JACKSONVILLE, Fl -- The Panama Youth Services is in a nondescript building, but the community knows what goes on behind the cinder block two story building and they hate it.
"They need to get that sh*t away from around here," said Kelsey, who lives nearby. "They don't do nothing but go and steal, walk up and down the street all night long."
P.Y.S. opened its doors in 2009. One of the teenagers told police he was kidnaped and raped back in March 2018. Police arrested Robert Stephens and charged him with sexual battery. He is still in jail.
That same teenager, whom we are not naming, is now on Facebook being critical of the foster care system and the group home.
"They kicked me out and said I could not come back until 12 in the morning," he said, " so I went up to the store where this guy had threatened me with a gun to come with him.
Willie Green is the CEO of Panama Youth Services
"We have the worst of the worst children," said Green.
The average age is 15, but the facility is licensed for teenagers ages 15-to-17.
By state law, Green cannot talk about the teenager in the video, but he defends what they do at P.Y.S.
"We really do try to do the right thing for our kids," said Green, "We try to protect them from the public and we try to protect the public from them as well."
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Panama Youth Services has been in the spotlight:
In 2016, two teenagers broke curfew and were arrested for killing a cab driver.
In 2014, a teenager had his leg severed by a train while trying to make it back after breaking curfew.
He said these are the incidents that attract the headlines, but PYS has transformed the lives of a number of children.
Green said they're doing positive things and they are the only group home in the area designed to meet the needs of the community he serves.
"We are dealing with tough kids," said Green.
Green was emphatic when he said what happened with these teenagers is not an issue of negligence.
The former marine is passionate about what he is doing; he said it is not the program, it is the kids in the program.
Green said a year ago PYS hired a Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer to be on location from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m.
On Your Side requested copies of the facilities state inspections and compliance reports.
We were told that it will take three days to get that information.
As for the teenager, he has a court hearing to determine where he will be placed. He is hoping for a different location he can call home.