Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Anonymous on June 29, 2007, 04:30:11 PM
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By Nathan C. Gonzalez
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 06/28/2007 10:34:19 PM MDT
Posted: 5:06 PM- Draper police are investigating the Thursday morning death of a 14-year-old resident of a local center for troubled teens, said Sgt. Gerald Allred, a police spokesman.
About 3 a.m., the boy fell ill and complained about having stomach and bowel problems, Allred said. Center staff then placed the teen in a separate room to prevent other children from getting sick.
Staff tried to wake the boy around 7 a.m. and found him dead.
"We are interviewing everyone involved and that was in the unit at the time," Allred said. "We are not ruling out anything at this point."
Police are awaiting an autopsy.
In February, the boy entered at the private facility that counsel teens needing special attention or help with learning and personality issues, Allred said.
"(Teens) are put in there by their parents, to teach them the extra skills they need," Allred said.
The Division of Child and Family Services licenses the facility but will not review the case until after the police investigation is concluded, said division spokeswoman Carol Sisco.
http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_6252819 (http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_6252819)
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RIP- I think this is the one of the most recent victim of this industry, just yesterday? "Sent by his parents".. they gambled, and the kid lost his life.
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4/26/07
DHS Director Ken Stettler stated in our telephone conversation, "Yes, it (ICPC) is a statute. But, just because it's (ICPC) statute, doesn't always mean it's (ICPC) enforced. There's all too many statutes that are NOT enforced. It's either up to law enforcement agencies, depending upon the laws, OR the courts, depending upon precidence set in court."
DHS Director Ken Stettler's reply to my inquiry about what action is taken by DHS should a program fail to abide by the regulations in place:
1. Corrective action plan
2. Conditional License
3. Suspension of License
4. Revocation of License
Director Ken Stettler also stated the following:
The program providers have the right to request a hearing BEFORE revocation of their license.
After revocation the program providers have to wait 'ONE' year before opening another program.
The program has the right to have their criminal case heard first.
Director Ken Stettler also informed me that the State has a Solicitors Journal that DHS must abide by, giving due process rights to the program.
I have learned that things aren't always what they seem in these cases......
In my opinion, DHS is like a toothless dog. The "industry" has all the rights! The kids are considered, faker, whiners, pot smokers, maniputlators.
Who's manipulating who?
Catherine Sutton
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Correction to above post
the date of conversation was 6/26/07
Catherine
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To true Cathy, so very to true. I remember a couple kids using the abuse hotline at Eckerds in Florida. Both times were in regards to my cocounselor or a master counselor. The local Sheriff wandered out to the camp gave the situation a brief look over and left after telling the kid not to file bullshit reports.
I always wondered why the investigator didn't put just a little more effort into looking into the claims no matter how flimsy they seemed.
One of those times I recall the kid having a pretty strong case for abuse. Damned If I can remember all the details about the incident. I do remember hearing about it later from the rest of the group and basicaly it centers around the fact that restraints aren't supposed to be initiated unless the kid is harming himself or another or property and the boy was restained for bad mouthing his whole group.... kind of makes you wonder..
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Boy found dead at Draper group home
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- A southern California boy died at a group home in Draper, apparently in his sleep.
The 14-year-old boy awoke early Thursday complaining of stomach and bowel problems, was placed in a separate room from other kids and found dead the next morning, said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for Utah Department of Human Services.
"We are interviewing everyone involved who was in the unit at the time," Draper police Sgt. Gerald Allred said.
Allred and other police officials were unavailable Friday to comment on whether an autopsy had revealed a cause of death for the boy, who entered the group home in February. His name was not released.
The boy died of a "medical condition," Trina Packard, executive director of the Youth Care & Pine Ridge Academy, said in a statement issued Friday. Packard didn't specify the medical condition or say why she was certain he died of it, and she didn't return a message left by The Associated Press.
"We are extremely saddened" by the boy's death, she said, pledging to cooperate with authorities. "We are providing therapeutic services to the boy's family, as well as counseling services for our own staff and students."
The state division that licenses the group home will inspect the facility after police are finished, Sisco said.
Among things inspectors will look at is whether the group home had adequate staff on duty, she said.
The group home is operated by Cerritos, Calif-based Aspen Education Group, a division of CRC Health Group that runs boarding schools, outdoor education programs, weight-loss camps and "weight-loss residential high schools," according to its Web site.
Corporate officials didn't return telephone and e-mail messages left Friday by the AP.
