Jill Ryan

[Anonymous]

Parents of children currently at HLA, you need to listen to Jill Ryan and the rest of us that have had children at HLA and know what we are talking about. One of the first things HLA tells you in parent workshops is not to believe anything on sites like this one. The reason they tell you that is because they do not want you to know the TRUTH about HLA. You better wake up and realize what goes on there before you have lost a ton of money, and your child is no better, or even WORSE than they were before they went to HLA.

[Anonymous]

"The reason they tell you that is because they do not want you to know the TRUTH about HLA"

a parent may ask,  "... and why would they not want me to know the truth? what reason do they have to lie to me? they are god-fearing christians afterall!"

well i cant tell you what exactly is on the HLA's directors mind. i'm not going to delve into my personal experiences with them becouse you could still just not believe me.

but, i can point something out to you about business practices in general, and you can decide for yourself what you think.

Understand that Fornits is first and foremost essentially the ripoffreport.com or betterbussinessbureau if the Troubled Teen Industry. the politico-ideological banter is only secondary and unavoidable in such a setting.

When bussinesses get complaints at the BBB, they usually have two general options:

1. Settle the dispute with the customer (customer is king). make the details which caused the complaint equally as public as the complaint itself, and make it known what steps they are taking to prevent it in the future.
2. Publicly Pretend the complaint never happened or play it down and justify themselves. Even as they are sued, the companies keep the matter as private as possible and tell customers to ignore the problem because it was caused by 'crazy' people.

option one is either an indication of either innocence, or an admittance of guilt with an honest willingness to change.
option two is usually a carefull defense in the presence of guilt. this is because if they were innocent of the allegations, they would make the dispute public and go with option one.

One of the things HLA themselves teach is that people only put up a verbal defense when there is something to defend - you only put up your defenses when you feel threatened. well, HLA is a school. their actions affect people for lifetimes, and therefore their actions should be made public. we are making those actions public. Why would they defend their own actions unless they feel threatened by their own actions?
did they every tell you WHY they were sued? did they detail to you the problems facing the school? or do they just focus on the positives and play down the negatives as inconsequential to the present? did they discuss and discredit the grievances we have, or ignore them and change the subject?

do you honestly think were here because we have a bone to pick, a grudge, a vendetta against HLA because of some trivial reason (like out of spite)? we are adults with families, responsibilities, and things to do. we wouldn't waste our time here unless it was worth it. We all know that seeing HLA punished will provide only a brief and fleeting sense of satisfaction. we are here because we feel morally compelled to warn others of HLA's deceit and prevent people from falling into their trap.

[Anonymous]

This was a post from another subject area, which seems appropriate here.  Prospective families need to do something we didn't and that is research schools before placement. Educate oneself.  We were naive,trusting and had no earthly idea that corruption like this could exist in this industry.  Most of us didn't even know 'this' was an industry.  Our families were so devastated, every other means of seeking answers were exhausted, our children needed help as they walked in their own private Hell, we were perfect prey;  we wanted to believe that there was hope for our child, so we walked toward yet another light, that was darker than anything we could have imagined..HLA and an industry that truly trafficks our children using parents desparation, anguish and hope for the life of their child. Yes there are a few parents that could have cared less and threw their child to the wolves and more shall follow, they do not walk beside us.  For most of us, we made a grave error in judgement, blind faith, and naivety.

Pathetic... You struck a nerve with a "child' that had a horrible experience, walk with your head up, you should be proud. Obviously, you have much in common with the narcissist than owns the place. The ORS, division of DHR in Georgia has approximately 4900 pages of documents you should have educated yourself with, before sending your child to HLA, in fact any school. If that is not enough, contact the GAO and ask for their report. What the GAO agents found backs up the entire lawsuit and then some.Again, the GAO has no prosecutorial powers, but may make recommendations for prosecution. However, stand in line for that one, as there were many schools that were investigated and those with deaths are at the top of the list. HLA only had several attempted suicides by hanging(one med-evac in a coma), hazing, rapes(due to negligence), zip ties,cold cocking and the list could go on. Your child sleeps in mold, that has been painted over and over again(per employees). There were affivdavits signed by parents, psychologists, counselors, children, hospitals, med transport, police reports; sexual harassment settlements with young counselors(every check),The Chapel Fund(every check), again the list could go on. Buccellato is fortunate that the suit was filed as a class and negligence could not be filed along with it. It was only filed as a class because so much was uncovered and so many families were hurt, there seemed to be no other options at the time. Now, possibly a "cluster suit" would have been better. He is fortunate that this did not go to trial. Buccellato may also be fortunate that the Federal prosecutors via the GAO feel they have bigger fish to fry.

Now ask yourself how do I know all this? About this time last year, two Federal agents from the GAO came knocking at my door and my life was once again turned upside down, for months, to seek justice and expose the truth. A glimmer of hope, for those of us that saw the dark side of what you refer to as such a wonderful "institution". The GAO has it "ALL".


Educate yourself before you sling arrows, otherwise you do sound like an imbecile or one of his lackey's,a toady, bought and paid for with no soul or human compassion left for another.Guest 22