Please look into the for profit 'tough love' programs under WWASP/Teen Help. Thanks.
"In the burgeoning new industry that promises parents to straighten out their defiant teens, no programs are more controversial than those linked by several Utah-based umbrella groups [WWASP, Teen Help]. One of the programs, in Mexico, was shut by local authorities in 1996. A program in the Czech Republic was shut by local authorities last fall. A third, Brightway Adolescent Hospital in St. George, Utah, closed during a state investigation last year."
Links:
Ex-Student Sues Utah 'Tough Love' Firm - [Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP) Teen Help, Teen Escort Services, and company officials including Ken Kay, Robert B. Lichfield, Karr Farnsworth, Brent M. Facer, Jay Kay and David Gilcrease]
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Mar/03012003/utah/34117.asp Morava Academy heads arrested before
http://www.nospank.net/n-d77.htm Kid Help or Kidnapping?
http://www.coastalpost.com/98/12/10.htm 'I call it teen torment'
http://www.denver-rmn.com/desperate/sit ... rate.shtml Tranquility Bay student court Testimony
http://fornits.com/anonanon/docs/wwasp/toc.htm Who Really Owns WWASP & Teen Help?
http://www.ytyt.org/infobank/document.cfm/parent/1142 "There were little rooms, one meter by one metre, with a small window that were used to contain these girls as punishment for three or four days."
http://www.intrepidnetreporter.com/Teen ... beach.html Specialty Schools For Defiant Teens IntrepidNetReporter.com
http://www.intrepidnetreporter.com/Teen ... nhelp.html Psychologist Warns of an Abusive and Dangerous Residential Treatment Program for Teens [Teen Help]
http://www.aizan.net/families/teens_dan ... atment.htm Officials to Investigate 'Tough Love' Facility Here
http://www.ticotimes.net/archive/01_17_03_2.htm Questions raised about Lichfield [Teen Help]
http://www.thehawkeye.com/daily/stories/ln4_1216.html Is WWASP/Teen Help a form of terrorism?
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/16219 SCHOOLS OF HARD KNOCKS [WWASPS - Teen Help]
http://archive.salon.com/21st/feature/1 ... ture2.html Learn more about the WWASPS, Teen Help seminars also known as TASKS
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/des ... rate.shtml Youth Facility Director Charged With Sexual Abuse [Majestic Ranch]
http://www.sltrib.com/2002/dec/12052002/utah/8391.htm My Personal Experience At Cross Creek Manor
http://www.wwaspisabuse.netfirms.com/my ... ience.html Deceived At Dundee Ranch
http://www.helpyourteens.com/news/janua ... etter.html Spamdexing the Internet
http://www.helpyourteens.com/news/decem ... etter.html Lost boy
http://www.denver-rmn.com/news/0702core5.shtml Academy at Dundee Ranch breakout
http://nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/inde ... cue20.html Desperate Measures
http://www.denver-rmn.com/desperate/sit ... rate.shtml gulag school(Diaries)
http://images.kuro5hin.org/print/2001/5/16/16455/3295 Horror at Casa by the Sea
http://www.google.com/search?q=wwasp&hl ... rt=50&sa=N Child Abuse In Foreign Schools For Wayward Americans (small details about Morava Academy, a WWASP facility that shut down after local authorities investigated allegations of abuse, child neglect and other wrong doing)
http://www.coastalpost.com/98/12/10.htm The Defiant School - Carolina Springs Academy
http://www.free-times.com/archive/cover ... chool.html Troubled teens are a cash crop
http://www.starbulletin.com/1999/09/29/ ... .html#jump Teen Boot Camps Visitor Comments
http://www.rickross.com/reference/teenb ... sitor.html Teen Concentration Camps
http://www.libertarianrock.com/topics/t ... index.html A Parents' True Story A Wake Up Call to ALL Parents Looking for a School or Program
http://www.helpyourteens.com/true_story.html WWASP/Teen Help Abuses Youth
http://www.wwaspisabuse.netfirms.com/ Residential Treatment for Youth: Do No Harm!
http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/aacp/Vol-15-3/Youth.html Who's Guarding The Kids?
http://classic.sacbee.com/news/projects ... index.html Trickery at Tranquility Bay, Jamaica
http://www.helpyourteens.com/news/extra ... etter.html Forum - Testimony of Teens Kidnapped w/ authorization of parents and taken to overseas "behavior modification" schools.
http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/20422 Message Board - We've Been There...Over 500+ Posts
http://pub57.ezboard.com/bwevebeenthere MessageBoard - wwasp, Tranquility Bay ,CCM, SCL
http://www.voy.com/58570/ To the Minister of Child Welfare:
I worked as the Director at the Academy at Dundee Ranch from March to August of 2002. During this time, Mr. Joseph Atkin was the Financial Director.
