Author Topic: High Impact  (Read 13297 times)

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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #15 on: September 25, 2003, 04:34:00 PM »
Hey, any mom (or dad) that gets on a plane to go get their kids is a big-time-hero in my book! Kudos to these moms for fighting for their children.

 :wave:
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Offline MelissaR

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« Reply #16 on: September 25, 2003, 04:43:00 PM »
I don't understand why people are not grasping the concept the High Impact is owned by WWASP. If it is advertised on their websites, referred to by directors and family reps, and threatened by staff, what other proof do you need? They share the same marketing company and billing company, BOTH OF WHICH ARE FULLY OWNED AND OPERATED BY WWASP! How nice of WWASP to arrange billing for you while they're beating the living hell out of your kid...Of course they'll take your money! Why would WWASP re-route their money somewhere else? Hell no! If it looks like a duck, and acts like a duck, it most certainly is a duck! I know for a fact that High Impact is owned by WWASP because the *dandy* folks up at Spring Creek Lodge explained it to parents that way. Since WWASP already had parents *trust*, of course they would be willing to place their child in another *loving*, *caring*, WWASP institution. Wake up people!!!!!
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #17 on: September 25, 2003, 04:56:00 PM »
Carey was looking for a solution and found one (actually this is a bit presumptious because I don't know if her decision was based on any trouble with her sons). Not everyone has an option of sending their children to another parent but it would seem to be the logical thing to do. The summer my son went to TB I sent his younger brother to stay with my parents for the summer. It was the smartest thing I could have done. It redirected him and when he came back home we were all behaving better.

Back to the High Impact topic:
There was no need to market HI as heavily as the other wwasp programs because most of the HI inmates were sent there from another wwasp program. The marketing was all done within the program. The majority of the HI students went from a wwasp facility to HI and then back to a wwasp facility. The entire time that HI was open there were many parents who posted on the bbs regarding HI but never did anyone from wwasp ever post anything stating that HI was not part of their network. It has only been since HI closed that the denials started.

Judy
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Offline Carey

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« Reply #18 on: September 25, 2003, 05:00:00 PM »
Quote
Why do the kids that were at Dundee say they had a library, but Ashley on Inside Edition say they had no books? Carey?


They had a library, so to speak, consiting of books that had been donated from various sources. They did not have text books.  They had photo copies of text books that the kids worked from.  Maybe that is what Ashley meant by her statement that there were no books.


[ This Message was edited by: Carey on 2003-09-25 14:20 ]
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #19 on: September 25, 2003, 05:16:00 PM »
Quote
On 2003-09-25 13:28:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote
well, is that what you did when you shipped them to their dad to handle. that isnt fighting; that is giving up. neither here nor there. you are right, you are not a hero,



So does this mean that when parents divorce and the kids go to live with one of their parents, the other parent "has shipped them off to the other to handle?"  I don't quite think so.  I did not give up, never have, never did, never will.



Now, on the other hand, that must be what you did.  Except instead of sending them off to live with the other loving parent, you sent your child to live with abusers.  

 Boy you must hurt deep down inside.  If I were you and I had sent my child to live with those who abused him I too would be pretty mad.  The only difference is that I would be mad at myself and not others.


I am not the person you are responding to but I have seen similar posts from you and others  before so I am answering this time.

Yeah, it does hurt deep down inside. Actually, I am mad at myself AND others. Your comments can't hurt me. You can't say anything I haven't said to myself. No one can judge me as harshly as I judge myself. I live with my own guilt and am astounded at my child's ability to forgive me. It is because of his forgiveness and wanting to get on with his life that I have to move beyond the guilt and pain to be a mom he can turn to and trust. It's about him and the other teens, not me.

Judy
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Offline Carey

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« Reply #20 on: September 25, 2003, 05:28:00 PM »
Judy,  I am sorry.  I did not mean to hurt you.  Please accept my apology.

I was really only trying to respond to the anon who accused me of sending my child off for someone else to handle.  An Anon who really should look in the mirror before pointing a finger.  I was trying to make a point.  I guess I made my point at the expense of others.  Sorry.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #21 on: September 25, 2003, 05:34:00 PM »
Quote
On 2003-09-25 14:28:00, Carey wrote:

"Judy,  I am sorry.  I did not mean to hurt you.  Please accept my apology.



I was really only trying to respond to the anon who accused me of sending my child off for someone else to handle.  An Anon who really should look in the mirror before pointing a finger.  I was trying to make a point.  I guess I made my point at the expense of others.  Sorry."

Apology accepted and not necessary. We really are all in this together even though we got here from different paths.

Judy
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Offline anon

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« Reply #22 on: September 25, 2003, 05:52:00 PM »
[ This Message was edited by: KarenZ on 2003-10-18 14:13 ]
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #23 on: September 25, 2003, 06:37:00 PM »
Karen Writes:

Plenty of cases have been filed. Some settled out of court; some dismissed due to the attorney not being on the ball and letting deadlines pass. However, my experience was, the attorneys I consulted thought the case to complicated and up against to much money. I was advised to seek out a class action firm, that could afford the resources to go up against so much money. I was also advised to speak with the FBI.
------------------------------------------------

Bottom line is there is no class-action-lawsuit that's been filed and no one knows why, except to presume "these things take time".  Also, why hasn't HURON placed a NATIONWIDE ad notifying former students and their parents of a class-action-lawsuit?  Are they relying on ISAC, Boarding School Truth and others to spead the word and round up clients?  Not very encouraging but then, that seems to be par for the course when you get right down to it.  Lots of TALK, but NO ACTION.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #24 on: September 25, 2003, 07:05:00 PM »
http://www.wwasp.com

Cross Creek Programs: 1-800-818-6228
Help My Teen: 1-800-247-1696
Lifelines Crisis Intervention: 1-877-723-3767
Parent Resources Hotline: 1-888-200-5061
Teen Help: 1-800-840-5704
Teens In Crisis: 1-800-250-3966

WWASPS Marketing Companies - in answer to: is Parent Resources now Teen Help. No.

On the Class Action:  My "guess" is that judging from the small number of teens and parents that claim to have a bad experience - on this site (and a few were never involved with WWASPS) and in the newspapers, tv, there may not be enough for Huron to go forward with it.  

I'm not holding my breath.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #25 on: September 25, 2003, 07:07:00 PM »
Karen - which cases were settled out of court?  That's been a rumor, but have never heard who. Does anyone have the court documents to confirm this?
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #26 on: September 25, 2003, 07:16:00 PM »
i think karen is trying to say the there are many confidentiality agreements are signed which many look at as settlement. i guess in a way they are. parents shuts up and they get their money back. go ahead ask us who.  we dont know since they are confidential, but we do know they exist. how? parents do talk and why would we tell you who so they would have to pay you back. keep trying to think things are not coming to an end. not to worry huron knows exactly what they are doing. or actually, that is probably what you are worried about.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #27 on: September 25, 2003, 08:05:00 PM »
Quote
On 2003-09-25 16:16:00, Anonymous wrote:

"i think karen is trying to say the there are many confidentiality agreements are signed which many look at as settlement. i guess in a way they are. parents shuts up and they get their money back. go ahead ask us who.  we dont know since they are confidential, but we do know they exist. how? parents do talk and why would we tell you who so they would have to pay you back. keep trying to think things are not coming to an end. not to worry huron knows exactly what they are doing. or actually, that is probably what you are worried about."


No offsense, a'non, but the question is not whether Huron knows what they are doing.  The question is WHY they have NOT filed a lawsuit that at least one kid has claimed to be the lead plaintiff in (Ryan F.).  Very strange.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #28 on: September 25, 2003, 08:19:00 PM »
Since when did class action lawsuits get filed in a matter of a few months?
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #29 on: September 25, 2003, 09:17:00 PM »
Quote
On 2003-09-25 17:19:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Since when did class action lawsuits get filed in a matter of a few months?"


