Fornits

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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

Published November 20, 2008 11:35 am -

A 45-year-old woman who was employed at a Joplin center for troubled teens has been charged with two counts of statutory rape involving a 16-year-old client, according to court documents filed Wednesday in Jasper County Associate Court.

10:36 a.m. Employee at center for troubled teens charged with statutory rape w/ charges & probable cause affidavit

A 45-year-old woman who was employed at a Joplin center for troubled teens has been charged with two counts of statutory rape involving a 16-year-old client, according to court documents filed Wednesday in Jasper County Associate Court.

Jana E. Carter, of Goodman, is alleged to have had “oral sex and sexual intercourse with the victim” during her shift at the Scott Greening Center, 818 W. Fourth Street, in Joplin, according to a probable cause statement filed with the court. The incidents reportedly occurred between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19 of this year.

http://http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_325113501.html

Parents of abusive teens race for help
By Hudson Sangree
McClatchy Newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.28.2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Davis mother who drove all night, across 1,600 miles, to lawfully abandon her teenage son at a hospital in rural Nebraska said she was desperate because local police and child-welfare authorities wouldn't help her.

"Just walk into the hospital, and they'll make sure you're taken care of," she told her 14-year-old son before leaving him Friday.

Troubled teenagers have long pushed parents to the breaking point. In this case, the single, working mother of four said she could no longer cope with a child who was abusive and defiant and threatened her and her other children with violence.

For parents of such problem teens, there is a network of resources available through schools and mental health providers. But there are cracks in the system, and the frustrations of dealing with a patchwork of services.

When authorities declined to intervene after her son raised a knife against the family, she said, her only option was to abandon him in a state that would accept him.

Her son was the last of three dozen older children abandoned in Nebraska in recent months before the state's Legislature closed a loophole in its new "safe haven" law. Now, only newborns can be dropped off without legal liability there.

What options do parents have in such circumstances?

The best starting point for most parents, say experts, is their child's school. School psychologists can identify whether a child is a candidate for mental health services.

Tami Fien, a program specialist at McClatchy High School, said students who appear to have emotional problems are assessed by a team of school personnel. They decide if the student qualifies for special education and counseling.

But the options aren't perfect, she said. For instance, students who have only substance abuse problems may not qualify for special education. "We've got children getting into drugs," she said. "They're not disabled, but they're falling apart."

In that case, the school tries to make do with its limited resources for helping, she said. Wealthier parents can pay for private treatment. Indigent parents can seek assistance through Medi-Cal. Some working parents qualify for employee assistance programs that pay for counseling, or their HMOs have programs.

"It's those people in the middle — they're stuck with what the schools have," she said.

Steve Mackey, a caseworker with the children's division of Sacramento County Mental Health Services, said schools often will refer students with emotional and behavioral problems who qualify for special-education programs.

A variety of treatment options are available, he said, from therapy sessions to residential treatment programs.

http://http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/news/269264.php

Swiss likely to approve prescription heroin
By ELIANE ENGELER
Associated Press Writer
Posted: Friday, Nov. 28, 2008
Schweiz Volksabstimmung Drogen

A placard showing a couple saying "Yes, thanks to the treatment our son could get out of drugs" is among others on display in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008. Switzerland will decide Nov. 30 in a popular vote whether to put a heroin distribution program on a permanent legal footing.

GENEVA Dr. Daniele Zullino keeps glass bottles full of white powder in a safe in a locked room of his office.

Patients show up each day to receive their treatment in small doses handed through a small window.

Then they gather around a table to shoot up, part of a pioneering Swiss program to curb drug abuse by providing addicts a clean, safe place to take heroin produced by a government-approved laboratory.

The program has been criticized by the United States and the U.N. narcotics board, which said it would fuel drug abuse. But governments as far away as Australia are beginning or considering their own programs modeled on the system, which is credited with reducing crime and improving the health and daily lives of addicts.

Swiss voters are expected to make the system permanent Sunday in a referendum prompted by a challenge from conservatives.

The heroin program has won wide support within Switzerland since it was begun 14 years ago to eliminate scenes of large groups of drug users shooting up openly in parks that marred Swiss cities in the 1980s and 1990s.

Zullino's office, part of the Geneva University Hospitals, is one of 23 such centers in Switzerland.

