Fornits

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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

I read with dismay the article written by Jennifer Gonnerman regarding the disciplinary methods employed by the Judge Rotenber Center, commonly known as JRC. I found her article to be unbalanced and rather a knee-jerk reaction to a very complex process. Her article was also written out of context. It contains emotional rather than factual solutions. I have a first-hand working knowledge of JRC because I deal with JRC almost on a daily basis and have done so for the past 4 years. I am a court-appointed attorney who is not employeed by JRC or the Trial Court system. I am completely unbiased and work only for myslef and in the best interests of the students that I represent. I found her story to be completely lopsided. Very little attention was paid to the positive aspects of the program but rather emphasized the negative aspects of the program. Following suit were the bloggers who probably never even visited JRC or had any working knowledge of its methods. If the aricle had been writted on a more positive note, bloggers would have in turn responded in a more positive fashion. My role is to assure that the behavioral treatment plans are appropriate to meet my students/client's needs. If there is a provision which is overly punitive than that provision is addressed and the applicable punishment is removed from the plan. If no middle grounds are met then several independent doctors are obtained and the independent doctors will also evaluate the treatment plan. The student also has some input into their treatment plan and allowed to make reasonable requests. PLEASE STOP TORTURING ME! Therefore, students are given the GED's after much forethought and planning has been established. The treatment plan must then be approved by Judges of the Probate Court system. I have yet to hear a Judge condemn the program in it's entirety. That is because the Judges have witnessed such overwhelming improvemnets and turnarounds that it almost boggles the mind. When I first meet some of my students they had to be kept apart from any human contact because of their agressive and dangerous nature. Some must be protected with staff personel around the clock. They are not able to matriculate into a traditional classroom setting. Some of these students have stabbed others or themselves with sharp insturments, some have set fires and I had one student who once head-butted a pregnant teacher. The list goes on and on. I might ask is this any way to exist? These students would never be able to socialize or be educated within the traditonal system. I have seen students who were restrained on a full time basis but whom after the GEDS were applied are now able to lead full and productive lives, are educated, have jobs and families. Without JRC these students would either be jailed for the rest of their lives with litte to no education or given a cocktail of the most potent drugs known to society. With the medications they usually suffer from the effects such as trembling, drooling, sedation, low white blood counts which is ofter fatal and many other side effects including diabetes and heart failure. I admire the fact that JRC will accept students who no other placement will accept. Without the JRC program where would these children go? Even without the use of the GEDs this is a highly structural and organized program that is dedicated to the turning around of some of the country's most worst behaved students. As the student's behavior is improved the Geds start being removed. Remeber, it is the decision of the higher functioning student whether they get an application or not. To behave appropriately means no applications. The decisons is theirs. THE CHILD CHOOSES TO BE SHOCKED In conclusion, Ms. Gonnerman reports other less structured disciplinary programs that are allegedly successful but I see no examples, data or articles documenting other behavioral approaches. She also states that students would rather be in jail than at JRC. This statement raises some red flags for me. In jail or DYS there is little education, the children don't have much of anything to do and there is little structure. I find that the more unstructured a setting is the more the children like it even though it is not in their best interest. I think Ms. Gonnerman should revisit her story and write a more balanced and positive viewpoint of this school. She should keep in mind that JRC has rehabilitated vast numbers of aggressive and violent children. Also, all the planning and different stages of the treatment plan can be viewed on the JRC website.
Posted by: Elaine Gerber on August 26, 2007 9:47:16 AM