Anon,
You addressed the question to Carey, but I'll also share my situation.
The idea was suggested to my ex by the family therapist. He had made a bad choice for our older son 4 years prior, sending him to a marine military academy. Won't go into the details of that horrid experience, but our lawsuit is settling now.
Anyway, he wanted to make a "better" choice, and thought he was, because it was a "therapeutic" facility. He visited several websites and upon learning that he needed a referal from an Ed Con, the therapist gave him a name. He called the Ed Con on Friday, she recommended a facility. It was all done by phone. She never saw my son.
He and my son flew to Ga on Sat. My son was offically enrolled on Monday- when I received a call out of the blue, from a complete stranger telling me that my son would be spending the next 22 months at their facility. He then proceeded to layout the ground rules for communication, I would not be speaking to my son for the next 4-5 months. FYI, four to five months depending on how quickly their group formed- waiting for a minimum number of participants. I was livid. I could not believe what I was hearing. It was surreal.
He said something about my son being ODD. I asked if he had been evaluated prior to enrollment. No, they determined he was ODD based on his father's complaints. They weren't interested in my perspective, he was paying the bill. That was the beginning of a 20 month nightmare.
Another tidbit about the Ed Con. Mid way through my son's stay I discovered that the facility wasn't licensed, nor was their newly opened wilderness program (bootcamp). I called and confronted her. She hemmed and hawed through the taped conversation. No, she didn't know that neither facility was licensed. No, she didn't know about the restriction diet. No, she didn't know the mail was censored and phone calls monitored. No, she'd never met my son. No, she didn't know if he had been evaluated before placement. Near the end, in defense, with a line straight out of the Ed Con textbook, she said her goal was to make the best placement possible so the child could get back on track academically and get on with their life. She added that she "hoped it would be a good placement for my son".
Had she known anything at all about my son, she would've known that he was an A/B student, well liked by his peers and teachers. He had no academic problems.
Since that time, I have personally known two other teens who have been incarcerated. One did not come home. He died 13 months ago at a Utah wilderness program, Skyline Journey, due to gross negligence. That is and will always be my opinion.
A family therapist refered his mom. The other teen's parent was refered by a school counselor.
When parents are desperate to dump their child the information is not difficult to find.
Deborah