"It sounds like he woke in the night and was having diarrhea and vomiting," Sisco said. "They took him into a separate room, and within a few minutes he went asleep. They checked on him a couple of times, but he was dead by the morning."
The group home takes troubled children 11 to 17 years old sent voluntarily by their parents, Sisco said.
It does not take any court-assigned children, she said.
"The program notified us (of the death) within 24 hours as they are required to do. We'll be looking at reports from the program, law enforcement, the medical examiner and then going out and checking the program physically to see if there is anything they could have done differently," Sisco said.
On the Net:
www.aspeneducation.com (http://www.aspeneducation.com)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/227377/4/ (http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/227377/4/)
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which one was it?
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Dr Phil sent a pregnant teen to Youth Care.
http://www.youthcare.com/drPhil.html (http://www.youthcare.com/drPhil.html)
Would they mix 14 year old boys with pregnant teens?
Interesting that they advertise "Innovative Evidence-Based Interventions", but can't provide basic medical care.
http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/p ... 5186.shtml (http://www.strugglingteens.com/artman/publish/article_5186.shtml)
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It sounds like the boy had symptoms of E. Coli, or Norovirus. He died quickly, but if E. Coli is neglected the victim can dehydrate to the point of death rapidly.
What a horrible thing, stuck in a room alone without appropriate medical attention. Maybe they thought he was "faking it".
These poor kids get no justice. It's a farce. Sue Scheff gets an $11.5 million judgment awarded for defamation in a questionable decision, and Martin Anderson Lee's family received $3.5 million after her was brutally killed.
All this will surface at the Congressional hearing, be sure of that. Maybe the Karmic wheel the troubled teen industry thinks they're immune from is about to grind them to dust, along with some narcissistic, lying false "advocates" and edcons.
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Must have been Youth Care as Pine Ridge is about 10 miles away in West Jordan.
Facility: ASPEN EDUCATION GROUP
Specific Site: PINE RIDGE ACADEMY
Location: (Not Mail) 1875 WEST 9000 SOUTH, WEST JORDAN, UT 84088
Contact: TRINA PACKARD, EXEC DIRECTIR Phone: 801 9425354
Mail: PO BOX 909
DRAPER, UT 84020 County: SALT LAKE
License: Type: RENEWAL Begins: 12/1/2006 Ends: 11/30/2007
Service: Residential Treatment Specific:
Capacity: 17 Gender: Ages: 11-17 YEARS OLD
Licensor: Janice Knaphus
Facility: ASPEN EDUCATION GROUP
Specific Site: YOUTH CARE OF UTAH
Location: (Not Mail) 12595 MINUTEMAN DRIVE, DRAPER, UTAH 84020
Contact: TRINA PACKARD, EXEC DIRECTOR Phone: 801 9425354
Mail: PO BOX 909
DRAPER, UT 84020 County: SALT LAKE
License: Type: RENEWAL Begins: 12/1/2006 Ends: 11/30/2007
Service: Residential Treatment Specific:
Capacity: 43 Gender: Ages: 11-17 YEARS OLD
Licensor: Janice Knaphus
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The kids are considered faker, whiners
This is one of my biggest complaints regarding our daughters care while she was in a program. They were very reluctant to take them to the doctor. It was considered an 'escape risk'.
This makes me so sad. To think that young man laid there so very ill and ultimately died. The poor kid. And his poor parents. They will never be able to forgive themselves.
The whole family ends up losing.
So sad.
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Below is an article about the E. Coli outbreak at PV in 1999. Treatment becomes necessary very quickly after the onset of symptoms.
E. coli infection spurs lawsuit
by Lance Coleman
The Times Daily Staff
April 2, 2003
A Chattanooga resident filed a lawsuit against the owners of Peninsula Village Monday claiming she contracted E. coli while at the Louisville facility.
In Blount County Circuit Court, Catherine Russe sued Covenant Health, doing business as Peninsula Village.
According to the suit:
In June, 1999, Russe was a resident at Peninsula Village, a facility that houses about 70 teens, ages 13 to 18 years old.
Later that month, the infection control nurse at the facility reported a number of cases of diarrhea. On June 24, Russe began experiencing diarrhea, required medical care, and a culture was taken and returned positive for E. coli.
The Centers for Disease Control opened an investigation and learned Russe and a male resident shared a pattern ``indicating a single source of the E. coli outbreak.''
``The CDC, after a thorough investigation, concluded that the most likely source of the E. coli infections were meals served in the kitchen at `Peninsula Village,''' the suit said.
