Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Local: The Back Page BACK TO NEWS
State agencies probe
Ivy Ridge Alleged abuse, credentials investigated
by Chris Garifo, Times Albany Correspondent
First published: Wednesday, February 16, 2005
By Chris Garifo
Times Albany Correspondent
ALBANY - State agencies are investigating allegations of physical abuse at the Academy at Ivy Ridge and whether the school is implying that it provides more than just behavior modification for troubled teens.
Officials with the Office of Child Protective Services and the state Education Department held a conference call Feb. 9 to discuss Ivy Ridge.
Spokesmen from both agencies would not comment on the call; however, sources say officials are concerned about allegations, the specifics of which have not been made public, that students have been physically abused at the school, on state Route 37 just outside of Ogdensburg.
Investigators from the state Attorney General's Office also have subpoenaed Ivy Ridge to find out just what sort of institution it is and whether it is claiming to be a diploma-writing institution, which officials believe it is not accredited to do, said a source who asked not to be identified.
Joseph E. Mitchell, director of girls residential life at Ivy Ridge, said he knows of no allegations about abuse of any students and that nothing like that has happened.
"Our doors are always open for anybody to come in and investigate such an allegation," he said. "That's the beauty of free speech and an open press; but we have nothing to hide."
Ivy Ridge staff also are gathering together the documentation requested in the subpoena, which must be delivered by Feb. 28 to the Attorney General's Regional Office in Watertown, said Mr. Mitchell, who was filling in for academy Director Jason G. Finlinson, who was away from campus Monday and Tuesday.
A spokesman for state Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer declined to comment on the subpoena.
"Our office neither confirms nor denies any investigation," said the spokesman, Marc E. Violette.
The subpoena was served on the academy Monday, Mr. Mitchell said. The school, with approximately 460 students on campus, was established in January 2002 on 237 acres of the former Mater Dei College, which closed after the 1998-99 academic year.
The subpoena demands records and documentation related to the academy's licensing and accreditation.
"Nothing that indicated wrongdoing, but just information on exactly what we do," Mr. Mitchell said.
Ivy Ridge is accredited as a special-purpose school - not a high school - through the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools in Boise, Idaho.
According to Ivy Ridge's Web site,
http://www.academyivyridge.com, the school offers students two diplomas: a general diploma and a college prep diploma. The latter diploma has a foreign language requirement.
However, any diploma issued by Ivy Ridge would not be officially recognized in New York, said Thomas Dunn, a spokesman for the state Education Department.
"Those are not New York state high school diplomas," he said. "It is a diploma without any sanction from the state."
The academy appreciates any attention being paid by the state, Mr. Mitchell said.
"We've actually been trying to have somebody from the state visit our school," he said "We welcome the opportunity to show what we're about and show what's going on here."
Ivy Ridge uses a six-level behavior modification program for troubled teenagers developed by the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. Though WWASPS does not own or operate the facility, it does provide support services.
WWASPS and its associated schools have been criticized for their behavioral modification methods, and some students have claimed they were physically or sexually abused at the schools. No such accusations have been made public against Ivy Ridge.
WWASPS schools are also located in Montana, South Carolina, Utah and Jamaica. WWASPS-associated schools in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Czech Republic were closed down by their respective governments because of allegations of physical abuse.
U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., referred to similar allegations about Ivy Ridge in a May 11 letter to then U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in which he asked for a federal investigation of WWASPS programs. The letter refers to a criminal investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office into "possible 'improprieties' within WWASPS facilities following the alleged assault of a teenager while being transported to a WWASPS facility in New York near the Canadian border."
Sources have told the Watertown Daily Times that one of the issues to be resolved is who would have actual jurisdiction over any child abuse complaints involving Ivy Ridge: the Office of Children and Family Services or the state Attorney General's Office.
Kenneth E. Kay, WWASPS president, said he was certain the attorney general's investigation and the subpoena served Monday would find no evidence of wrongdoing on Ivy Ridge's part.
"I don't think that there's anything improper at all," he said. "What I do hope is, if there is a specific staff member who has operated outside the scope of their authority or outside the scope of academy policy, that action is taken against that person."
Mr. Kay said he had seen a copy of the subpoena and that it wanted documents on ownership of Ivy Ridge and who set up the institution and information about a specific student, but he refused to identify which pupil or what sort of documents about him or her were requested.
Mr. Kay said he supports any state investigation.
"What it looks to me like is it's really nice to know the state of New York and the people involved in the state of New York take these things seriously," he said. "It's nice to know that, hey, those guys are doing their job."
Mr. Kay also said he hoped the state investigators would keep in mind that the students at Ivy Ridge are "egregious teens" who make up stories and manipulate people to get their way.
Investigators would have no problem getting the full cooperation of Ivy Ridge and its staff, Mr. Kay said.
"Ivy Ridge has always had an open-door policy," he said. "They can walk in there any time and talk to the kids - any law enforcement or parents or anybody can."
