I would like to reiterate that we are only at the data collection phase. There cant be any right or wrong, it is what it is. Parameters are defined and the data either meets the criteria or it doesn?t.
When embarking on discovery it is important to define the parameters you will be confined to so as to limit the arguments later on when the data is analyzed. That is why I have been such a stickler in reiterating (Et Nauseum sometime, I know) the parameters we are constricted to. We could pick many parameters, mental hospitals, group homes, boot camps etc. but from talking to other parents, the PM's and the emails I have received, I feel, there is value to narrow our scope to TBS?s, at least for now. I know many of you have mentioned it and I fully realize that Wilderness may be a good second choice and we can tackle that later on and maybe parallel the data with the TBS?s to see how they compare. One major resource that can be tapped into is the NCES. They are well respected and have been collecting data for years and have set very clear boundary conditions on where their data comes from and have proven themselves repeatedly to be consistent year after year. I have proposed and am embarking on a task to parallel their effort in the TBS sector. I have completed the year ending in June 2000 and am presently working on filling the data points for the year ending June 2001.
My hope in all of this is to shed some light on the physical safety of our children as they enter and go through TBS ?s as a small subset of the therapeutic community as a whole and as compared to the public sector. There are other studies which are underway which are lumping all non public programs together (i.e. mental hospitals, group homes, boot camps, wilderness programs) in an effort to examine them against the same criteria (NCES) which should yield interesting in itself, but my focus is strictly TBS?s.
My progress may be slow, but I promise methodical. If anyone has any information which may aid in the collection of this data I would appreciate the help and added accuracy.
I will update my findings as often as I can,
Thanks