Why Private Program Parents Should Be Concerned

[Teen Advocates USA]

As shown by the THAYER case, criminal and child protective investigations into the conditions, practices and policies of private programs can be severely limited by virtue of the program's "PRIVATE" status.  This is particularly true in private, for-profit UNLICENSED programs where state licensing regulators and inspectors are "stopped at the door".  They simply do not have the legal authority to do their job.

Please learn from the example of other parents whose children have been abused, even killed, while participating in a private program.  In most cases, these parents had no other recourse but to bring a civil lawsuit as a means of holding the program owners/operators accountable for allegations of CRIMINAL negligence, abuse, fraud, death.

It is a rare scenario, indeed, when criminal charges are filed against a private program but when they are, the penalities for conviction can and often do amount to nothing more than a "slap on the wrist".  In cases where jail time has been ordered, the sentence can be shockingly light (e.g. 6 years for the death of Tony Haynes). Plea bargains are made, fines levied, programs closed and reopened under different names, and it's business as usual.

Second, I'd like to stress that the tendency for program parents to believe the "end justifies the means" comes about through program conditioning and strict compliance with the program's expectations and demands. Parents are often unaware they are being "manipulated" by the very people charged with changing/controlling the so-called manipulative behavior of their children.

Sadly, it is all too common for program parents to fall victim to acquiring a false sense of security about the safety and efficacy of their child's program when in reality, there is no rational basis for them to put their trust (or their child) in the hands of people who "make and play by their own rules".

This inherent risk must be factored in by parents when considering an out-of-home placement in a private program.  

Bottom Line:  Steer clear of UNLICENSED programs and make sure that you, not the program, is in control of your child's basic human and civil rights ... even if that means making unannounced visits or periodically demanding to speak to your child without their case worker/counselor/therapist monitoring the conversation.  

Lastly, under no circumstances should you be made to completely sever the lifeline to your child's health and safety as a condition for their participation in a program. You are the child's parent, not the program.  Enforce your parental rights and if need be, tell the "program" that if they don't cooperate, you will cancel the enrollment agreement and remove the child from the program.  

In the end, MONEY TALKS, and I can assure you, programs will listen.

Barbe
TAUSA

http://www.teenadvocatesusa.org/THAYER_ ... Death.html

[ This Message was edited by:  on 2005-10-03 11:27 ]

[Anonymous]

Out of sight does not mean out of mind.  Parents, don't let your kids fall off the radar map.

[Anonymous]

Parents who get letters from their kids should not be so quick to dismiss allegations of maltreatment as "manipulative" (e.g. the kid is just trying to get out of the program).  Unfortunately, many parents do exactly this and before they know it, the letters stop coming.  The kid has given up on their parent and the abuse behind the closed (or locked) doors pf the program is allowed to continue with no one watching.

At the very least, parents should have a "code" system set up with their child so the child can tell them what is going on without program censorship.  Ask any kid who has been in an abusive behavior mod warehouse and they will tell you what the consequences are for telling their parents anything negative about the program.

[Anonymous]

Ask any kid who has been in an abusive behavior mod warehouse and they will tell you what the consequences are for telling their parents anything negative about the program.

Your parents will faithfully read your letters to your family rep. Of course the first few letters will be reports of how horrible the place is. The program is prepared for this and tells all parents to expect this. Why? Maybe, because its true! Soon the child will learn all their letters are being shared with the family rep. You are not allowed to keep addresses (one of the worst offenses, I kid you not) let alone send your own mail out. You have no stamps, no access to a letter box. Your entire world is controlled by these places. EVERYTHING. The only people you can send mail to is your parent(s) (that's if both parents sign on for the program, assuming you don't come from a divorced family with only one parent supporting the child being in the program. IN this case, they will only let you send letters to the parent who approves of the program.) Eventually, the letters will stop. Once the child realizes there is ZERO point in writing the parent, why would they waste their time. Now it's time to sink into a deep abyss of denial, self loathing and hate for one's surroundings-- for you are at a program!

[the sunday stealer]

Program Parent: "Licensed? Unlicensed? I don't know, but I found them on Google, so they must be okay, right?!? Plus they said I'd get a thousand bucks if I sign my friend's kids up, what's there to lose? Look at all these pretty pictures of the forest and canoes! That's it... I'm calling those kidnappers right away to come snatch my son!"

 :grin: