On 2004-02-20 10:20:00, Christopher Riner wrote:
"Right on, now we are communicating. It really does help me to understand more of where you guys are coming from when we get past the bickering and name calling. When I came to this forum, I wanted to bring a little understanding, and now I see that I have been getting riled up just because I wasn't abused there. So tell me your opinions about what you would like happen to WWASP- do you want them out of business, out of commission, incarcerated? I honestly want to know because I think if a few of us can get deeper into this issue then we can find closure on the whole thing a lot sooner. I personally, think that a fair medium between both sides resides somewhere in the reconstruction of WWASP under closer government supervision, and with the parents more aware of how strict the rules are and whatnot: because many parents don't agree with all of the strict rules, but for my family and me, it was the best way to learn. Tell me your thoughts."
What I want:
I want each kid to get mail freely from anyone from day one, every week--three first class stamps and envelopes and paper and a pen to write to anyone they choose. I want social services addresses for reporting abuse and appealing determinations clearly posted where all students can see them.
Why I want it:
You can't induce Stockholm Syndrome without isolation. It stops bad schools from substituting Stockholm Syndrome and cult dissociation (it implants a false "acceptable" personality on top of the teen's own) for effective treatment. It's the preventive measure that's least disruptive of any real and responsible therapeutic process.
What I'd accept as a limit on it:
If the parent can reasonably substantiate to a caseworker that the kid's relationship with the letter writer was or is sexual, that correspondent can be barred. If the parent alleges a correspondent is a drug abuser, the correspondent has X time from notification to take a drug test at a hospital, if the test is clean the correspondent stays uncensored--dirty, that correspondent can be barred. Three false accusations, total, and the parent loses the right to make the claim of "druggies." The parent can ask that mail to or from convicted felons or juveniles convicted of delinquent offenses be barred.
What else I want:
Each school to have a state social services case worker assigned. Each student to have their assignment to a TBS reviewed within 72 hours by said caseworker to determine if the kid has a problem requiring residential treatment. If the kid doesn't, he goes home *unless* he chooses to attend the TBS. *If* he chooses to attend the TBS, *that* kid is free to leave and go home at any time (school doesn't have to take him back later, though). If the parents won't take him, social services should treat it like any other case of child abandonment.
What else I want:
Social services to investigate all allegations of abuse and do a certain minimum number of thorough surprise inspections each year.
What else I want:
All staff who would restrain a patient/student/inmate in an emergency trained in application of those restraints and alternate techniques of resolution (restraints are always a risk to the patient's life, for various reasons I won't get into here), and trained by an accredited service/program *not* affiliated with the TBS.
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I don't want to shut all TBS's down. I want quality controls and external oversight to protect the basic rights and long-term mental health of the teen and ensure quality of care.
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
--H.L. Mencken
