Suicide

[DannyB II]

The only time in my life when I considered suicide as an option was when I was stuck on first phase being tortured in the program. I had tried to run away 3 times and had no other way out, no other choice, my own mind was being destroyed and I was having a nervous breakdown. I was fully aware of this but had no way to communicate this to the outside world.

My suicide attempt was thwarted by staff and then I was truly horrified. I realized I could not escape even through death. life after the program was at first calm and steady but ultimately became a downward spiral due to the psychological damage incurred through the treatment techniques imposed upon our minds.

Fast forward to the last decade. Suicide attempts have been reported by kids who were in Pathway Family Center. And at least 6 suicides of "Pathlings" have been reported to me by families who were involved with the program in the last 5-10 years. In many cases the kids themselves pointed to the damage done to them by the program as THE contributing factor to their despair before they committed suicide.

This statement offers insight into these tragedies:

 http://www.pfctruth.com/testimonial1.htm

I do not have statistical data about suicide rates among other programs.

Nothing that went on in your life prior to going to this T/C had anything to do with your downward spiral. Where were your family and friends who loved you, were drugs a part of your life prior and after the T/C. Was your behavior destructive prior and after the T/C.
I mean so many things contribute to suicide.

[reformed12stepper]

WD tony im sorry treatment was so terrible for you. I read the link and googled that girl's name. The poor thing hung herself. It is very sad. I can see how it can be argued that there is no way of knowing for sure why someone kills themselves without being a mind reader but i can also see how if you feel like shit about yourself, a place that continually focuses on how much of a failure you are is not going to help even when it is not physically abusive.
Suck it I dont know if being suicidal is part of the human condition. It never has been for me but maybe I am too much of a coward to do it. For me Its like that dorothy parker poem,
guns arent lawful
nooses give
gas smells awful
you might as well live  :birthday:  :cheers:
I remember when i went into drug rehab as an adult (it was effective, voluntary and humane) feeling like i was at a pretty low point. The cliche rock bottom I suppose and feeling like AA had not really done it and maybe i was a hopeless case, but then even with that i figured there was too much id miss out on being dead. Without starting a religious debate I think it might be harder to go through with if you are agnostic or athiest because you dont feel guaranteed of some kind of afterlife or reincarnation so it is like this is it. There were too many fun things like food and sex for me to contemplate never having or doing again. I met a woman while I was there who unlike me was court ordered to go due to a traffic charge. She had tried twice in the past but it turned out she had bipolar disorder. She said it was a relief to figure out why she felt like that.
I read a thread on this board about a book called what it takes to pull me through and ordered it on Amazon. One of the boys who graduated killed himself at 20. His poor father lost it after that. I could see how some of the work they did with those kids would help, like say the exercise where the black kid's mother told the adopted girl from her own perspective that it was done out of a desire to give her a better life, but there were also a lot of things that seemed kind of dangerous and that could really send someone over he edge. Like the costa rica trip also seemed like for some kids who are really fit and adventurous a great opportunity. But some kids did not seem like they could cope at all. What it highlighted was that one size does not fit all but they do not discriminate between who will do well and who wont. Everyone is just made go regardless of the mental health risks.
I was appauled that when one girl actually made a suicide attempt while in costa rica they mocked her for it and then publically humiliated her for being sexually active. There was no reason in the world why her teacher could not have addressed breaking that rule as an issue privately. SHe ended up making a really serious attempt on her life. The british kid who seemed really smart and sensitive also lost it as soon as they let him out and sent him home. I wondered if he was not deliberately trying to OD.
 I also wondered how the girl from texas did because they were extremely harsh on her. Surely it is not considered professional to have one of the other girls supervise her in the toilet? i get that with anorexics some hospitals do that when things are severe, but it is a nurse or some other professional doing it, never a fellow patient. The role play where she had to relive boys calling her a whore also seemed pretty devastating.

[BuzzKill]

Reformed 12 stepper:

These private, for profit, peer pressure/synanon based programs do indeed push kids over the edge. This is the intent. Then, supposedly, they build them back - or get them "fully baked" as WWASP would say. But once you have devastated a persons very identity and called into question all they have believed and trusted, you can never put them back together without there being a few cracks - and this is assuming they survive the shattering. As you've seen, some do not. PTSD is extremely common.  This is often added to the already present burden of pre-existing mental health or emotional disorders that have been grossly mismanaged by these programs.  Its no wonder suicide is such a looming issue.

You mention all one would miss out on thats fun - but keep in mind for a truly depressed person nothing is fun. This is the problem.

I'd advise those feeling this way to remember they have enjoyed life and they can again - depression is not a permanent state; death and what ever comes after it, is. By all means see a doctor - go to the hospital and tell them what your considering. If your uninsured tell them you need to see a social worker to apply for medicaid or assistance from what ever the local community offers. There are often many resources available people are unaware of. You might even qualify for SSI or disability if you get a proper diagnosis, and there are social workers who can help you apply. There are lawyers who will help for a cut of the first check which is always a whopper as it goes back to when you applied and the application process takes a long time.

As anger is commonly associated with depression consider legal and productive avenues to express it - Art, music and writing for example, can be excellent ways to work through this.

I want to correct someone (forget who and don't want to go searching) that spoke of Layne Brown. Layne was not a suicide. His heart gave out.

[Anne Bonney]

Reformed 12 stepper:

These private, for profit, peer pressure/synanon based programs do indeed push kids over the edge. This is the intent. Then, supposedly, they build them back - or get them "fully baked" as WWASP would say. But once you have devastated a persons very identity and called into question all they have believed and trusted, you can never put them back together without there being a few cracks - and this is assuming they survive the shattering. As you've seen, some do not. PTSD is extremely common.  This is often added to the already present burden of pre-existing mental health or emotional disorders that have been grossly mismanaged by these programs.  Its no wonder suicide is such a looming issue.

You mention all one would miss out on thats fun - but keep in mind for a truly depressed person nothing is fun. This is the problem.