Mr. Kenneth Wilson was the Student Director. I replaced Mr. Ron Del Aguila (who replaced Mr. Randall Hinton). After I left in August of 2002, Mr. Joseph Atkin replaced me. Mr. Atkin left in February of this year, and has been replaced by Mr. Francisco Bustos.
I feel that Dundee Ranch Academy should not be allowed to operate because it is poorly managed, takes financial advantage of parents in crisis, and puts teens in physical and emotional risk.
Dundee Ranch Academy is poorly managed, and this is why so many directors have left in the short 18 months that the school has been open. Company
policies and procedures changed daily on the whims of Mr. Narvin Lichfield, the owner. While I was there, Mr. Lichfield and his wife (girlfriend at the time) often made it impossible for my staff and myself to do our jobs. For example, Mr. Lichfield and his wife often changed the rules of the program without informing the staff. They would give kids special permission to
break rules, until it got to the point where the staff gave up trying to
control the students. Mr. Lichfield and his wife often demanded that structural changes be made to buildings or that new buildings be built without obtaining the necessary building permits. Orotina authorities visited several times and threatened to close the place if construction was occurring when they returned. However, because the construction workers
were more afraid of Mr. Lichfield and his fits of rage than they were of the local authorities, they would go right back to work as soon as the authorities were out of site.
The purpose of Dundee Ranch is not to help teens in crisis or their families. It is to make millions of dollars for the owner. Although the profit margins are approximately 50% -75%, Mr. Lichfield is unsatisfied. He continues to try to squeeze out every penny he can. This is achieved by
hiring unqualified, untrained staff, providing the bare minimum of food and living essentials, and by adding huge margins to additional services. For example, if a student needs a ride to San Jose to visit the doctor, Dundee charges the parents $250 when it costs them $50. If a student sees the Doctor, parents are charged $50; Dundee pays $15. If a student needs medicine, parents are charged $30; Dundee typically pays $2 - $3. Parents pay $95 per month for "incidentals" like toothpaste and deodorant. These incidentals, while I was there, cost Dundee $15 per month.
While I was in the process of resigning from Dundee Ranch last August, an American male staff member assaulted and raped a female staff member at a location of about 100 meters from where all the students are housed. I was not on the premises at the time, but was involved in reporting the incident to the Costa Rican authorities and staying with the employee's mother who flew in from the United States. The parents of students who were in the
program were not informed of the incident. Mr. Atkin, one of Dundee's many Directors, dismissed the incident to a Tico Times reporter as a "non-issue." One of the reasons that the incident was not made public was because the employee who committed the crime was a recent "graduate" of an affiliated program. The program claims a 92% "success" rate, and a drunken assault of a graduate would not be seen as a success.
This leads to another issue-untrained, unqualified staff. None of the staff members are trained to work with at-risk youth. The only reason we had hired Mr. Andy Lamb, a young 19-year-old with a history of abusive behavior, is because he knew the program, and was willing to work for the very low
wage offered by Mr. Lichfield. According to the Mr. Lichfield, "there was not enough money in the budget" to hire trained, qualified staff. Here are some other highlights: * The owner, Mr. Lichfield, has been involved with these types of programs for at least 15 years, but as the Marketing person, not as a clinical person. * The current director, Mr. Francisco Bustos, (as Mr. Atkin recently got fed up with the chaos and also left Dundee Ranch) has no experience. If you
look at their website, it states that he has experience owning and operating 5 pizza restaurants. The reason he was hired is because he was a longtime friend of the owner's wife, Ms. Flori Alvaredo. * The "Family Fathers", the staff who spend all day with the students, give corrections and punishment to the students, and who are supposed to teach and kindly correct the students, are minimum wage workers who do not speak English. * The "Family Representatives", the staff that hold daily counseling sessions (called "Reflections") with the students have no training or background in this area. They are also the only point of contact between the program and the students and often find themselves in a family counseling role, for which they are not qualified. * They have only one trained psychologist on staff, who visits once a week, but parents must pay an additional $75/hour for his services. * I am the first to admit that I was not even qualified to be there. I hold a degree in Secondary Education, but took only one class in working with
at-risk youth.
In addition to this, when I was there, most of the staff were disgruntled and frustrated with the way they were treated. Often their paychecks did not arrive on time or with the right amount of money. They often took their frustration at the administration out on the students. They treated students poorly (yelling at them, giving them extra "consequences".) Staff turn-over is very high. This creates additional instability with the students. During the year 2002, there were four different Directors. "Family Representatives" and teachers came and left monthly. This created additional emotional instability in the students who were already torn from their parents and allowed extremely limited time to talk with the other students in the program. The only chance they often had to talk was with staff, and those staff continued to leave the program.
