What in the heck is going on? I got this in my email...
Dear HEALers & Survivors,
We received an e-mail last month from Kat Whitehead of CAFETY claiming
that
the GAO had tentatively scheduled a hearing on the behavior
modification
industry and that CAFETY was organizing families and survivors to
testify at
these hearings. As you can see below, the GAO is not and will not
schedule
or hold a hearing on this issue as that is not what they do. We are
concerned that CAFETY is misinforming the survivor community regarding
a
possible hearing in order to obtain private information regarding
survivors,
their experiences, and their families. As CAFETY has stated that the
only
way to sign up to speak at this alleged hearing is to go through
CAFETY, we
find this highly suspect.
So, HEAL has contacted the GAO and we can confirm (see below) that the
GAO
will not be holding any such hearing. We have asked Kay Brown how
survivors
and families can go about submitting their stories for the GAO report
on the
residential treatment industry and are awaiting a response. We are
also
watching the House calendar to see if and when any such hearing is
scheduled
and how survivors and families can participate. We'd like to take this
opportunity to inform you that you do not need to go through CAFETY or
share
your information with HEAL or any third party. HEAL is working
diligently
to give you the direct information so you can decide and move forward
with
filing with the GAO and/or testifying at any alleged hearing. There is
no
hearing scheduled at this time and it is my understanding that there
won't
be a hearing until after the GAO report is filed in early 2008.
Stay informed and involved!
In Solidarity,
Angela S.
HEAL Coordinator
-----Original Message-----
From: Kay E Brown [mailto:BrownKE@gao.gov]
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 11:28 AM
To: www.gao.gov. We do not have authority to hold hearings, but
often
are asked to testify at hearings held by various Congressional
committees.
That said, you probably heard about us because we are currently
conducting
reviews of aspects of residential treatment facilities for children.
Our
work was requested by Representative George Miller, Chairman of the
House
Committee on Education and Labor. Our report will not be released until
early 2008. Any hearings on the subject would be scheduled by the House
committee and are not necessarily linked to the release of our report.
You
can contact that committee or visit their Web site for more information
on
whether and when they will be holding hearings. If you have more
questions,
please feel free to call me at 202.512.3674.
Kay Brown
Kay E. Brown
Acting Director
USGAO
202 512-3674
brownke@gao.gov
Allrighty then. I've personally spoken to the GAO investigator. To make a long story short: Both HEAL and CAFETY are correct. Huh? There are two seperate investigations on this subject going on right now. HEAL contacted one investigator, CAFETY contacted another. Kat did not lie, misunderstand, or misrepresent anything. Nor did Angela.
I don't know if I can give you the investigator's contact information publicly, I'll have to ask. As far as I know, at the moment, this is a "don't call us, we'll call you" kind of deal... So you're best bet would be contacting anybody who has already talked to her if you have something to come forward with (Kat, a bunch of other regulars). This makes a LOT of sense if you think about it.
There IS another report on the industry that is due out next spring, but it is not the thing that CAFETY has been referring to. This has all been a big miscommunication.