I'd advise those feeling this way to remember they have enjoyed life and they can again - depression is not a permanent state; death and what ever comes after it, is. By all means see a doctor - go to the hospital and tell them what your considering. If your uninsured tell them you need to see a social worker to apply for medicaid or assistance from what ever the local community offers. There are often many resources available people are unaware of. You might even qualify for SSI or disability if you get a proper diagnosis, and there are social workers who can help you apply. There are lawyers who will help for a cut of the first check which is always a whopper as it goes back to when you applied and the application process takes a long time.

As anger is commonly associated with depression consider legal and productive avenues to express it - Art, music and writing for example, can be excellent ways to work through this.

I want to correct someone (forget who and don't want to go searching) that spoke of Layne Brown. Layne was not a suicide. His heart gave out.

 :notworthy:  :notworthy:  :notworthy:


Bears repeating so much!!!

Sorry, I have to....I love this gif!.....

[justonemore]

Just for the hell of it! I know that one among our number is an actuary Anyone got Mortality stats? I bet they're pretty high, for a population such as ours.
J.O.M.

[justonemore]

Anyone else see this as a virtually perfect extortion racket. i do. Run the numbers.
J.O.M.

[reformed12stepper]

Reformed 12 stepper:

These private, for profit, peer pressure/synanon based programs do indeed push kids over the edge. This is the intent. Then, supposedly, they build them back - or get them "fully baked" as WWASP would say. But once you have devastated a persons very identity and called into question all they have believed and trusted, you can never put them back together without there being a few cracks - and this is assuming they survive the shattering. As you've seen, some do not. PTSD is extremely common.  This is often added to the already present burden of pre-existing mental health or emotional disorders that have been grossly mismanaged by these programs.  Its no wonder suicide is such a looming issue.

You mention all one would miss out on thats fun - but keep in mind for a truly depressed person nothing is fun. This is the problem.

I'd advise those feeling this way to remember they have enjoyed life and they can again - depression is not a permanent state; death and what ever comes after it, is. By all means see a doctor - go to the hospital and tell them what your considering. If your uninsured tell them you need to see a social worker to apply for medicaid or assistance from what ever the local community offers. There are often many resources available people are unaware of. You might even qualify for SSI or disability if you get a proper diagnosis, and there are social workers who can help you apply. There are lawyers who will help for a cut of the first check which is always a whopper as it goes back to when you applied and the application process takes a long time.

As anger is commonly associated with depression consider legal and productive avenues to express it - Art, music and writing for example, can be excellent ways to work through this.

I want to correct someone (forget who and don't want to go searching) that spoke of Layne Brown. Layne was not a suicide. His heart gave out.

As I read your post and the bit about kids being "baked" it made me feel like these kids are seen almost as products. I dont want to be critical of the parents who send them to such places because I am sure they are hoping for a good outcome for the kid and that in some cases the kid is in over their head. I know i gave my family its fair share of drama as a kid. But at the same time it seems like sometimes everybody including the parents forgets that these kids are people with feelings. You cant rebuild or rewire a person or change who they are.
I can understand being depressed enough that nothing seems fun anymore and i am sure that everybody has been there. I suppose for me hope springs eternal. It is cliched but just as when you are on top the only place you can go is down, the converse is also true. As the song goes things can only get better. I really hope that anyone who has been through this system and had a negative experience with it can find some way out of the woods. It seems like ending it is letting the bastards win.

[T-Rex]

I have been reading the posts here concerning friends that committed suicide, attempted suicide and how programs push people to suicide. I have one problem here I don't see anyone here that is qualified to give advice or state clinically that this particular person committed suicide as a direct result from punitive damages from the specific program.
Now I know you can cite studies and surveys ect..but what you have not done is taken the specific person you are referencing and had a study done on them. I think we need to be careful throwing this "suicide" word around as if any unprofessional can make a case.
I am not trying to cause a unnecessary argument here, I would just like to get more clarity from the individuals making these claims to elaborate more if they choose to. Better yet if we have a professional in the house who would like to elaborate.
I am of the opinion these untimely deaths are a mixture of ingredients, the "program" being a 1/4 portion of the ingredients, family, mental and physical health being the others in this bowl, of course this is my opinion.
I said above that I am not looking for a fight or argument, I also was in a program and several people committed suicide years after they were there, was this because of there involvement with the program we were at, I can not professionally say. I do know 2 of the people I am referencing suffered from depression and the other was bi-polar, though we did not call it that then.
There families were not very active in there treatment plan, calling them, visiting them or sending them gift packages. I could never understand how some parents could send there children away and stop all communication.
If your thinking the program was responsible for this you are wrong they were not, 95% of the parents came for visits, called the kids, sent letters and gift packages ect....I asked my parents to send this one friend of mine a gift package so he would get one.
I will comment more later.
I am once again very sorry for your friends deaths, suicide is a very sad death to accept, it seems at times so unnecessary.Then other times very plausible.

[T-Rex]

Reformed 12 stepper:

These private, for profit, peer pressure/synanon based programs do indeed push kids over the edge. This is the intent. Then, supposedly, they build them back - or get them "fully baked" as WWASP would say. But once you have devastated a persons very identity and called into question all they have believed and trusted, you can never put them back together without there being a few cracks - and this is assuming they survive the shattering. As you've seen, some do not. PTSD is extremely common.  This is often added to the already present burden of pre-existing mental health or emotional disorders that have been grossly mismanaged by these programs.  Its no wonder suicide is such a looming issue.

You mention all one would miss out on thats fun - but keep in mind for a truly depressed person nothing is fun. This is the problem.

I'd advise those feeling this way to remember they have enjoyed life and they can again - depression is not a permanent state; death and what ever comes after it, is. By all means see a doctor - go to the hospital and tell them what your considering. If your uninsured tell them you need to see a social worker to apply for medicaid or assistance from what ever the local community offers. There are often many resources available people are unaware of. You might even qualify for SSI or disability if you get a proper diagnosis, and there are social workers who can help you apply. There are lawyers who will help for a cut of the first check which is always a whopper as it goes back to when you applied and the application process takes a long time.