As an employee, the only training I received was on how to manipulate parents. I was told many times that "there is no reason for a student to return home before 'graduating' the program". Once they are in, they are there to stay. This process takes 12 to 36 months. There were many students who had psychological, medical, or special education needs that we could not meet. When I suggested that they be sent to another place where they could receive the help they needed, I was told to "keep my mouth shut and make sure that their parents kept them there." I was threatened with my job. If there were students who would be better off going home or entering another program, I was not allowed to suggest this to the parent. Ironically, if the parents had concerns about what was going on, we were
told to tell the parents that their children were "just manipulating them."
Students were not allowed to communicate freely with their parents, or anyone else. They were allowed to write a weekly email and letter, but the staff was instructed to read the email and letter and take out anything they did not like, or write comments to the parents. The students were not allowed to express their true feelings. Students were not allowed to talk with their parents until they were "Level 3", which could take anywhere from 4 to 24 months. At that point, they were allowed a 15 minute phone call
once a month. Staff was instructed to hang the phone up and terminate their conversation if the student said anything negative about the program.
Students were not allowed to talk without permission. Typically, they would be able to speak with their friends for about 15 to 30 minutes a day. They were isolated from the outside world. They did not have a chance to view a newspaper or the internet. Emotionally, this was very difficult for the
students, as many of them processed their emotions by talking about them.
When I first arrived, "restraints" were common. This was when a staff member would twist a student's arm around their back and throw them to the ground or against a wall. I know of at least one case where an arm was dislocated. I insisted that this stop, and I am fairly certain that it did not happen while I was there. However, I have heard reports that this was started again after I left. Further investigation should be done.
Another punishment was writing "essays" of 3000 to 150,000 words. Students were required to sit in a dark room without proper back support, and write these essays until they finished the required number of words. Often, staff members, for no apparent reason, would rip up the essays and make the students start over. Students were required to write for 8 hours a day until their words were completed.
The worst punishment was "OP" or "Observational Punishment." In this, students were required to stand, kneel, sit, or lay on a cement floor without moving for 30 minutes at a time. They had to do this for 8 hours a day, until they had "served their time". When some of the kids accepted
this, the staff made them run 100s of laps around the pool, just to make it miserable enough that the kids would want to comply.
Students had no voice. If they had a complaint, they were supposed to write a "grievance" on a piece of paper. Often, these were lost or confiscated by staff who did not want to look bad.
I stayed at Dundee because I wanted to make things run well, because I believe that when administered well, the program can be effective for some teens. However, many of the teens that were there at the time (and probably still there) would be much better served somewhere else. This was not an option because it would take money out of Mr. Lichfield's pocket. I also
realized that my efforts would never be successful. I could not hire and keep trained staff. I could not spend money on things the kids needed.
Several times we ran out of toilet paper and the kids had to use notebook paper. I could not get Mr. Lichfield to begin the dorms that were so desperately needed, and that he promised to parents "were in the works". Everything was focused on the profits Mr. Lichfield could make, not on the health or welfare of the students. Some additional examples of this are: * The city water was disconnected and students were given well water to drink, because the city water was "too expensive". Shortly thereafter, approximately 40 students got diarrhea and eventually drinking water was filtered. This may have been a coincidence. But even if the water did not have any problems, they should have tested it before they began giving it to students. * The kids are crowded in their rooms. There are as many as 15 kids in what used to be a single hotel room. They were required to sleep from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am to save on staff costs. (We only needed 2 staff when the boys were in their beds, versus 6-8 staff when they were awake.) Mr. Lichfield did not want to spend the money to hire additional staff. * For the first 10 months that the school was open, there were no trained staff administering medicine. After several students were given the wrong medicine, or were not given their medication, I insisted on hiring two full-time nurses. Before that, the minimum wage staff members who could not speak English were required to pass out medicine. I did not have the resources or support necessary to provide what I felt was a humane and safe environment for these teens. I was also concerned about the "High Impact" extension that was a copy of a program that was shut down in Mexico because of the death of students. For these reasons, I decided to resign in early August. It would be my pleasure to speak to someone about these issues. I can be reached at this email address, or by phone at 001-313-577-2704 during the day, or at 001-248-545-4163 during the evening.
Kind regards, Amberly Knight ***************************************
March 3, 2003
To the Minister of Child Welfare,
I am a parent of a former student at Dundee. My son was there from November, 2001 ? August, 2002. I am very concerned for the children that are still there. I worked closely with the school while my son was there, but still did not get answers to the questions that I asked.
It started with the lies that were told to my husband and I. We were looking for a boarding school for our son. After looking into many schools, we thought we found the perfect one. WWASP explained to us that Dundee had an aggressive academic program, a program to work with the locals to learn a new culture and a strict environment where teens would learn accountability. We were never told of the "program". We felt comfortable sending him to beautiful Costa Rica.