After onset of diarrhea, Russe's condition quickly deteriorated, she was hospitalized at Fort Sanders Hospital and then transferred to East Tennessee Children's Hospital for acute diarrheal illness.
Russe's condition didn't improve and while at Children's Hospital, her kidneys began to fail and she was transferred to University of Tennessee Medical Center. At UT, Russe was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening condition for which there is no known treatment, the suit said.
Russe remained at UT for 17 days, was discharged on July 17, 1999, and has continued to suffer complications.
Covenant Health, the medical Mega-Mart that owns PV, paid Catherine Russe a large settlement on condition of non-disclosure of the amount and details.
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Well damn, Universal Health Services (owns Chad) sounded familiar.
They scooped up multiple CEDU programs when Brown Schools went bankrupt.
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?p=224665#224665 (http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?p=224665#224665)
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Related thread
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t=22179 (http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?t=22179)
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Is 7-8 days long enough for an autopsy to be done and the cause of death to be determined?
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These incidents are all too often swept aside.
Stay on top of this one! I have found there is ALWAYS more to what happened to these children in the "so-called" care of these people.
I will be at Girls Camp next week without access to a computer, along with poor cell phone signal. :(
I spoke with Ken Stettler today. I asked if he knew the name of the boy who died at the Aspen Youth Care. He said the investigation is still ongoing and the name has not been released yet. I was also calling DHS to let it known that we are aware of this boy. DHS is awaiting the findings of the investigation. This is always how it seems to go in these cases. I have to wonder what good it is to be licensed? It's just a piece of paper.
I mentioned the heat wave we are experiencing to Ken Stettler and asked about the kids in outdoor programs.
Please stay on top of this story!
I'll be back next week and hope that more is released about the boy and what trully happened to him.
Catherine Sutton
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Have fun at camp Catherine. I've got news alerts set and will post anything relevant. Someone with connections is working on this too. Thanks for contacting Stettler. It's possible they won't issue any violations unless the DA files charges, as in the August case.
What good is a license? Not much. It may possibly save a few lives, and eventually provide accurate statistics on the industry, but that's about it.
I wondered if there were any programs near the wildfires that were reported last week.
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I wondered if there were any programs near the wildfires that were reported last week.
Please tell me that it is part of the licencing that if there is a summer wildfire or bushfire a program has to evacuate the kids. Surely even with all that appears to go on no program in this day and age would be so stupid. Afterall the staff's lives would be at risk as well.
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I wondered if there were any programs near the wildfires that were reported last week.
Please tell me that it is part of the licencing that if there is a summer wildfire or bushfire a program has to evacuate the kids. Surely even with all that appears to go on no program in this day and age would be so stupid. Afterall the staff's lives would be at risk as well.
We are talking about Uah here. These people have to have thier hand held constantly. Common sense wasnt taught at BYU. I bet if you called DHS .. you would get rhetoric stating .. there is "not law" about fires and evacuating programs. The stupidity starts at the top and works its way down.
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Not sure why this article is just now coming up on google alert, but it's a little different than the others.
Teenager Found Dead in Youth Residential Treatment Facility
June 28th, 2007 @ 12:16pm
Courtney Orton Reporting
A young teen was found dead this morning at a Draper center for troubled youth. Authorities are still trying to figure out what happened.
The 14-year-old was living at Youth Care, a residential treatment facility for youth ages 11 to 17 years old. He was originally from California. His parents, who sent him here, still live there.
Authorities don't know what this young teen died from. He had recently been sick with stomach flu-like symptoms. Police are not ruling anything out.
Sgt. Gerald Allred of the Draper City Police Department says, "We're dealing with a 14-year-old that's in a facility that's specifically designed to deal with youth that have problems and issues, and so we just don't want to leave any stone unturned. There's some indication that he had been sick, and there's some indication that he'd had some other types of physical problems. So it could be anything, but we want to make sure that we look at everything before we make a determination."
A Youth Care counselor found the 14-year-old just after seven this morning. He wasn't staying in his normal room with his roommates; he was staying in another room by himself because he hadn't been feeling well.
Sgt. Allred adds, "At this point we're just going to process the scene, we'll search the areas that the young man's body was found and his room and things like that to see if there's any indication, again, of drug use or any other things that would lead us to believe this is more serious than just a tragic event."
Investigators are talking to other kids, looking for any clues as to what happened. An autopsy is being performed.