As anger is commonly associated with depression consider legal and productive avenues to express it - Art, music and writing for example, can be excellent ways to work through this.

I want to correct someone (forget who and don't want to go searching) that spoke of Layne Brown. Layne was not a suicide. His heart gave out.

I would very much like to see the both of you fast forward to 2010 and stop referencing everything from 30-40 years ago. You two are also giving away your ages.
I would like to agree with you that severe depression was caused by these programs but that is not a direct accurate clinical statement. I would say rage, hostility, fear and not knowing how to express these emotions, can get someone into some very destructive habits, which then could lead indirectly to depression. Most folks I have run into that have "PTSD" it is really rageand they do not know now to get rid of it. Just my two cents.

Good reading......

John Herald Lee
Excerpt from http://thenangersolutionbyjohnlee.blogspot.com/

Being Judge and Jury As Soft Rage--Lesson 12
When someone is angry but doesn’t know how to express it appropriately
they very often fall back on a tactic that was probably used on them
...since childhood and they have become masters of in adulthood—judging.
This form of raging requires that the individual have an imaginary robe
and a gavel handy at all times.See More
http://thenangersolutionbyjohnlee.blogspot.com/
thenangersolutionbyjohnlee.blogspot.com

[BuzzKill]

stop referencing everything from 30-40 years ago. You two are also giving away your ages.

Really? Besides apparent age, What else do you think you know?  I can tip you off that Anne and I have almost zero in common, including our age. My personal experience  was very different from Anne's; was more like 8 years ago and is absolutely and with out question an on-going issue.

Reformed: The kids are very clearly viewed as a commodity. You can reference Amberly Knight's statemewnt to PANI to get a clear idea of the extent of this fact.

To the Minister of Child Welfare:


I worked as the Director at the Academy at Dundee Ranch from March to August of 2002.  During this time, Mr. Joseph Atkin was the Financial Director.  Mr. Kenneth Wilson was the Student Director.  I replaced Mr. Ron DelAguila (who replaced Mr. Randall Hinton).  After I left in August of 2002, Mr. Joseph Atkin replaced me.  Mr. Atkin left in February of this year, and has been replaced by Mr. Francisco Bustos.

I feel that Dundee Ranch Academy should not be allowed to operate because it is poorly managed, takes financial advantage of parents in crisis, and puts teens in physical and emotional risk.

Dundee Ranch Academy is poorly managed, and this is why so many directors have left in the short 18 months that the school has been open.  Company policies and procedures changed daily on the whims of Mr. Narvin Lichfield, the owner. While I was there, Mr. Lichfield and his wife (girlfriend at the time) often made it impossible for my staff and myself to do our jobs.  For example, Mr. Lichfield and his wife often changed the rules of the program without informing the staff.  They would give kids special permission to break rules, until it got to the point where the staff gave up trying to control the students.  Mr. Lichfield and his wife often demanded that structural changes be made to buildings or that new buildings be built without obtaining the necessary building permits.  Orotina authorities visited several times and threatened to close the place if construction was occurring when they returned.  However, because the construction workers were more afraid of Mr. Lichfield and his fits of rage than they were of the local authorities, they would go right back to work as soon as the authorities were out of site.

The purpose of Dundee Ranch is not to help teens in crisis or their families.  It is to make millions of dollars for the owner.  Although the profit margins are approximately 50% -75%, Mr. Lichfield is unsatisfied.  He continues to try to squeeze out every penny he can.  This is achieved by hiring unqualified, untrained staff, providing the bare minimum of food and living essentials, and by adding huge margins to additional services.  For example, if a student needs a ride to San Jose to visit the doctor, Dundee charges the parents $250 when it costs them $50.  If a student sees the Doctor, parents are charged $50; Dundee pays $15.  If a student needs medicine, parents are charged $30; Dundee typically pays $2 - $3.  Parents pay $95 per month for “incidentals” like toothpaste and deodorant.  These incidentals, while I was there, cost Dundee $15 per month.

While I was in the process of resigning from Dundee Ranch last August, an American male staff member assaulted and raped a female staff member at a location of about 100 meters from where all the students are housed.  I was not on the premises at the time, but was involved in reporting the incident to the Costa Rican authorities and staying with the employee’s mother who flew in from the United States.  The parents of students who were in the program were not informed of the incident.  Mr. Atkin, one of Dundee’s many Directors, dismissed the incident to a Tico Times reporter as a “non-issue.” One of the reasons that the incident was not made public was because the employee who committed the crime was a recent “graduate” of an affiliated program.  The program claims a 92% “success” rate, and a drunken assault of a graduate would not be seen as a success.

This leads to another issue—untrained, unqualified staff.  None of the staff members are trained to work with at-risk youth.  The only reason we had hired Mr. Andy Lamb, a young 19-year-old with a history of abusive behavior, is because he knew the program, and was willing to work for the very low wage offered by Mr. Lichfield.  According to Mr. Lichfield, “there was not enough money in the budget” to hire trained, qualified staff.  Here are some other highlights:

   The owner, Mr. Lichfield, has been involved with these types of programs for at least 15 years, but as the Marketing person, not as a clinical person.
   The current director, Mr. Francisco Bustos, (as Mr. Atkin recently got fed up with the chaos and also left Dundee Ranch) has no experience.  If you look at their website, it states that he has experience owning and operating 5 pizza restaurants.  The reason he was hired is because he was a longtime friend of the owner’s wife, Ms. Flori Alvaredo.
   The “Family Fathers”, the staff who spend all day with the students, give corrections and punishment to the students, and who are supposed to teach and kindly correct the students, are minimum wage workers who do not speak English.
   The “Family Representatives”, the staff that hold daily counseling sessions (called “Reflections”) with the students have no training or background in this area.  They are also the only point of contact between the program and the students and often find themselves in a family counseling role, for which they are not qualified.
   They have only one trained psychologist on staff, who visits once a week, but parents must pay an additional $75/hour for his services.
   I am the first to admit that I was not even qualified to be there.  I hold a degree in Secondary Education, but took only one class in working with at-risk youth.