My son went through the first "levels" quickly so we were allowed to speak with him on the phone. He knew what kind of school we were looking for. He told us that this was not what we were told it was, that it was a program and not a boarding school. He said that the staff read his e-mails to us and when he had something to tell us, he had to wait and talk on the phone. When we addressed this with the director at the time, we were told that we were being manipulated by our son. Over time, I realized that this is the answer the staff gives the parents for any complaints that the students have. This was a red flag for me.
We decided to keep him there until PCI. This is the first time that parents are allowed to visit their children. This was one of the lies told to us from the beginning, that we would be able to visit our son after 2 1/2 to 3 months. We waited almost 6 months. I was concerned with what I saw. The staff was inexperienced. They were very nice people, but not one of them had the credentials to be able to speak to me about my son. The bottom line for them was to say anything they could so that the parent would not pull their child from the school. I knew that this was a rustic place, but the overcrowding was terrible. There were 12-14 grown boys in a small room. The beds were small and close together. The doctor even said that it was not healthy to have them so close together. When one got sick, they all did. The kids were really out of shape. Not enough organized exercise. Their diet wasn?t bad, but very little meat and vegetables. The academics were not what was promised. And the rules were somewhat scrambled. When I returned to the states, I wrote a long letter to the school with my concerns. I represented many other parents. We couldn?t believe how much of our money was being taken in, and how little was spent on the kids. I was granted a phone call from Narvin Litchfield about these concerns. He proceeded to tell me about all the great plans he had. He even sent me the blue prints of what the school would soon look like. To this day, with the quick growth of this school, I don't think that they have built the new dorms yet. It hasn?t changed much except for the building of the "High Impact".
This brings me to a major concern. When I was there in August to pull my son from this school I saw "High Impact". This is a place where children are taken to if they do not behave. Dundee already has a punishment system that I feel is very excessive. OP as they call it is a place of isolation. Some kids stay there for weeks at a time until they conform to every rule. The children often have to lie on a cement floor, hands behind them for long periods of time. You may end up there for a very minor infraction. This is something that I would appreciate someone looking into. I don?t know if the High Impact building is open yet, but it is something that really needs to be looked into. They closed the one down in Mexico, where a teen died. Once a child is taken behind those walls, I don?t feel that there is anyone there to be able to make sure that no real harm comes to this child.
Another event happened while I was there in August. A male staff member seriously attacked and raped a female staff member. They were both graduates of the program and returned to this school to work. This happens frequently in these schools, as grads work for very low wages. I was in Joe Atkins office while he was talking with authorities to try and find this boy. It was pretty serious at the time, but later Mr. Atkins shrugged the story off in the Tico Times.
I feel that there is both physical and mental abuse to these teens. Some of the children that are there may have been headed for jail back home but there are also many of them like my son, whose parents wanted them to have an opportunity. An opportunity to catch up in school, learn a new language and culture and get back on the right path. The parents are so manipulated that they don't really know how there son or daughter is doing, and would never get a call from the staff that they thought that this was to harsh for them and they need to go home. I don't believe this has ever happened in any of the WWASP schools. With vertually no screening of these teens before they enter the school, it is hard to understand that some one would not recognize that this is not the place for everyone. Once you enroll your child, you are pressured into thinking that he will only succeed if he "graduates the program". This can take from 18-24 months.
I do believe that there is physical abuse going on. I understand that there are times when a child may need to be restrained, but I believe it is happening to often. The mental abuse is worse. They are not allowed to talk with each other except in group to talk about their problems. They have absolutely no contact with the outside world. They can not read a newspaper or hear a newscast. Current events are taken away from them and my son had no idea what was happening in our world while he was there. I was told that there was a music department at Dundee. I had to fight to let my son have his guitar. They said that he needed to concentrate on other things. It was so sad when I left the school with him last August. So many of the kids were upset and crying because my son would play his guitar at night while they were trying to go to sleep. This was the closest thing to real life that they had.
Mr. Narvin Litchfield, his brother and friends own many of these schools, both in and outside of the U.S.. The ones in Cancun, Samoa, and The Czech Republic were closed down. Carolina Springs is often visited by child welfare in the states and has been cited with many violations. One important one is that the upper level children give out punishment to the lower levels. This is illegal in the states. Children can not dole out punishment to other children. There is also overcrowding.
I also have concerns about your organization interviewing the students. There are ramifications that can happen if the staff or owner do not like what the students say. The children don?t have any representation while at this school. If they say anything to their parents they are called liars and manipulators. From my experience, the parents are just as manipulated as the students in this program. You are told to "trust the program" and let them do whatever they feel is right for your child. Not a good concept when no one at the facility is really trained or qualified to be working with teens.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Work 716-635-9820 Home 716-759-2676
Thank you, Martha Martin
http://www.unicef.org/voy/cgi-bin/zdisc ... 2324-12840