June 24, 2005, 2:01 PM

A residential treatment center that had its license suspended this week has had a history of problems with Child Protective Services, according to state inspection reports.

Waymaker Residential Treatment Center, which cares for children with emotional or behavioral problems, was shut down for 10 days Wednesday pending an investigation after a child was allegedly injured by an employee with a criminal record.

Forty-four youths, including 38 foster children and six on juvenile probation, were relocated to other facilities. The youths, ages 10 to 17, were being housed in three brick ranch-style homes in northeast Houston.

The same center was cited in 2003 for allowing a staff member with a criminal background to supervise children, according to a May 2003 inspection report. And last January, according to another inspection report, a staff member helped a resident to run away from the facility.

In the latest incident, CPS spokesman Darrell Azar said the facility was notified June 8 that a staffer had a criminal history and was not to work with children. On June 18, a child was allegedly injured by that same staff member, he said. Azar declined to describe the injury, except to say it was not life-threatening.

"We have had issues with this place," Azar said. "This is something that went too far. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. There were ongoing deficiencies, and this was a serious incident."

Waymaker Director Charles Burton could not be reached Thursday. The facility was licensed in 1999.

Under state policy, child care facilities must ask the state to check for any history of criminal convictions or CPS allegations of abuse or neglect when they hire a new employee.

While some offenses automatically disqualify the individual, less serious offenses require the facility to seek a risk assessment to determine if the new employee poses a danger to children.

Azar said the employee cited in the inspection report had a criminal background that required a risk assessment from the state. None, however, was requested by the facility.

"It's a very serious violation to have somebody on staff who has a criminal history and hasn't been assessed for their risk," Azar said. "And for there then to be an allegation that the same staff member caused an injury is just more than we could allow to continue without knowing all the facts. That is why we had to get the kids out of there."

The suspension is the most recent state action against a residential treatment center since January, when the Department of Family and Protective Services revoked the license held by the Child and Adolescent Development Inc. CPS had reported ongoing problems at the facility, also called CADI Treatment Center, at 2505 Southmore in Houston's Third Ward.

CADI was among the foster care centers that Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn's office depicted as harmful to children in a report last year. The report had described squalid and unhealthy conditions at the center, including a filthy toilet, a dirty shower and a seclusion room with a lock only on the outside. The facility at the time housed 20 children ranging in age from 11 to 17.

Statewide, licensing officials took serious action against 12 residential treatment facilities in fiscal 2004. Of the 12, one license was denied, two were revoked and nine were suspended.

melanie.markley@chron.com