Youth Care is preparing a written statement, which we haven't received yet. The Department of Child and Family Services say Youth Care is licensed and in good standing. There have been no problems in recent history.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1409954 (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1409954)
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Sgt. Gerald Allred of the Draper City Police Department says, "We're dealing with a 14-year-old that's in a facility that's specifically designed to deal with youth that have problems and issues, and so we just don't want to leave any stone unturned. There's some indication that he had been sick, and there's some indication that he'd had some other types of physical problems. So it could be anything, but we want to make sure that we look at everything before we make a determination."
The beginning of the end for draper or the beginning of the official two step tango to dodge the bullet?
Out of town investigators really ought to be brought in for things like this to avoid conflict of interest.
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Report Details Youth Center Patient's Death
Doctor Says Teen's Injuries 'Traumatic'
July 9, 2007
By Nancy Amons
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- As time passes, more information is being learned about the second death at the Chad Youth Development Center.
Video: Chad Youth Center Death Detailed In Report
The identities of two men who were holding down 17-year-old Omega Leach in the moments before his death were revealed Monday.
Leach died after two staff members at Chad placed him on the floor because he was unruly, according to a Montgomery County report.
The report said that the two men, 31-year-old Milton Gerald Francis and 22-year-old Randall Dale Rae Jr., asked Leach if he was going to stop resisting.
The report said that Leach didn't answer because he was unconscious. Leach was later pronounced dead.
Francis is listed as a former sergeant at Fort Campbell.
Children who've been at Chad have told Channel 4 News that staff members would slam them on the floor or wall with their arms pinned behind their backs.
Edith Ruland took her 10-year-old out of Chad after finding him covered in bruises and personally witnessing staffers pin a child to the lunchroom floor for getting out of the food line.
"I saw one boy, he was yelling, ‘I can't breathe,’†she said.
The Tennessee Department of Health inspected Chad 10 days after Leach's death.
Its report concluded that the staff's restraint techniques resulted in death.
The doctor who treated Leach at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital described Leach's injuries as traumatic.
The doctor said the injuries included internal injuries and swelling to the brain.
The medical examiner's full report isn't finished yet.
Employees at Chad are supposed to be trained for how to properly restrain unruly children.
But Health Department inspectors found that in some cases, there was "no evidence" staffers took the training.
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Link to the above article and video report (http://http://www.wsmv.com/news/13649034/detail.html?subid=10106691)
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Sgt. Gerald Allred of the Draper City Police Department says, "We're dealing with a 14-year-old that's in a facility that's specifically designed to deal with youth that have problems and issues, and so we just don't want to leave any stone unturned. There's some indication that he had been sick, and there's some indication that he'd had some other types of physical problems. So it could be anything, but we want to make sure that we look at everything before we make a determination."
The beginning of the end for draper or the beginning of the official two step tango to dodge the bullet?
Out of town investigators really ought to be brought in for things like this to avoid conflict of interest.
Your right about that, and I can bet you this is more than a child just being ill. The whole industry believes that kids are manipulators and liers. Their are so many children who have died because they have this entrenched in the industry to the staff. Instead of taking the children to the doctor, or having tests done, they have the thought process of "oh he is just manipulating".
I have a dream that no person selling the programs, or having a program, have to take the Fornits Survivor Behavior Modification course before working in this Industry.
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I can see two scenarios being played out based on personal experience:
1) The staff followed standard procedures and the kid died due to inadequate medical care. By standard procedures I mean the in place policy for dealing with resident illness. For example, at Eckerd's Youth Alternatives, we had a book of Standing Orders. This was a small notebook filled with a doctor's recommendations for different aliments.
-Weak point:
No staff was really trained well enough in the medical field to be making any sort of diagnosis.
-Strong point:
For minor ailments the kids got treatment quickly from the nearest counselor.
Biggest gaping flaw in logic is what happens with a counselor misdiagnosis? The kid either gets even sicker and has to go to the doctor or dies.
2) The staff viewed the kid as a liar and manipulator. More than likely they either view this as a common trend that runs through the whole population or with this one kid in particular. As they believed the kid was not to be trusted any complaints from the kid were taken sceptically.
-Strong points:
having a hard time finding one.
-Weak point:
The kid died because someone's bs detector was ringing away like an air raid siren. Rather than do their job, which was to see to the medical needs of all their residents, they choose to ignore the kid's needs and he died.
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some indication that he'd had some other types of physical problems
What I wonder was the other types of Physical problems, I would imagine, since it is taking so long for any information. You can ponder on if there is more to it, say physical abuse. It sure sounds alarms to me.
Right now they are probably feeding the parents with bullshit, like "he just seemed to have the flu."