Patients among the nearly 1,300 addicts whom other therapies have failed to help take doses carefully measured to satisfy their cravings but not enough to cause a big high. Four at a time inject themselves as a nurse watches.

In a few minutes most get up and leave. Those who have jobs go back to work.

"Heroin prescription is not an end in itself," said Zullino, adding that the 47 addicts who come to his office receive a series of additional treatments, such as therapy with a psychiatrist and counseling by social workers.

"The aim is that the patients learn how to function in society," he said, adding that after two to three years in the program, one-third of the patients start abstinence-programs and one-third change to methadone treatment.

"Thanks to this policy we don't have open drug scenes anymore," said Andreas Kaesermann, a spokesman for the Social Democrat Party, part of the coalition government.

A mid-November survey of 1,209 voters by the respected gfs.bern institute indicate the program will be easily approved, with 63 percent of voters favoring it compared with 21 opposed. The poll had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

Health insurance pays for the bulk of the program, which costs 26 million Swiss francs ($22 million) a year. All residents in Switzerland are required to have health insurance, with the government paying insurance premiums for those who cannot afford it.

"It's wrong that the health insurance pays for this," said Alain Hauert, spokesman for the right-wing Swiss People's Party. He said the state should invest more money into prevention and law enforcement.

Crimes committed by heroin addicts have dropped 60 percent since the program began in 1994, according to the Federal Office of Public Health says.

And, Zullino said, patients reduce consumption of other narcotics once they start the heroin program and suffer less from psychiatric disorders.

But, he added, "the idea has never been to liberalize heroin. It's considered a medicine and used as such."

http://http://www.charlotteobserver.com/world/story/381963.html

For all of us who are free to eat our turkey surrounded by friends and loved ones, Happy Thanksgiving!  Remember to be thankful you are free.

For all of you who are unable to enjoy your holiday with friends and family, for what it's worth, Happy Thanksgiving.  Remember to be thankful you are alive and will one day be free.

http://http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/33938754.html

Posted: 7:51 PM Nov 5, 2008
Last Updated: 7:10 AM Nov 6, 2008

Kristen Schmidt, the former Bay County Juvenile Boot Camp nurse at the center of the Martin Lee Anderson case, will no longer be able to practice in the state of Florida. She's voluntarily relinquished her nursing license to State Board of Nursing.

The board filed the final order with the Florida Department of Health Tuesday afternoon.

Schmidt was a central figure in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson at the Bay County Juvenile Boot Camp on January 5th, 2006. Schmidt was the nurse on-duty that day, which was Anderson's first day at the facility.

Anderson collapsed during a physical assessment run in the recreation yard. At first drill instructors believed Anderson was faking illness to get out of running. For 20-minutes they tried to get him back on his feet.
But during the process, the drill instructors used some arm strikes and take-downs, as well as ammonia capsules to revive the teenager.

You can see Schmidt hovering over Anderson and the drill instructors the entire time, but not doing much more than observing.

Paramedics eventually took Anderson to a local hospital, then he was transferred to a Pensacola hospital where he died about 12-hours later. The cause of his death is still a controversy.

Former Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert ruled it accidental due to Sickle Cell Trait.

A second autopsy found death by suffocation, due to the ammonia capsules held under Anderson's nose.

Schmidt and 7-drill instructors were later acquitted at trial on aggravated manslaughter charges.

The State Board of Nursing, in its investigation of Kristen Schmidt, cited Schmidt's conduct as unprofessional and negligent that day.
* The board found Schmidt failed to adequately assess Anderson's condition.
* She improperly distributed ammonia capsules to the drill instructors, without them having the proper knowledge about how to use the capsules.
* She failed to provide the paramedics with the complete information about what had transpired on the exercise field.
* Schmidt failed to perform any emergency treatment on Anderson at any time during the incident.
* And she failed to accurately record the incident in her nursing notes.
Schmidt agreed to voluntarily surrender her license, and never reapply in Florida in exchange for an end to the case against her. .

And it is possible we could see more activity in the Anderson case, from the U-S Attorney's office. The Department of Justice is investigating whether or not the drill instructors and Schmidt violated Anderson's civil rights.