In addition to this, when I was there, most of the staff were disgruntled and frustrated with the way they were treated.  Often their paychecks did not arrive on time or with the right amount of money.  They often took their frustration at the administration out on the students.  They treated students poorly (yelling at them, giving them extra “consequences”.)  Staff turn-over is very high.  This creates additional instability with the students.  During the year 2002, there were four different Directors.  “Family Representatives” and teachers came and left monthly.  This created additional emotional instability in the students who were already torn from their parents and allowed extremely limited time to talk with the other students in the program.  The only chance they often had to talk was with staff, and those staff continued to leave the program.

As an employee, the only training I received was on how to manipulate parents.  I was told many times that “there is no reason for a student to return home before ‘graduating’ the program”.  Once they are in, they are there to stay.  This process takes 12 to 36 months.  There were many students who had psychological, medical, or special education needs that we could not meet.  When I suggested that they be sent to another place where they could receive the help they needed, I was told to “keep my mouth shut and make sure that their parents kept them there.”  I was threatened with my job.  If there were students who would be better off going home or entering another program, I was not allowed to suggest this to the parent. Ironically, if the parents had concerns about what was going on, we were told to tell the parents that their children were “just manipulating them.”

Students were not allowed to communicate freely with their parents, or anyone else.  They were allowed to write a weekly email and letter, but the staff was instructed to read the email and letter and take out anything they did not like, or write comments to the parents.  The students were not allowed to express their true feelings.  Students were not allowed to talk with their parents until they were “Level 3”, which could take anywhere from 4 to 24 months.  At that point, they were allowed a 15 minute phone call once a month.  Staff was instructed to hang the phone up and terminate their conversation if the student said anything negative about the program.

Students were not allowed to talk without permission.  Typically, they would be able to speak with their friends for about 15 to 30 minutes a day.  They were isolated from the outside world.  They did not have a chance to view a newspaper or the internet.  Emotionally, this was very difficult for the students, as many of them processed their emotions by talking about them.

When I first arrived, “restraints” were common.  This was when a staff member would twist a student’s arm around their back and throw them to the ground or against a wall.  I know of at least one case where an arm was dislocated.   I insisted that this stop, and I am fairly certain that it did not happen while I was there.  However, I have heard reports that this was started again after I left.  Further investigation should be done.

Another punishment was writing “essays” of 3000 to 150,000 words.  Students were required to sit in a dark room without proper back support, and write these essays until they finished the required number of words.  Often, staff members, for no apparent reason, would rip up the essays and make the students start over.  Students were required to write for 8 hours a day until their words were completed.

The worst punishment was “OP” or “Observational Punishment.”  In this, students were required to stand, kneel, sit, or lay on a cement floor without moving for 30 minutes at a time.  They had to do this for 8 hours a day, until they had “served their time”.  When some of the kids accepted this, the staff made them run 100s of laps around the pool; just to make it miserable enough that the kids would want to comply.

Students had no voice.  If they had a complaint, they were supposed to write a “grievance” on a piece of paper.  Often, these were lost or confiscated by staff who did not want to look bad.

I stayed at Dundee because I wanted to make things run well, because I believe that when administered well, the program can be effective for some teens.  However, many of the teens that were there at the time (and probably still there) would be much better served somewhere else.  This was not an option because it would take money out of Mr. Lichfield’s pocket. I also realized that my efforts would never be successful.  I could not hire and keep trained staff.  I could not spend money on things the kids needed.  Several times we ran out of toilet paper and the kids had to use notebook paper. I could not get Mr. Lichfield to begin the dorms that were so desperately needed, and that he promised to parents “were in the works”.  Everything was focused on the profits Mr. Lichfield could make, not on the health or welfare of the students.  Some additional examples of this are:

   The city water was disconnected and students were given well water to drink, because the city water was “too expensive”.  Shortly thereafter, approximately 40 students got diarrhea and eventually drinking water was filtered.  This may have been a coincidence.  But even if the water did not have any problems, they should have tested it before they began giving it to students.
   The kids are crowded in their rooms.  There are as many as 15 kids in what used to be a single hotel room.  They were required to sleep from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am to save on staff costs.  (We only needed 2 staff when the boys were in their beds, versus 6-8 staff when they were awake.) Mr. Lichfield did not want to spend the money to hire additional staff.
   For the first 10 months that the school was open, there were no trained staff administering medicine.  After several students were given the wrong medicine, or were not given their medication, I insisted on hiring two full-time nurses.  Before that, the minimum wage staff members who could not speak English were required to pass out medicine.

I did not have the resources or support necessary to provide what I felt was a humane and safe environment for these teens.  I was also concerned about the “High Impact” extension that was a copy of a program that was shut down in Mexico because of the death of students.  For these reasons, I decided to resign in early August.

It would be my pleasure to speak to someone about these issues.  I can be reached at [deleated], or by phone at [deleated] during the day, or at [deleated] during the evening.  

Kind regards,
Amberly Knight

[T-Rex]

T-Rex wrote:
stop referencing everything from 30-40 years ago. You two are also giving away your ages.

Buzzkill wrote:
Really? Besides apparent age, What else do you think you know?  I can tip you off that Anne and I have almost zero in common, including our age. My personal experience  was very different from Anne's; was more like 8 years ago and is absolutely and with out question an on-going issue.

 
I put a smiley face there to keep the comments in that sentence in jest. Sorry you seemed to find it offensive, not meant that way. I would have thought it was a "given" that I do not know anything about Anne or yourself.
Why don't you try commenting on the heart of my post and read John Lee's excerpts on anger.

[BuzzKill]

Rex - It IS indeed a given that you don't know what your talking about

Your smiley face was meant to imply this? So, you didn't really mean to say 30 or 40 years ago? Or that you could guess our age? That was a joke of some sort?  Please don't take My smile face that way.