Like Aaron Bacon, who was ill for so long, and they could not see or would not see that he was dieing, yet the other children in the program could.
http://outside.away.com/outside/magazin ... _jour.html (http://outside.away.com/outside/magazine/1095/10f_jour.html)
Googie was right another town, How about Another State, to investigate.
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Draper facuilty: Aspen
http://www.digital50.com/news/items/PR/ ... esid/print (http://www.digital50.com/news/items/PR/2005/03/23/LAW067/aspen-education-group-announces-enhancements-at-local-youth-care-and-pine-ridge-resid/print)
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There's so much ass-covering, and covering up, when any child abuse occurs, of all types, in all places.
It's easier for every authority figure, everywhere, if it "never happened." If it "never happened", nobody has to be arsed to do anything about it.
We're experiencing this here at home. The principal at Katie's public school shook and threatened her, which was the trauma that caused Katie to have to be hospitalized. Katie's now having flashbacks and is terrified of the principal, where she wasn't at all before.
She's the one in a bazillion victims of child abuse who tell at all. I think she only did because we've been emphasizing since she's very small that whenever an adult does something that bothers you and tells you not to tell, that no matter what they say will happen if you do, TELL. We've gone over, consistently, that bad adults are good at convincing children that bad things will happen if they tell, and that even if she believes them, to trust us to believe and protect her, and TELL. So when it, unfortunately, happened---she told. Good for her!!!!!
Kids don't have the damage she clearly has if "nothing happened."
But when both Katie's therapist and the professionals at the hospital filed an abuse report with child welfare authorities, they turned the case over to police, who turned it over to the county school district----who "investigated" without ever once contacting us and whitewashed it as "unsubstantiated."
Yeah. Of course if you don't do the very minimums of looking for evidence in your "investigation", you're not going to find any, are you?
So the lawyer we consulted has us filing an ethics complaint with the state professional responsibility people and the regional accreditation organization---which has, in the past, put a whole county's accreditation on probation for a similar situation involving a single bipolar fifth grader.
Who knows if they'll do it again, but it's worth pursuing. For one thing, the professional ethics people at the state, when you complain it's completely outside the county's hands, they have the power to pull teaching credentials at their own discretion, and they're a bit like the Better Business Bureau. If you call, they will tell you if there have been any past complaints and if any investigations are ongoing.
Difference from the BBB is they won't tell you how any investigation was resolved, AND they NEVER take off the books that a complaint was filed. Someone ten years from now who calls them to ask about her will be told a complaint was filed and they did an investigation. Nothing more, but they will know there have been other complaints and to go looking for other victims who maybe couldn't prove it then, but can help establish a pattern.
Psychopaths almost never get diagnosed first hand, because they almost never go into treatment unless court ordered. They may go into treatment briefly if pressured hard by others and backed into a corner, but they get out of there as soon as possible.
Almost always, psychopaths get diagnosed as what they are by the treatment professionals treating their victims--based on the damages the victim has.
Katie's board certified psychiatrist expressed his opinion that the woman's a psychopath.
Katie's board certified psychologist tells us that the county, as well as other counties, have a history of covering up child abuse by teachers and administrators. He told James and me of several cases where the facts of the abuse were hard cold proved, the various county school boards in our area simply fired the perpetrator---who then went to get a job in some other county.
In one case, a perpetrator who was merely fired from one local county, where he got caught cold in an uncoverupable way, got hired by Cobb County (ours), where he got caught cold in an uncoverupable way again. And merely got fired again.
Our society doesn't protect children, because the people we trust with protecting our children care more about their own convenience and hushing up potential scandals than they care about the kids.
The private prisons for "troubled teens" are just the most egregious, systematic, institutionalized version of a much larger problem.
If our society gave children more enforceable rights, it would set the pattern for increasing societal respect for children's safety.
Women's rights laws, many of which were totally unrelated to spousal abuse of women and victim-blaming for rape, managed to reduce both of those things.
Civil rights laws, many of which were totally unrelated to lynchings, beatings, and the KKK managed to reduce societal tolerance of all three.
This is one of the best arguments for laws making some basic children's rights enforceable at a young age, independent from what their parents want. Rights laws have a strong history of reducing societal tolerance for abuse of the protected folks.
What age? Depends. Any kid knows as young as ten whether she's afraid to leave the country or not. Most stage kids as young as ten could decide to put their earnings in trust in a bank if they found out their parents were robbing them blind. A kid who, at ten asks to go live with a "fit" extended family member, or a "fit" other set of adult parents who don't have a near-age opposite sex kid as a risk for sexual entanglement, and says his parents are abusing him or leaving him in an abusive situation at school, church, other, should be believed for purposes of where he lives whether he can give evidence of the abuse or not. Kids don't ask to leave their parents, or be protected financially from their parents, lightly.
