Has anyone taken the time to actually read the court documents? The recent one was highly critical of the plaintiff's. See page 15 for an example. The truth is, all of you know class action status won't be granted. Any further action will need to be by way of individual suits. I hope they focus on issues of abuse because the plaintiff's will clearly lose.
Once again, when CPS or DEFACS went out to HLA since the school began, they haven't been able to find any signs of abuse. None! On another board I made a mistake and said how DEFACS wasn't able to "cherry pick" the people they talk to. I meant to say HLA is not able to "cherry pick" kids for DEFACS to interview.
Let's be honest, on one hand people have said in the past that DEFACS knew all about abuse at HLA, but on the other they say HLA is somehow able to hide kids away. DEFACS has the ability to go anywhere on campus and interview any kid they want, especially the kid making an allegation. So are people actually saying HLA is powerful enough to hide kids from DEFACS over the 13 years of the school's existence? The truth that everyone tries to avoid is abuse hasn't ever been found on the HLA campus. When I was there, there was a lot of abuse toward staff from students, but there wasn't a sign of abuse from staff to students.
Some are saying writing assignments and work assignments are abuse. Is cutting up firewood to deliver to elderly people who can't afford a heating bill abuse? The kids on restriction actually deliver it to the homes of these people and come away with a more positive perspective. Is cleaning the grounds of campus abuse? Then every parent must be abusing their child when they ask them to help clean up the home. Are therapeutic writing assignments abuse? Kids on restriction often need to refocus. This helps them do it.
I remember going back to attend a graduation, I heard nearly every kid talk about the changes they saw in themselves over the time they were at HLA. Two said they knew they would be dead because they had friends die while they were at HLA. Kids received their high school diplomas and went on to college, something many of the kids said was something they never thought they'd achieve.
I don't mind criticism. I know HLA isn't perfect. No facility is. But it wasn't abusive. Kids weren't "locked up". They are actually sent to where ever they need to go by themselves without a staff member escorting them. Has anyone checked on the level of violence in public schools? Please do. I did. Public schools are actually the places that have the most fights and other things people accuse HLA of endorsing.
Let me also clear up something that I read a while back. Someone said HLA was able to avoid being licensed. Treatment centers, boarding schools, etc can't avoid being licensed. I found out that ORS actually granted an "exemption" from being licensed since it was seen as more of a boarding school. That's far different that the picture of HLA somehow avoiding the state. My friend at DHR said HLA is now being licensed because it is now seen as more similar to a therapeutic program than pure boarding school. She said HLA should be licensed within the next month.
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