Once Barack Obama takes office, the U-S Attorneys typically hand-in their resignation letters for the new president to accept or reject. If Obama selects a new U-S Attorney for this region, that person could push the Anderson case to the top of the priority list.

http://http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=85475&TM=58775.37

ODHS plans to revoke facility’s certificate

The East Oregonian

The Oregon Department of Human Services-Addictions and Mental Health Division (AMH) on Tuesday notified the Pendleton Academies' board of directors of their intention to revoke the treatment facility's certificate of approval to operate as a provider of psychiatric residential treatment services and psychiatric day treatment services for children.

On Aug. 20, AMH placed conditions on Pendleton Academies' certificate of approval to operate. At that time, the board appointed Interim Executive Director Terry Edvalson, who has been working with Pendleton Academies' staff to meet the standards required by AMH. Since then, Pendleton Academies has continued to care for clients, but has not been permitted to admit new clients to the program.

As recently as late October, AMH indicated they would lift the restrictions on Pendleton Academies and allow the admission of new clients, according to a statement released by the Pendleton Academies board Tuesday afternoon.

Given Pendleton Academies' efforts and progress in meeting AMH requirements, said the news release, Edvalson and the board were surprised by AMH's most recent action, the statement said.

The board plans to investigate its appeal rights and will be meeting again this Friday when more information is available, according to the statement.

http://http://www.petitiononline.com/HR6358/petition.html

A Call to Revise or Reject HR 6358, the “Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs Act of 2008”

 

View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition

    For citations and a complete statement for the revision or rejection of HR 6358 with citations, please visit http://www.heal-online.org/HR6358problems.pdf.

    To:  United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and President of the United States

    We, the undersigned, call on Congress and the President of the United States to revise or reject HR 6358, the “Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs Act of 2008”.

    There are a number of problems with the legislation as it is now written. HR 6358 fails to include:

    *Regulation of the referral and transport (hired kidnapping) industry
    *Regulation of “faith-based” programs such as Bethel Boys Academy and Hephzibah House
    *A federal ban on off-shore programs
    *A federal rule banning psychological torture and unethical, experimental behavior modification methods in residential teen programs
    *Additional civil and criminal remedies for victims (i.e. extending statute of limitations)

    In addition, HR 6358 fails to recognize that the residential “treatment” and wilderness “therapy” industry is inherently flawed and violative of federal law. Constitutional violations include:

    *The Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection of the Laws--According to U.S. Supreme Court rulings a teenager is protected under the 14th amendment(1) and due process is necessary before extreme punishments and removal of liberties is imposed(2). “Covered Programs” under HR 6358 currently operate 24/7 secured lockdown facilities that bar a child’s communication with his/her family, with the outside world, and use brutal methods to change behavior and personality in a completely isolated environment. The results of the Milgram Experiment(3) and Stanford Prison Experiment(4) exemplify the absolute danger children and teens are in when put in absolute captivity under the control of unqualified staff under illegal and immoral conditions. Placing children and teens in a lockdown facility without benefit of due process is a violation of the 14th Amendment.

    *The First Amendment: Freedom of Expression--According to U.S. Supreme Court rulings, a teenager is protected under the 14th amendment. The court stated that school officials must have “more than a mere desire to avoid discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint…Undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.”(5) Since the First Amendment applies to children and teens, programs that deny self-expression, freedom of association (i.e. talking with other students), or freedom of religion ought to be immediately closed down for constitutional violations. Many “Covered Programs” have received and continue to receive state and federal funds to operate. Some school children are shipped out of state or even abroad under an Independent Education Plan through their school district. Children and teens need additional safeguards to protect them from the tortious and criminal conduct prevalent in this industry.

    *The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment--It is understood that the bar of cruel and unusual punishment applies strictly to government acts. However, as stated in Sec. III, part a, number 2, these programs do receive Federal assistance in many cases. And, acting under the color of authority for school districts, juvenile courts, and family courts throughout the nation these programs are torturing and killing Americans never found guilty of any crime. These programs violate Habeas Corpus. The average age for legal consent to sexual intercourse within the United States is 16. The average age for legal right to file for emancipation from parents is 16. Teenagers are afforded more control over their bodies and futures from the age of 16 throughout the United States. A person who is fit to drive, have sexual intercourse, have an abortion, and become emancipated by law is certainly protected by Habeas Corpus and Due Process (supra). The U.S. District Court, District of Utah, in Milonas v. Williams (Nos. 80-1569, 81-1407., 1982) found Provo Canyon School guilty of cruel and inhumane treatment of children at a time when Provo Canyon School was receiving state and federal money and the program is still in operation abusing children and defrauding families today.