Any kid knows, as young as ten, whether they're being abused badly at school and need to get out of the situation. In that particular case, the system should try to fix the problem at school, then revisit it automatically in a month, physically bringing the kid into court. If the kid is still being mistreated, he should automatically get a transfer to the next closest school. If his parents can't drive him, the school system should pick him up. Most kids who get abused at one school, whose parents pull them out and transfer them to another, don't get abused there.
When a kid gets abused at school, virtually all schools and counties respond that they can't do anything about it--or weasel words that amount to the same thing. Yes, they can. They can give the kid a transfer. When they can't or won't fix the problem with less, they should be required to give that transfer---and the right to demand it should rest with the kid, not his parents. They have a conflict of interest in saying "we can't" when they really mean it's very inconvenient.
If the judge agrees that his parents really can't get him there--can't, instead of just can't be arsed to do it--then the school district should have to get him there.
Whaddya wanna bet many school districts would find that, wow, they really could stop the abuse at the kid's initial school, to the point that the kid is not telling the judge, "They're hurting me, move me." I'd bet that most would suddenly discover they could determine abusers were abusive and let them go--or not hire them in the firs-t place. I'd bet that most would suddenly discover that they could stop bullying after all. What an AMAZING development--suddenly they have all these abilities they just didn't have before.
When the kid tells the judge what's going on, the heavy presumption--for purposes of where the kid lives or goes to school--should be that the kid's is telling the truth. He said she said, even by several others, shouldn't be enough to override that presumption.
If kids had enforceable rights, child abuse would become more unacceptable to society.
The Programs, of course, would shut down overnight. One habeas corpus petition by a friend or family member, or activist organization, one briefing by the judge about his rights, and the kid would be living with other fit adults and transferred back to a real school before you could blink.
Ginger, you want legislation that would completely end the Programs? Don't think there is a possible legislative fix? That would do it. Permanently.
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That was me.
Julie
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Julie it is fantastic that your child was listened to, so much in this industry, the places in question, try to convince others that your child is manipulating, and the parents also.
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Has any information been relaeased publicly about this case?
The cause of death? A 14 year-old has "flu-like-symptoms" and dies in his sleep?
Is there an investigation going on?
Why aren't the parents speaking out?
Why isn't the media after this story?
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Not exactly mainstream media, but here's the latest I could find. Interesting bias from the cops: "We want to make sure no negligence was involved."
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695192977,00.html (http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695192977,00.html)
Youth's death is still under review
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
DRAPER — The Salt Lake district attorney will be asked to decide what, if any, charges should be filed in connection with the death of a 14-year-old boy at a youth treatment facility in Draper.
The Southern California boy, whose name was not released, was found dead at the Youth Care of Utah on June 28. He had been
suffering from stomach and bowel problems and placed in a room separate from the others. In the morning, he was found dead on his mattress.
Draper Police Sgt. Gerry Allred said Monday an autopsy had been completed, but he did not want to comment on it until all factors were looked at.
"We're looking at it really hard to make sure we're not missing anything," he said.
Allred said the case was suspicious only because a teenager in the care of adults died.
"We want to make sure no negligence was involved," he said.
In a statement released by the Youth Care & Pine Ridge Academy shortly after the death, they declared the boy died of a "medical condition."
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Draper Police Sgt. Gerry Allred said Monday an autopsy had been completed, but he did not want to comment on it until all factors were looked at.
"We're looking at it really hard to make sure we're not missing anything," he said.
What did the ME determine to be the cause of death? He certainly could disclose that without "commenting" on it.
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This boy was "found dead on his mattress?"
Was this child placed in some type of "seclusion room?"
Wouldn't most people report that he was "found dead in his BED?"
What the hell is going on here?
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Here is a question for you, "WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T THEY TAKE HIM TO THE DOCTOR"??? :wstupid:
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Well he was dead. What is a doctor going to do for him?
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TSW---if the boy was sick enough to DIE during the night; don't you THINK perhaps he may have been sick enough to have been taken to the doctor PRIOR to being placed in some room alone to die while unattended?
The poster was asking: Why didn't someone take this sick child to a doctor?
Why was this child placed in a room, (on a mattress) and left unatteded to DIE?
That's a valid question.