Respond to the heart of your post - OK:

California father Chris Goodwin, who led the charge to close High Impact in Mexico, told The Tico Times this week that his son had been transferred to the Mexican facility from a WWASP program in 2001. At High Impact, Goodwin claims, 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 staff member, had his teeth knocked through his lips by a staffer who smashed his face in the ground repeatedly, and was forced to walk around the compound's perimeter track in the sun wearing flannel underwear and a sweatsuit.

Suppose such treatment, either experienced or commonly witnessed while in a state of powerlessness, constant hunger, sleeplessness, unrelenting fear and uncertainty might result in rage, and /or PTSD? Eventually even suicide?
Do keep in mind that people who have experienced this brand of "therapy" and  "help" may find it impossible to seek "help" from any therapeutic source ever again.

More Questions about 'Tough-Love' Program
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff
 
Concerns are growing that there may be more than meets the eye at the U.S.-run behavior modification program Dundee Ranch Academy, as two new Web sites appeared this week advertising the institution as a juvenile military boot camp.
Despite academy owner Narvin Lichfield's repeated insistence that his program is not a boot camp for troubled teens, the discovery of Web sites "1-To-1 Juvenile Boot Camps" (1-to-1-juvenile-boot-camps.com) and "Basic Training Boot Camp Military School" (basic-training-boot-camp-military-school.com) fueled critics' arguments that Dundee Ranch is not what it is advertising itself to be.
Although neither Internet page mentions Dundee Ranch, The Tico Times this week learned that the boot camps are located at the academy's facilities on the remote campus of a former hotel in the Pacific town of Orotina.

'HIGH-Impact' track under construction: idea's being reworked.
Tico Times /JulioLaínez

Lichfield, whose brother Bob runs Dundee's Utah-based umbrella organization WorldWide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), said he was unaware the boot camp Web sites had been published on the Internet.
"That is not what we are offering; I will have to tell them to take those down," he told The Tico Times during a phone interview from his other WWASP program in South Carolina.
Lichfield said the sites were erroneously published by Parent Resources, a Utah-based marketing firm that handles enrollment and admissions for the WWASP's nine programs in the U.S. and abroad. He explained that the idea of running a separate military boot camp at Dundee's recently constructed "High Impact" walled compound was an idea he toyed with a year ago, but eventually decided against, due to Costa Rica's long history of demilitarization.
Lichfield claims he is reworking the concept of the "High Impact" - scheduled to be operational next month - and said he must have forgotten to tell Parent Resources about the change of plans. He blamed the Web sites on "an honest lack of communication."

Dundee Ranch is a controversial non-therapeutic behavior modification institution for troubled teens. Currently home to 183 boys and girls ages 11-17, most from the U.S., the program and its WWASP affiliates in the U.S. and Jamaica have come under fire over the years by critics who claim the program's "tough love" tactics - including the use of physical restraint and sentencing kids to solitary confinement - are abusive (TT, Oct. 25, 2002; Jan. 17).
Former Dundee Ranch director Amberly Knight - one of five directors who have worked at the Costa Rica program in its 18 months of existence - this week added her voice to the chorus of concern in a five-page letter to Costa Rican Child Welfare (PANI) Minister Rosalia Gil.
"I feel that Dundee Ranch Academy should not be allowed to operate because it is poorly managed, takes financial advantage of parents in crisis, and puts teens in physical and emotional risk," she wrote.
Gil told The Tico Times this week that her organization is investigating Dundee, and that last week she sent three child welfare workers to the academy to talk with kids and staff. She declined to comment on details of the PANI report, which was discussed at length with the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday. The Embassy also declined comment.
Lichfield said last week's visit from the PANI went well, and that he has a meeting scheduled with Gil and the U.S. Embassy in the coming weeks.
He dismissed Knight as an "immature" and disgruntled former employee.
"If she felt like there was abuse at the camp, why didn't she talk about it when she was director?" he asked.
Lichfield added that Knight, by talking to the press and the PANI, has violated trade-secret and confidentiality agreements, and will be sued in Costa Rica as a result.

A second former Dundee Ranch employee contacted by The Tico Times this week said he could vouch for everything Knight had said in her letter.
Speaking on condition that his name not be used, the former employee [Randall Hinton] said: "If you put a spy camera in Dundee for a day, you would find abuse and an ill-trained staff."
"I know the kids are being mistreated there," he added. "What is being promised to the parents is not happening; the kids are not being educated, and they are not being helped emotionally in any way. The kids only learn how to lie to get out of the program."

Lichfield, however, claims it is the former employees who are lying, because they have "an axe to grind."
In addition, he added, the only service that Dundee Ranch promises to perform is "supervision."
"Our contract says we don't guarantee anything," he said.
Lichfield said he has been threatened with a lawsuit from only one Dundee parent, and settled out of court for $7,000. In the 24-year history of WWASP, he said, seven suits have been brought against the program, and all have been thrown out of court because "they had no merit." Lichfield estimates that WWASP has settled some 50 other cases out of court over the years.
No legal action has ever been brought against Dundee Ranch in Costa Rica.

Meanwhile, opponents of the program are voicing increased concern about the academy's "High Impact basic training facility."
During a Tico Times visit to Dundee last October, Lichfield explained that habitually disobedient youths from the academy or any of WWASP's eight other programs could be sentenced to do time at High Impact, where they must walk 100 miles around a perimeter track to win their freedom (TT, Oct. 25). This week, Lichfield described the walled compound as a "low-impact" facility meant to take kids out of their comfort zone to make them reflect on their behavior. Youths sentenced there will have the option of walking for two hours a day to win points toward graduating in a month, he said.