    *The Ninth Amendment: Unenumerated Rights--It was certainly not the intention of the founders of the United States to allow for the systematic torture, brainwashing, and other gross civil and human rights violations to be allowed against the young citizens of our great nation. Children are denied their privacy, being forced to urinate, defecate, bathe, change menstrual pads, and more in front of peers and staff. This is done purely to humiliate, psychologically torture and break the child. In addition, the incoming and outgoing mail is censored and/or monitored/read by staff and children are forced to re-write letters that do not conform to the rules, mainly, letters that expose abuse and wrongdoing by the program and its staff. This is a 14th amendment violation according to the Federal District Court findings in Milonas v. Williams (Nos. 80-1569, 81-1407., 1982): “In former students' action against private school for youths with behavioral problems for its use of "behavioral-modification" program allegedly violating section 1983, record supported finding that the school's use of polygraph machine, its monitoring and censoring of student mail, its use of isolation rooms, and its use of excessive physical force violated students' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. U.S.C.A. Const. Amends. 1, 14; 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983.” Certainly our Constitution can and should be read as to demand the protection of our most vulnerable, our children, from such atrocious crimes as torture and death under the guise of treatment.

    *The Thirteenth Amendment: Abolishing Slavery--Slavery is illegal in the United States except for those convicted of a crime and considered a part of their repayment to society. Many children are being used as slave labor in behavior modification programs. Children are being forced to labor without compensation and under duress for the financial benefit of these programs.(6) These programs violate the Thirteenth Amendment and Federal Child Labor laws.

    There are additional causes for concern regarding this wholly inadequate legislation:

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 3, Part J--Staff members found guilty of assault/battery not of a child will not be barred from working with children. If a person has difficulty controlling his/her behavior, he/she should not be working with children, especially not those with emotional/behavioral problems.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 3, Part (b)(2)(A)--There should be a larger cap or no cap on the amount of the fines that can be attributed to a program in violation of the law.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 3, part (c)(1)--Programs in violation of the laws should not just be placed on a government website to show that they have a list of violations. For the protection of youth, violating programs need to be immediately closed with a federal injunction against their ever opening another such program in the US, working with kids in the US, or advertising an off-shore program they own/operate within the US.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 3, part (d)(3)--When a report of abuse or violation of this law is made by a child in a program, the investigators should respond within 24 or 48 hours at the very latest. 30 days is long enough for the evidence to disappear and really doesn't provide adequate protection for children in programs. In these situations, "evidence" could also be witnesses. 30 days is plenty of time for children and even staff members who witnessed or participated in abuse to be transferred to another program and even another country.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 6--This bill requires more funding. We recommend that states receive revenue from the fines levied against programs. If not, it will do nothing but give the appearance of regulation and strengthen rather than weaken this fraudulent, torturous, and deadly industry.

    * Specific Concern—Sec. 114--States should not be given the option of whether or not to implement the regulatory standards required by this bill. These programs operate and market beyond their own states and therefore are in the practice of interstate commerce. The federal government should create a regulatory agency similar to the USDA or FDA to inspect, monitor, and hold accountable these programs.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 114, 2, part B (i, ii)--Provo Canyon School and a few other programs are listed in the state of Utah as hospitals and owned by Universal Health Services (a German medical and behavioral hospital conglomerate). Places like Provo Canyon School will not be covered. Many programs do use foster homes and the exclusion of such is a concern as well.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 114, (b) (2) (C)--Unannounced on-site inspections should be no less than 1-2 times per year, not just once every 2 years.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 114 (b)(3)--Same problem as above. Abuses and violations reported by someone within the facility should be acted on and investigated within 24 hours, not 30 days.

    * Specific Concern--Sec. 114 (d)(2)(A)--Any and all abuses should result in all applicable criminal and civil penalties. Reducing it to civil penalties for behavior that would place anyone else in jail, is not good enough.

    Please revise HR 6358 to include all issues addressed in this petition and pass legislation that will protect American children and families from fraud, torture, and death.

    Sincerely,