workers and lax supervision contributed to the incidents at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School and the Victor Cullen Academy.

Under pressure for a series of security breaches -- including the rape of a staff member -- the company operating two Maryland juvenile jails has responded by firing a $7-an-hour dishwasher who was assigned guard duty because of a staff shortage.The dishwasher, Dwane Williams, 38, and others say he was fired to divert attention to staff shortages that have forced numerous employees at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School to work double shifts and have left some shifts uncovered.Williams said that he had not been disciplined since he began work there almost a year ago and that his supervisor told him as she fired him that he had been an "outstanding" employee.

Youth Services International Inc. posted a net loss of 17 cents a share for the second quarter yesterday, sending its stock price plummeting 19.6 percent to a 52-week low.The decline of $1.3125 a share to $5.375 comes as YSI is in discussions with several parties regarding its possible acquisition, or a joint venture, merger or strategic alliance, the Owings Mills-based company said yesterday. The company, which operates juvenile-offender facilities in 12 states, said the talks have moved past the preliminary phases, but officials declined to release details.

Less than a month after Youth Services International Inc.'s stock plummeted on the announcement that earnings would fall far below expectations, the company said yesterday that it has hired a consultant to evaluate ways to enhance shareholder value.YSI, an Owings Mills-based operator of facilities for juvenile offenders, said SunTrust Equitable Securities would study a number of possible actions, including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances.YSI's stock rose 50 cents a share to $8 yesterday, but that is still down considerably from the 52-week high of $20.375 reached April 3."

Youth Services International Inc., the Owings Mills operator of facilities for juvenile offenders, rebounded from the sale of its former core business last year to report first-quarter income of $1.1 million, or 11 cents per share.The profit for the quarter ended March 31 is a 159.4 percent increase over the $424,000 made last year in YSI's continuing business, which includes its juvenile justice programs.Taking its former core business into account, YSI lost $21.4 million in the quarter.

Youth Services International Inc., the Owings Mills operator of facilities for juvenile offenders, yesterday reported fourth-quarter income of $4 million, or 39 cents a basic share.While the profit was more than quadruple the $965,000, or 10 cents a basic share, earned in the fourth quarter of 1996, it included a $6.1 million pretax gain from the sale of the company's behavioral health business.Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 dipped to $23.3 million vs. $29.3 million in the 1996 period.

A lawyer representing the private contractor that operated the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School denied yesterday claims by the state that the company allowed conditions at the school to dangerously deteriorate and didn't adequately document all of its spending. As Correctional Services Corp./Youth Services International addressed the allegations for the first time, several key lawmakers said the state must permanently take over Hickey - or shut it down - rather than hire another private contractor to run the troubled juvenile detention center in Cub Hill.

Youth Services International Inc., an Owings Mills-based operator of residential programs for troubled youths, said yesterday that it is bailing out of its behavioral health business because of insurance cutbacks and a dwindling number of patients.The move will shrink the company's annual revenues from $120 million to $80 million, though YSI officials say that planned expansions of the juvenile justice division could push revenues to $100 million by the end of 1998."We're focusing the company entirely in juvenile justice and, with the efficiencies that come from exiting the behavioral business, we are going to quadruple the after-tax performance of the company," said Timothy P. Cole, Youth Services' chief executive officer.

Youth Services International said yesterday that it will sell its behavioral health business for $21.7 million in cash to Youth and Family Centered Services Inc. of Austin, Texas.YSI, which projects to have $80 million in revenue from its remaining business this year, expects to record a pre-tax gain of about $6 million on the sale.In March, Owings Mills-based YSI announced its intention to sell its nine behavioral health companies, which it valued at $9.7 million, and took a $27 million restructuring charge.

Youth Services International Inc., an Owings Mills-based operator of residential programs for troubled youths, said yesterday that it is bailing out of its behavioral health business because of insurance cutbacks and a dwindling number of patients.The move will shrink the company's annual revenues from $120 million to $80 million, though YSI officials say that planned expansions of the juvenile justice division could push revenues to $100 million by the end of 1998."We're focusing the company entirely in juvenile justice and, with the efficiencies that come from exiting the behavioral business, we are going to quadruple the after-tax performance of the company," said Timothy P. Cole, Youth Services' chief executive officer.