Critics of WWASP worry that the compound Lichfield is putting the finishing touches on is really a replica of the High Impact facility in Mexico, which was closed by Mexican authorities in 2001 for rights abuses. WWASP has also closed or been forced to close similar programs in Utah and the Czech Republic.
California father Chris Goodwin, who led the charge to close High Impact in Mexico, told The Tico Times this week that his son had been transferred to the Mexican facility from a WWASP program in 2001. At High Impact, Goodwin claims, 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 staff member, had his teeth knocked through his lips by a staffer who smashed his face in the ground repeatedly, and was forced to walk around the compound's perimeter track in the sun wearing flannel underwear and a sweatsuit.

Lichfield said Dundee's High Impact will be more of an "evaluation facility," and will be nothing like the operation closed in Mexico.
"We are trying to improve on the positive elements of the program, and eliminate the negative ones," he said.

Not everyone is convinced that the new facility will be more user-friendly.
"High Impact is going to be bad; it is set up identical to the one that was in Mexico," charged the former staffer who wished to remain nameless. [Randall Hinton] "That is the only model Lichfield knows."
Charges that Dundee Ranch is more sinister than its marketing would suggest have worried some parents, too.
Louisiana mother Carey Bock, with the help of hired muscle from the U.S., went so far as to bust her twin boys out of Dundee last October (TT, Oct. 25). Virginia divorcee Su Flowers, who two weeks ago lost joint custody of her children, has tried twice in the last month to get her daughter out of Dundee. The eccentric Flowers is currently living in the Pacific beach town of Manuel Antonio, trying to organize rock concerts to raise awareness about the academy.

but other parents defend Dundee passionately. Responding to a Jan. 17 Tico Times article, several dozen parents wrote letters defending the program, at the request of then-director Joe Atkin.
Lichfield, meanwhile, maintains that Dundee Ranch Academy is not doing anything that is not already being done in similar teen programs in all 50 States in the U.S.
"We are viewed as sinners or saints, depending on what side of the argument you are on," he said.

[Ursus]

Links please... Also date of article(s) would be helpful... Thanks, BuzzKill!

[BuzzKill]

Links please... Also date of article(s) would be helpful... Thanks, BuzzKill!

I doubt there are any working links. You can check here: http://http://www.ticotimes.net/
I don't have dates saved unless they were in the by-lines.


And in case it's wondered How they can get away with such things:

"Lichfield, who said he donated $10,000 to campaign of President Abel Pacheco, claims he has appealed to the President for help, but added Pacheco probably "doesn’t want to touch us with a 10-foot poll."

November 28, 2003

Dundee Case Still Worries U.S. Parents

By Tim Rogers

Tico Times Staff

SIX months after the closure of Dundee Ranch Academy, tough-love program owner Narvin Lichfield of Utah once again is a free man.

The restrictions on his freedom, imposed by a Costa Rican judge May 23 following Lichfield’s brief arrest on allegations of children’s rights abuse, expired last Sunday and prosecutor Marielos Alfaro said she doesn’t see a need to request a six-month extension of his prohibition on leaving the country.

Lichfield, who is currently enrolled in Spanish classes as he plans to reopen his academy under a different name and a gentler, therapeutic model, insists he is not going to leave the country to avoid the on-going investigation.

"I am still confused what I was arrested for in the first place," Lichfield said with a laugh, adding that the truth soon will absolve him of abuse charges.

"The truth is the most important thing. Was it true that kids were abused? I admit, there were a lot of things that happened [at Dundee] that I didn’t know about, but I don’t think there really was [abuse]," Lichfield told The Tico Times this week.

MEANWHILE, a growing number of parents of former academy students in the United States are expressing concern that the investigation here into what happened at Dundee has been shelved, and that charges will not be pressed against Lichfield.

Distanced by a couple thousand miles, an unfamiliar judicial system and a language barrier, some of the U.S. parents say they are feeling powerless.

For several months, a group of 12 former Dundee students has been prepared to return to Costa Rica to testify to allegations of physical and emotional mistreatment suffered at the hands of former Dundee staff.

But no court date has been set by the prosecutor or the judge, and the parents are hesitant to fly their children down unannounced.

"I am concerned that when parents have tried to call the prosecutor’s office, they are told ‘No English!’ and hung up on," said Karen Burnett, mother of a former Dundee student.

Prosecutor Alfaro admits that no one in her office speaks English, but said that former students can come down to Costa Rica anytime to give their testimony. They will be received with "no problem," she said.

LOCATED on the remote grounds of a former eco-hotel about 15 kilometers from the Pacific-slope community of Orotina, Dundee Ranch Academy was an affiliate of the Utah-based WorldWide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP). The non-therapeutic behavior-modification facility, home to 200 troubled teenagers mostly from the United States, was operated under the philosophy of "identify your incorrect behavior, and stop doing it," according to Lichfield.

But some of the methods Dundee staff members used to help wayward teens identify their "incorrect behavior" -- including solitary confinement, physical restraint and allegations of drug-induced sedation -- were blasted by critics as abusive (TT, Oct. 25, 2002; Jan. 17, March 14).

Last May, the mother of one Dundee student filed a complaint with the Atenas Prosecutor’s Office, where Prosecutor Fernando Vargas was substituting for the regular prosecutor who was on vacation. Vargas immediately asked Judge Gabriela Saborío to authorize a government intervention of Dundee.

The interventions, which occurred on May 20 and 22, spiraled out of control when Vargas tried to explain to the children their rights under Costa Rican law. Several dozen youth escaped from the campus, while others rioted and vandalized the facility.

Lichfield was detained for 24 hours before being released on conditional freedoms. He closed the academy May 24 and the students were whisked back to their parents in the United States or to other WWASP programs in the United States and Jamaica (TT, May 23, May 30).

THE Ombudsman’s Office blasted the Child Welfare Agency’s handling of the situation as "permissive and tolerant" of alleged abuse, and recommended that child welfare authorities develop new protocol for situations where children are at high risk (TT, Sept. 12).

Prosecutor Fernando Vargas, who was removed from Dundee case a week after the May raids when prosecutor Marielos Alfaro returned from vacation, also is raising a critical voice against Costa Rica’s handling of the case.