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Ha ha very funny TSW, I was referring to BEFORE, he died, when he was sick! Did they think he was manipulating???Of course, it is all programed into the Program, he is a faker, whinner, manipulator. yahda yahda ...blah. ::deal::
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:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
Are people going to be held accountable for this one/ Or be swept around like the rest/
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Update on status of this case and lack of action in Utah
-The criminal investigation is ongoing.
-Office of Licensing issued a 90 day license suspension on 9/1/07 for failing to follow proper emergency procedures resulting in teen's death.
-Youth Care contested the suspension, which moves it to an informal hearing.
-Pitbull Mom requested to be present at the hearing to determine the status of the license for the facility that let her son die.
-Mom was told that was up to the judge, since she was not being called as a witness.
-A pre-hearing conference was scheduled for the week of Oct 8 to discuss hearing issues. At the same time, mom was told the Office of Licensing may reach a settlement agreement with Youth Care before the hearing is held, and thus the hearing may not be held.
-Mom complained that
1. The facility should have been shut down pending the investigation, and the parents of all the kids at the facility be notified of the license review and criminal investigation.
2. A complaint of staffing violations made just after son's death was not investigated and should be part of the review of the license.
3. The action taken in Nevada in closing down Sky View Academy was a good example of appropriate action after an allegation of abuse.
4. Inappropriate action by the Office of Licensing in the deaths of Michelle Sutton, Kristen Chase, Aaron Bacon, Katherine Lank, Ian August, 2 unknown suicide victims, and Elisa Santry are directly related to the lack of proper emergency medical care at Youth Care on June 28, 2007, resulting in the death of Brendan Blum.
5. Youth Care received the autopsy results under mysterious circumstances before the results were released.
Mom was told by the Attorney General's office that "many of the issues and questions that you have been raising are beyond the legal authority of the Office of Licensing to answer/resolve."
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2 youth counselors charged in boy's death
14-year-old was staying at treatment center in Draper
By Pat Reavy and Rebecca Palmer
Deseret Morning News
Published: Oct. 12, 2007 12:14 a.m. MDT
Two counselors at a residential youth treatment center in Draper where a 14-year-old boy died in June were charged Thursday in connection with the boy's death.
Deborah Cole and Jorge Ramirez, from Youth Care Inc., 12600 Minuteman Drive, each face one count of abuse or neglect of a child, a third-degree felony.
On June 27, Brendan Blum of California was suffering bowel and stomach problems. He had been vomiting and suffering from diarrhea all night, said Draper Police Sgt. Gerry Allred. Rather than contacting the on-call nurse as the facility's policy dictates, the boy was simply given some medicine and put in a separate room away from the rest of the boys, he said. The next morning, the boy, who was listed as a disabled child because he had Asperger's syndrome, was found dead on his mattress.
"There was no really good reason why they didn't take him ... no explanation except they just thought it was an upset stomach," Allred said.
An autopsy determined the boy had an obstructed bowel that deteriorated as the night went on, Allred said. The on-call nurse, who was later interviewed by police, said if she had been called to look at the boy she would have advised he immediately go to the hospital, he said.
The Utah State Medical Examiner concurred, "if medical intervention had been obtained, (the boy's) death would have been preventable," according to court documents.
The boy's mother, Dana Blum, said she is appalled that workers at the facility didn't take him to an emergency room. Any time a child dies while in the care of a licensed facility, the facility should be shut down immediately, she said.
Blum has filed a complaint with the Utah licensing board and is waiting for the investigation to be completed.
She hopes the individuals who operated the facility will be held accountable along with the workers.
"I don't wish them any ill, I would just like to see justice done for my son," she said.
The facility issued a statement shortly after the boy's death saying it was the result of a "medical condition." The group home is operated by Aspen Education Group, based in Cerritos, Calif. It is a division of the CRC Health Group, which runs boarding schools, outdoor education programs and weight-loss camps.
Ironically, the charges came one day after the Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., found thousands of abuse allegations at camps and other private treatment facilities around the country.
Blum hopes the national attention will result in stricter standards and more accountability across the board.
Brendan was placed in the facility following treatment at a California hospital. Blum said she researched Youth Care Inc. extensively before sending her son there.
"This is double-edged sword for me," she said. "I am not a deadbeat mom."
E-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com (http://mailto:rpalmer@desnews.com)
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Four recent Utah deaths in treatment programs
Facility put on probation, but free to take new clients
By Kirsten Stewart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 10/13/2007 12:55:43 AM MDT
Dana Blum relaxes with her son Brendan at a miniature golf park.... (Photo courtesy Dana Blum )
A residential youth treatment center was cited on Friday for providing inadequate medical care to Brendan James Blum, a 14-year-old California boy who died at its Draper facility.
