State removes children from Goochland youth psychiatric facility after CBS 6 probe

Virginia pulled children from Hallmark Youthcare in Goochland County after a CBS 6 investigation pushed state officials into direct action at the youth psychiatric facility. The move immediately put the West Creek Parkway operation under sharper scrutiny from parents, staff and emergency responders who have followed the escalating complaints.

Hallmark Youthcare identifies itself as a youth psychiatric treatment provider in Goochland County and lists admissions at 804-784-6432. State action now centers the question of where the removed children were transferred, whether Hallmark can keep serving patients in its current form and what standards regulators thought had failed.

The facility had already been under pressure for weeks. WRIC reported on July 21 that the disAbility Law Center of Virginia sued Hallmark Youthcare, saying the nonprofit was trying to gain access to assess problems at the facility after more than a dozen residents escaped earlier in July 2026. That report was updated July 22 and described Hallmark as a psychiatric facility where more than a dozen children ran away earlier that month.

CBS 6 also reported that a former youth counselor said a resident fractured his nasal bone on the same day at least eight girls escaped the Goochland facility. In a separate report, CBS 6 said a father and son spoke out as Hallmark vowed changes, adding to the pressure on county and state officials to explain what oversight existed before the state stepped in.

The disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the state’s protection and advocacy organization for people with disabilities, has become a key part of the case because its filing sought access to the facility to examine conditions and concerns on the ground. That lawsuit, together with the escape reports and the CBS 6 investigation, turned Hallmark from a local provider into a broader test of how Virginia monitors youth psychiatric care.

For Goochland families, the consequences are immediate. Hallmark sits on West Creek Parkway in a county that has long had to balance health care, public safety and accountability concerns around the facility. With children removed and state action underway, the next answers will be whether patients are placed safely elsewhere, what changes are required at Hallmark and how far regulators will go before the facility is allowed to operate normally again.