I don't know the answer to your question, but according to this news article, it appears the lawsuit was supposed to be filed around the time this article was published.  As for ISAC, I checked their website and yes, they do have a link to information on what to do if someone is interested in joining the class-action-lawsuit. Perhaps someone with expertise in this area of the law can provide more helpful information about class-actions in general, which may help to explain why the case has yet to be filed.

Parents to Sue Association
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff
trogers@ticotimes.net

June 20, 2003

After months of planning and organizing, an underground parents' network opposed to the behavior-modification practices employed by the Utah-based World-Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP) is now prepared to surface and slap the umbrella organization with a massive class-action lawsuit, The Tico Times has learned.

Two high-profile California-based law firms, Huron Law Group LLP and Masry & Vititoe - the latter made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" - are planning to enter the class-action suit in a Northern District Federal Court of California today, attorney Ed Masry told The Tico Times yesterday.

The lawsuit is expected to name all nine WWASP affiliates in the U.S., Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica's recently closed Dundee Ranch Academy, a facility on the grounds of a former resort hotel in the central Pacific town of Orotina.

Dundee, home to 200 troubled teens mostly from the U.S., was forced to close last month following two government interventions to investigate allegations of abuse, including reports of physical restraint and sentencing youths to hours of solitary confinement, and allegations of drugging the students.

The interventions spun out of control when Prosecutor Fernando Vargas explained to the students their rights under Costa Rican law, sparking rebellion, violent rioting and 35 students running away (TT, May 23).

Since the program closed, all the youths have been relocated to their homes in the U.S., or to WWASP's sister programs in Montana and Jamaica (TT, May 30; June 6, 13).

MANY Dundee parents adamantly defend the facility, insisting that the program's "tough-love" tactics helped their sons or daughters through severe discipline and drug problems. Several parents have told The Tico Times in past months that their children were on a potentially fatal crash course and that Dundee provided a life-saving emergency brake.

Dundee owner and Utah native Narvin Lichfield, 42, was jailed for 24 hours May 23 on allegations of abuse, coercion and rights violations. He is currently under court order to remain in the country while the Prosecutor's Office continues to investigate what went on during Dundee's 20-month existence here.

The recent problems at Dundee have also prompted authorities in Jamaica and Utah to take new interest in the WWASP programs there, and this week impelled the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina to open an investigation of Lichfield's other behavior-modification program, Carolina Springs.

According to Masry, the class-action lawsuit will accuse WWASP of deceptive trade practices, violation of the 1983 Civil Rights Act, civil racketeering, false advertising and assault and battery.

The lawyers also will ask the judge to slap all WWASP facilities with temporary cease-and-desist orders, Masry said.

California father Chris Goodwin is expected to be a key plaintiff in the case, but it is not yet clear how many other victims will be involved.

Goodwin, who led the charge to close a WWASP-associated program in Mexico, claims his son was severely abused at the now-defunct "High Impact" program. According to Goodwin, at the Mexican facility his son was locked in a dog cage for a week at a time, hog-tied for three days, had his thumb twisted back and broken by a staffer, and had his teeth knocked through his lips by an employee who smashed his face in the ground repeatedly (TT, March 14).

WWASP earns more than $80 million worldwide each year, according to some estimates. It is not clear how much the class-action suit will request in damages.

WWASP president Ken Kay told The Tico Times this week he was unaware of the class-action suit, but doesn't think the organization will be held liable for any wrongdoing. He said WWASP is a non-profit membership organization that doesn't own or operate any schools.

Meanwhile, in Costa Rica, separate legal proceedings against Dundee moved ahead this week following last Friday's deposition by Robin Crawford, mother of former Dundee student Cody. Crawford told the judge Dundee falsely advertised itself and its staff physically and emotionally abused her son (TT, June 13).

Lichfield, who estimated he lost $20 million because of his program's closure, has not returned repeated Tico Times phone calls over the last two weeks.
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