Ooh, this is gonna be crunchy.
Len, I personally, directly warned you this would happen. The writing was on the wall long since. You could have realized that you were toast and made an exit. You could have called it quits. But alas, you decided to keep it open even with a massively decreased staff, and now the combined weight of the authorities and the parents is crushing your head.
I find myself asking this question on these forums a lot: What were you expecting would happen? Did you think that the whole thing would just blow over and you'd be free and clear at the end of it? Did you think that somehow the government would be your guardian angel forever? Are you completely unable to comprehend the number and intensity of people who hate you?
For the kids' sake, I hope the next programmie in line for this sort of crushing is smarter.
I doubt this will be the case. These money-grubbing miscreants will line up to fill the breach when little Napoloen takes a digger. It's really all about the money. More likely than not, the next one will say "It's because that guy wasn't smart enough (or whatever)" and they'll step in.
Keep in mind also that these people know they're taking a calculated risk opening one of these private prisons for kids. They all know, sooner or later, the other shoe will drop and they'll be squeezed out, have to pay fines/settle cases, etc. They pay what they have to pay (usually from insurance), they pack up, move out and open in another state.
What these
particular folks failed to realize early on, as evidenced by their pithy commentaries, is that they are dealing with a lot more than a "few disgruntled kids and parents." They are dealing with a well-organized machine with nearly endless man-hours (combined) to spend on the tasks at hand and that more than a few of us are incisive, insightful, dedicated and extremely resourceful and are able to bring to bear every legal remedy prescribed under law to achieve our ends.
It is precisely this, to borrow a term from our beloved president, "misunderestimation" that has led directly to the state of affairs now in evidence at HLA.
This experience has also created the template for future actions against other entities. Just what I personally have learned about the vulnerablities of these facilities through this process is enough to make me any abusive program's worst nightmare. And I'm not alone.
If the bout were to be called here it would be a technical draw I suppose, but our man has just gotten warmed up and HLA is punch drunk and staggering. A few more rounds will yield the inevitable knockout...
The only way to lose this fight is to quit or settle. I don't see either one happening.