In July, he filed a complaint with the Internal Judicial Inspector’s Office against Judge Saborío, who he claims interfered with his ability to gather necessary evidence during the interventions, and acted inappropriately in a situation where children were asking for help.

Saborío denies any wrongdoing, but said she could not comment further because she is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation.

VARGAS also is critical of the current prosecutor’s handling of the case, which he claims is "passive" and not being conducted with the importance that it deserves. He claims he did more to advance the investigation in the week following the raid, than anything that has been done in the last six months.

Alfaro told The Tico Times that the investigation is still open, and denied it is not being given its due importance. She said her office is still waiting for confiscated documents to be translated into Spanish, as well as other proof from the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ).

Alfaro explained that she is the only prosecutor in Atenas and is handling about 500 ongoing cases, many older than the Dundee case. She stressed that all cases are given equal importance, and that the Dundee matter will be resolved in due time.

Vargas argues the case would be moved along faster if there was more public and media pressure. He blames the relatively mild public reaction to the Dundee situation on a general perception that the issue is a "gringo problem."

If the students had been Costa Ricans, the public’s reaction and the prosecution’s handling of case would be much different, Vargas charged.

"There is a perception that these problems were brought here; that they are not ours," Vargas said. "And there is resentment: why do we have to deal with it when the U.S. knew about [WWASP] for years?"

WWASP, which currently has 10-affiliated programs in the United States and abroad, has operated in the U.S. for more than a decade. Dundee was the fourth WWASP program to close after being investigated for rights violations.

Earlier this month, U.S. congressman George Miller wrote to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and requested a federal probe of WWASP (TT, Nov. 7). Miller’s office has not yet received a reply, according to a congressional aid.

ALFARO vigorously denied the nationality of the alleged victims has anything to do with the prosecution’s handling of the case.

"Whether they are gringos, Nicas or whoever, the law applies to all cases and each is given equal importance," she said.

Vargas claims the Dundee case is one of the most important in the country, and that Costa Rica, with its moral authority and progressive laws to protect children’s rights, is the perfect venue to put WWASP on trial.

"If Dundee falls in Costa Rica, then WWASP falls in the rest of the world, but if Dundee doesn’t fall, WWASP will only get stronger," Vargas said.

LICHFIELD, meanwhile, said that in the last six months he has injected $600,000 into his new academy, which he hopes to open by Jan. 1 on the same Orotina campus. He said the new academy will not be affiliated with WWASP because of the "negative attached to it."

Lichfield said he will be a consultant to the new academy, and will not be part of the ownership group, which will headed by former director Francisco Bustos and new director Herald Dabel, a Spanish professor from South Carolina.

The controversial "High Impact" boot-camp compound that Lichfield was building on the Dundee campus has since been converted into a recreational center with a weight room and movie theater, Lichfield said.

CHILD Welfare Minister Rosalía Gil has told The Tico Times she will not allow Dundee to reopen here.

Lichfield, however, said he will use the $2 million in estimated damages to Dundee as leverage to convince authorities to allow him to reopen an appropriate facility that the "Costa Rican government is comfortable with."

Lichfield, who said he donated $10,000 to campaign of President Abel Pacheco, claims he has appealed to the President for help, but added Pacheco probably "doesn’t want to touch us with a 10-foot poll."

For now, Lichfield wants to put the past behind him and "get back to what we do, and that’s help kids."

***********************************************************************************************

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, December 9, 2003

Dundee Campaign Donation Probed
In the latest chapter of the campaign finance scandal involving President Abel Pacheco, the office of Patriotic Parliamentary Bloc congressman Humberto Arce confirmed yesterday that it is looking into reports that Narvin Lichfield, owner of the defunct tough-love Dundee Ranch Academy, donated $10,000 to the President's election bid.
(Click for more)

[photo here of Costa Rican Congressman requesting investigation into Lichfield’s $10,000 payment to President]

Dundee Campaign Donation Probed
By Tim Rogers
December 9, 2003
trogers@ticotimes.net

In the latest chapter of the campaign finance scandal involving President Abel Pacheco, the office of Patriotic Parliamentary Bloc congressman Humberto Arce confirmed yesterday that it is looking into reports that Narvin Lichfield, owner of the defunct tough-love Dundee Ranch Academy, donated $10,000 to the President's election bid.

Arce, a vocal leader on the congressional committee investigating campaign finance irregularities, was asked by regional child-advocacy group Casa Alianza to look into the possibly irregular contribution following a Nov. 28 report in The Tico Times, in which Lichfield admitted he donated to Pacheco's campaign.

Lichfield acknowledged in a phone interview with The Tico Times last month that he had donated money to Pacheco's campaign, and had appealed to the President for help when his academy was forced to close in May on allegations of children's rights abuses.

Foreign campaign donations are illegal under Costa Rica's Electoral Code.

The Pacheco campaign team, however, managed to skirt finance regulations by creating a parallel fund-raising structure to handle irregular donations that were never reported to the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE), as required by law.

Although Lichfield admitted to the donation, a Tico Times' investigation of TSE campaign-finance records turned up no such financial contribution either in the name of Lichfield, his Costa Rican wife, academy director Joe Atkin, Dundee Ranch Academy, Rancho Dundee, or the WorldWide Association of Specialty Programs.

Dundee Ranch Academy, a behavior-modification program for wayward U.S. teenagers, was closed May 24 following two government interventions to investigate allegations of rights abuse (TT, Oct. 25, 2002; Jan. 17, March 14, May 23, 30). Lichfield was arrested and jailed for 24 hours, before being released on conditional freedoms.

Pacheco is currently out of the country and the Casa Presidencial did not respond to The Tico Times inquiries by press time yesterday.

