ZELIENOPLE — In a letter addressing the state’s decision not to renew the license of its child residential facility, executives and board members at Glade Run Lutheran Services criticized state officials’ handling of the matter and said some juvenile clients had attempted to harm themselves after learning of the impending closure.

“We are concerned that (the state’s) decisions are based more on isolated incidents and not the overall positive outcomes of literally thousands of children that we have helped over many decades of time,” the letter states, in part.

The letter, dated Nov. 17 and signed by board members and the Rev. Charles T. Lockwood, the organization’s president and CEO, comes about two weeks after the state Department of Human Services issued a “nonrenewal notice” to Glade Run’s child residential facility at 70 Beaver Road.

DHS officials have said the decision to shut down the residential facility was made after two incidents — one involving a resident found hanging from a bedsheet on a bathroom door; another involving a staff member who was found overdosing on heroin in a bathroom — came to light during inspections in August.

The inspections were part of a DHS corrective action plan Glade Run agreed to in the wake of a state investigation that found staff negligence resulted in a “sexual misconduct system that included forcible rape” and involved eight children between the ages of 8 and 13 between March and July of that year.

The family of one child who was allegedly assaulted during that time sued Glade Run in May, alleging that staff members at the facility failed to stop or report the assaults and ridiculed the boy after he told them about the attacks.

Agreeing to DHS’ proposal in February allowed the facility — which Glade Run executive director Sheila Talarico said had installed security cameras, motion sensors and added more staff to fulfill the state’s requirements — to continue operating under a provisional license. In its letter Tuesday, Glade Run called the DHS plan “meticulous” and said that it had “proven exceptionally difficult to maintain and administer.”

“Glade Run’s supervision and safety measures are unprecedented in our field,” the letter states. “However, a zero-tolerance policy standard that allows no room for absolutely any error has become untenable to maintain, and the agency is cited as if the entire organization and not a single individual is to blame.”

The organization also took aim at state officials’ handling of information surrounding the investigation, which it called unfair and damaging.

“(W)hen DHS releases one-sided inflammatory information that makes the organization appear incompetent, it jeopardizes the reputation of a stellar and historic agency that serves 95 percent of its youth in community and school settings,” the letter states.

Glade Run also said it was “dismayed” at residents’ reaction to the news that the residential facility soon would be shutting down.

“We have experienced youth begging us to stay and some of our children have reacted by attempting self-injury and experiencing high levels of anxiety,” the letter states. “We harbor deep concerns that many of the children we care for may not successfully find alternative care.”

Glade Run’s psychiatric residential facility is currently listed as caring for 33 youths, according to DHS inspection documents — though it is licensed to care for up to 56. The facility has served 195 clients in the past year, according to tax records. State officials have said that some residents will be returned to their families, while others will likely be placed in another residential facility.

Reacting last week to the state’s nonrenewal notice, Talarico said the organization would not appeal the decision “knowing that the state’s agenda is to close residential beds throughout the state.”

The organization also runs in-school and community-based programs. Those will not be affected by the DHS decision.

Talarico declined to answer questions regarding specific passages of the organization’s letter.

A DHS spokesman had not returned a message seeking comment on statements in the letter as of press time.