WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Vista Maria announced it will be transferring the residents living there to other care facilities by December.
All residents at Vista Maria will be transferred to other care facilities under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ support by Dec. 19, 2025, according to the all-girls treatment center in Dearborn Heights.
There are 11 people currently living in Vista Maria’s residential mental health treatment program.
The decision to transfer the residents was made on Oct. 20 with the support of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Vista Maria’s Executive Leadership and Board of Directors.
Vista Maria is not closing, according to the facility’s website. Its other programs, such as foster care and independent living, will continue.
Previously, The Investigators at Local 4 reported in September on the multiple violations that Vista Maria faces.
The investigators went through documents from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) that showed dozens of violations published in 2025. Some of those violations were posted as recently as August 2025.
Read more: Inside Vista Maria: State investigations lead to more violations at all-girls treatment facility
Here is the full statement posted to Vista Maria’s website:
“In keeping with our commitment to empowering women, children, and families to heal, grow, and realize their full potential, Vista Maria is making a thoughtful shift in how we serve Michigan’s youth by ending residential youth mental health programming. Over the last decade, a combination of social, systemic, and regulatory factors has made it increasingly challenging to care for youth whose mental health needs have grown more acute and complex. Many of these young people would benefit from receiving inpatient psychiatric support that we do not, and are not licensed to, provide. Therefore, residents will be transferred by December 19, 2025, to other care facilities under the support of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), as it is responsible for securing placements and ensuring continuity of care. Vista Maria will continue to strengthen our other programs, such as foster care, independent living, and juvenile justice services.
To help provide additional context, we have prepared a Q&A document, Residential Questions & Answers, which outlines this decision and answers some questions in more detail."
Statements from former residents
Trisha Wade, the aunt of a teen who went missing from the facility, broke down in tears hearing the news.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Wade said. “I’m just so ecstatic that some good actually came out of everything that happened, the residents’ stories are getting out there and the community is listening.”
“I feel quite good about this decision Vista Maria decided to make,” said a former Vista Maria resident. “However, the state of Michigan failed all of us victims, and we want justice for that.”
“It’s deeply concerning to hear them say they do not have the license to care for complex mental health issues but yet, they had me there trying to treat me for sensory issues regarding my autism, which now I know they never had a license for. I’m also deeply concerned about the children who are currently at Vista Maria, who are going to be transferred to another program and have to start their program completely over. That happened to me with the closing of Adrian training school. Some of these kids are gonna be almost done with their program and have to start completely over adding another 6 - 9 months to their ‘sentence’ this is way deeper than just Vista Maria, when it comes to the troubled teen industry in Michigan as a whole. When I was at Vista Maria, we never seen our elected officials walk-through there to check on the conditions. We never had anybody from the state come through to check on us. Animal shelters had more state oversight than juvenile facilities. I developed substance use disorder when I got out, and the trend is trending. The data is out there. 40% of children reported long-term emotional damage from their experience. 49% reported experiencing issues with substance use later in life. 90% of teens who exit the trouble teen industry do so with unresolved trauma and mental health issues. About two-thirds of juveniles incarcerated reoffend as adults.
I am stoked, to hear about the closure of Vista Maria, but fear for ‘what’s next’ for the kids whose rights have been stripped away.
I appreciate Erika for actually taking the time and doing an investigation, one that didn’t stop after the story was completed. She’s been consistently behind the scenes, trying to protect future kids from places like this. Thank you so much Erika and Local 4."
Former resident Janene Tague