[BuzzKill]

Related:

http://www.ticotimes.net/
.no date saved.
Ombudsman Rules on Dundee
Report: PANI
Failed to
Protect Kids
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff
trogers@ticotimes.net
Blasting the Child Welfare Office (PANI) for acting "permissive and tolerant" of alleged children's rights abuses at Dundee Ranch Academy, the Ombudsman's Office this week recommended the PANI develop new protocol for situations where children are at high risk and to conduct an internal investigation to determine who is responsible for the Dundee disaster.
The Ombudsman's report noted the PANI was first informed of alleged child abuse at Dundee from a report published in The Tico Times Oct. 25, 2002, but did not intervene until four months later, in 2003. Once the PANI investigation officially began last February, it was not conducted with the urgency or inter-institutional cooperation the situation required, the report charges.
"The PANI did not alert or coordinate with corresponding [government] institutions to guarantee the attention and protection of the minors interned at Dundee Ranch Academy," the Ombudsman's investigation found.
The report concludes by recommending that the PANI - in compliance with its own legal mandate - develop a manual to coordinate inter-institutional attention to minors, elaborate clear new policies to respond immediately to situations where children are at high risk, and conduct an internal investigation to determine whether any child-welfare authority requires disciplinary actions.
PANI Minister Rosalia Gil this week said, "We are taking all the recommendations," but did not elaborate.
The Ombudsman's Office also recommended that the Ministry of Health develop better controls to monitor sanitary conditions at facilities where minors are lodged. The Ministry has 15 working days to notify the Ombudsman's Office how it will implement the new controls, according to the report.
The Ombudsman's Office - an independent government watchdog organization - has no legal authority, but in the words of former Ombudswoman Sandra Piszk, is empowered by a "moral force."
DUNDEE Ranch, a U.S.-run behavior-modification facility that housed about 200 troubled teenagers from the United States, was closed May 26 following a week of rioting, vandalism and students running away from its campus on the remote grounds of a former hotel in the Caribbean slope town of Orotina (TT May 23, 2003). The chaotic student revolt was sparked by a government intervention ordered by the Prosecutor's Office in Atenas to investigate allegations of abuse and students being held at Dundee against their will.
According to an incident report by the Health Ministry - one of five government agencies present during the intervention - the situation at Dundee spiraled out of control when Prosecutor Fernando Vargas assembled the students and asked them to attest to the positive and negative aspects of the Academy.
Once the kids started to discuss openly the disciplinary tactics employed at Dundee, they started to challenge the academy's authority and the situation became "unmanageable as the youth started to express their desires to leave and communicate with their families because they were uncomfortable with the Academy's norms," according to the report.
Academy owner Narvin Lichfield, of St. George, Utah, was arrested on allegations of abuse, coercion and international rights violations. He was released from jail 24 hours later under a series of conditions, and Dundee was closed (TT May 23, 30; June 6, 13).
Lichfield told The Tico Times last week that he is still not sure what he did wrong, and hopes to reopen an improved version of Dundee Ranch in compliance with Costa Rican law, by December (TT, Sept. 5). PANI Minister Gil, meanwhile, said last Friday that she will do what she can to make sure Dundee does not reopen.
"We don't want them here," she said.
THE Ombudsman's Office opened its investigation of the government's handling of Dundee last June and requested detailed reports of actions taken by the PANI, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Drug and Alcohol Institute (TT, June 13). The Ombudsman's final report found only the PANI and the Health Ministry to be accountable.
The PANI's report to the Ombudsman, obtained this week by The Tico Times, indicates that child welfare authorities had been conducting a confidential preliminary investigation in coordination with the U.S. Embassy since the beginning of 2003. The report claims the PANI gave Dundee an extra-official verbal warning that it needed to make drastic changes to its sanitary conditions, health services, disciplinary tactics - including physical restraints and solitary confinement of students - and respect children's rights to free communication, recreation time and privacy, if it hoped to remain open.
The Academy also was told it was not allowed to open its facility known as "High Impact" - a walled compound under construction at Dundee to "jail" habitually disobedient students (TT, Oct. 25, 2002).
The PANI claimed it was trying to handle the issue discreetly and confidentially, given the complicating fact that most of the students were from the United States and placed at Dundee with the consent of their parents or custodial guardian.
However, when the issue attracted international attention in the New York Times last May, the PANI was forced to show its cards and play catch-up with the Prosecutor's Office, which ordered an intervention the morning of May 19 based on a complaint filed by Sue Flowers, mother of a student at Dundee (TT; May 30).
UPON receiving notice of the planned intervention, the PANI quickly went public with its probe. It notified the Academy it had 30 days to make 15 necessary changes to remain open, and filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office the same day ordering authorities at Dundee to "immediately cease all situations that violate or threaten to violate the rights of the children there." The first of the two government investigations occurred the following day.
Despite failing to notify other government institutions of its three-month-old confidential probe of Dundee, the PANI expressed outrage that the Prosecutor's Office took the initiative to intervene, effectively hijacking the child welfare agency's investigation.
"The events that occurred following the intervention of the Prosecutor are precisely what the PANI did not want to happen," according to the PANI's report to the Ombudsman's Office.
DESPITE claims by Dundee defenders that the Academy's extreme "tough-love" tactics were necessary to help youth dealing with extreme discipline problems, the Ombudsman's final report confirms allegations made by the former facility's many critics.
The program was based on a "methodology of behavior and environmental modification" without proper professional support, according to the report. The program was drastic, using extreme measures to control the teenagers, such as food deprivation, harsh living conditions and diverse punishments to force the kids to behave.
The Health Ministry also found several heavy drugs - psychotropic, sedative and anti-convulsant medications - that were distributed in the Academy infirmary, even though it lacked a proper license from the Health Ministry. The finding seemed to lend credence to allegations made by several former students that youths were drugged with "morphine" and a "lithium knock-off" to keep them under control.
Lichfield denies knowledge of the alleged druggings.
The U.S. Congress also has taken interest in the Utah-based WorldWide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), the behavior-modification umbrella organization to which Dundee belonged.
House Representative George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, last month asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review WWASP's tax-exempt status and investigate whether the organization has received any special tax treatment in the past.
One of Rep. Miller's congressional aides said this week that the congressman also is preparing to ask U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to open a federal criminal investigation into alleged child mistreatment at WWASP programs.