Utah licensers placed Youth Care of Utah on probation, requiring the center to, among other requirements, retool employee training. Youth Care was not fined and it is free to accept new clients, though no more than five every 30 days.
The disciplinary action was reached as part of a settlement between the facility and lawyers for the state Human Services Office of Licensing, which regulates Utah's teen-help industry.
Licensing director Ken Stettler said he hopes Friday's action shows the state takes its watchdog role seriously. :rofl: It comes a day after criminal neglect charges were filed against two former Youth Care counselors in connection with Brendan's June 28 death.
It also coincides with a congressional probe into wilderness camps, which detailed thousands of cases of abuse nationwide since 1990. Of 10 deaths detailed in the federal report, five occurred in Utah.
The cases showed a pattern of lax government oversight and medical neglect, with counselors assuming the teens were making up their symptoms.
Brendan Blum's mother, Dana Blum, fears the same issues may have played a role in her son's death.
Blum said she "feels" for the employees at Youth Care, but said the facility should have been shut down, at least temporarily, and the owners held accountable.
"Nothing will bring Brendan back," said Blum. "But the bottom line is that when a parent makes a difficult decision to place their child in a treatment program, the management and caretakers have a responsibility to ensure their safety. There shouldn't be any tolerance for the death of a child."
Sent to bed
Blum said the coroner described her son's death as "violent and painful." An autopsy concluded that he died after his bowel twisted, cutting off the blood supply to his small intestine.
Brendan had vomited and been suffering diarrhea all night, according to police. Instead of phoning the on-call nurse, per Youth Care's policy, counselors treated the boy with an over-the-counter medicine and sent him to bed, said Draper police Sgt. Gerry Allred.
The next morning, Brendan, who had Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, was found dead on his mattress.
The on-call nurse, who was later interviewed by police, said had she been consulted, she would have advised sending Brendan to the hospital, said Allred. The Utah State Medical Examiner said with medical intervention, the boy might have survived.
'Flu-like' symptoms
Youth Care officials maintain Brendan complained only of "flu-like" symptoms.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family, and we continue to work closely with Utah officials and law enforcement. But we are confident a criminal prosecution will be found unwarranted," said Kristen Hayes, spokeswoman for Aspen Education Group, which owns Youth Care.
Based in Cerritos, Calif., Aspen is a division of the CRC Health Group, which runs boarding schools, outdoor education programs and weight-loss camps.
For two decades, Youth Care has "delivered the highest standards of care," treating more than 1,300 children with behavioral and addiction problems last year, said Hayes. "All of Aspen's programs either meet or exceed state and national standards."
-WRONG-
Aspen's record
Stettler confirmed Aspen's reputation, saying, "They've had a pretty spotless record."
Three of four recent deaths at Utah treatment programs, however, happened at Aspen facilities: Blum's and two suicides; one in July 2004 at Island View Academy in Syracuse, and another in April at Aspen Achievement Academy of Loa.
Stettler said the April suicide remains under investigation by law enforcement, but his own probe found Aspen wasn't at fault. The suicide at Island View happened before Aspen purchased the facility.
Blum said she thoroughly researched Youth Care and Aspen and was never told of the fatalities.
"If nothing else, I would like to see them create a searchable database so parents can review deaths and complaints and not have to rely on the subjective descriptions of licensors," said Blum.
The Web site of state licensors has contact information for facilities and shows whether their license is in good standing. But for more detailed information, parents need to phone regulators, who keep only paper files.
Sense of justice
Blum has "taken heat" for enrolling Brendan at Youth Care, but she says research shows behavioral modification programs can work for children with Asperger's.
"The real problem is there are not adequate community resources for kids with mental health problems," said Blum.
Brendan was "erratic and unpredictable," and started acting aggressively at age 3, said Blum. "There were no consequences that were meaningful to him. You could take away privileges with friends, TV, or PlayStation. It didn't matter."
Trips to her county mental health facility, school counselors and private therapists yielded no firm diagnosis.
It wasn't until Brendan turned 13 and got swept up in the juvenile justice system that doctors at a local university diagnosed him with Asperger's.
"They said he was a textbook case of high-functioning autism and should have been diagnosed at age 8," said Blum.
Brendan had a "fine-tuned sense of justice. As his mother, I feel I need to make sure Youth Care is held accountable," said Blum.
"These kids come from families that care about them. They're not just throwaway kids."
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7166739 (http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7166739)