Focal Point Academy

[Anonymous]

APPROVED TELEPHONE LIST
Rule #3 states    

Calling privileges are according to the levels system.

This is found on the enrollment agreement.  Does this mean that PURE or someone she associatates with agrees with calling privileges being based on the level system.  Is there a connection between PURE and Focal Point?

[Deborah]

NAC 424.495 Communication and visitation with family and others. (NRS 424.020)

     1.  A foster home shall cooperate with the agency placing a child in the home to help the child maintain meaningful ties with his family, including correspondence between parent and child, visits to the child and home visits by the child when appropriate.

     2.  Reasonable opportunities must be afforded for the child to maintain contact with all family members and with other persons identified in the child’s case plan as important. The opportunity to visit with a parent or guardian must not be denied unless such visits have been denied by court order or the agency placing the child has determined that such visitation would be detrimental to the welfare of the child.

     3.  The foster home shall allow for visits of children with their natural relatives only with the prior approval of the agency with responsibility for the children.

     4.  The foster home shall, upon reasonable request, permit the child to contact the person or agency responsible for his placement and allow that person or agency to contact the child. The foster home shall not deny or impede direct access of the agency placing the child to the foster child.

     5.  The foster home must allow the child to send and receive mail. Any restrictions on correspondence must be approved by the agency placing the child or person from whom the child was received.

     6.  The foster home shall give the children the opportunity to invite friends to the foster home and to visit in the homes of friends, if appropriate.

     7.  Foster homes shall use care to ensure that anyone who visits the home over an extended period conducts himself in such a manner as not to jeopardize the safety or well-being of the foster children.

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-424. ... C424Sec465
You can read the other regulations at that link re: Appropriate discipline, etc.

[Anonymous]

momofmatt, was your son's placement approved by the Division?[/quote]

No, the Divison was not involved in placement of my son.  I made the decision myself after some very intense and in-depth research.  I am happy with the outcome and while as a parent I struggled with the decision, I determined it was the best opportunity for my son to not end up dead or in prison.

In terms of phone calls (I saw something posted about phone calls), I have been conversing with my son since his first week at FPA and have had 24-hour access to my son.  I have had regular phone calls with my son throughout his stay.  I communicate with staff reguarly, actually almost daily, via email and telephone calls.   I know there are programs out there that do not allow contact with the kids for extended periods of time and initially it can be as long as 3 months.  I personally would not consider a program like that as an option for placement.  I did a lot of research and got some good links from this group when I first considered out of home placement. My son was sitting in juvenile detention for the third time and two of his friends had just died.  I knew very little about this industry and I discovered there are a lot of bad programs out there.  There are also some good ones and I believe Focal Point Academy to be one of the good ones.   I have been to visit him twice and am looking forward to my next visit in August.  He is moving to a halfway house setting in August and he has been at FPA for 7 months.  No program works for everyone and in the same vein, some programs work for no-one.

[Anonymous]

I determined it was the best opportunity for my son to not end up dead or in prison.

This bullshit has been long-since debunked on this board, but you just had to add..

My son was sitting in juvenile detention for the third time

Either you can't keep your troll story straight or you're parroting programmie lingo without thinking. If you did give birth to someone, you have no right to call yourself his mother anymore.

Whoever wrote that post, put a .45 FMJ to your temple and kill yourself immediately.

[Anonymous]

This bullshit has been long-since debunked on this board, but you just had to add..

My son was sitting in juvenile detention for the third time

Either you can't keep your troll story straight or you're parroting programmie lingo without thinking. If you did give birth to someone, you have no right to call yourself his mother anymore.

Whoever wrote that post, put a .45 FMJ to your temple and kill yourself immediately.[/quote]

Whatever.  You're certainly entitled to your opinion.  Whether or not you think I am equipped to be a mother is of no consequence to me and whatever you mean about being a troll...I don't know what that means and it is of no consequence to me, either.  I'm pretty comfortable with my story and like you, I will say whatever I so desire on this board, of which I am a member, even if you think its bullshit, because what you think means nothing to me.  So you're welcome to debunk anything you want, of course, and if you think I'm parrotting promgrammie lingo without thinking, well, a big fat whatever to that, too.  I'm happy with my choices and I'm happy with my son's choices and if you're not, well...too bad.  

And, as I said, and which was the intention of my post, I do have regular telephone contact with my son, as do the rest of the our family.  If that statement bothers you...oh well.

[Deborah]

So FP is your standard run-of-the-mill RTC/TBS (on a smaller scale), but licensed as a Foster Home, and is operating in violation of the more lenient FH regulations. Why am I not surprised?

I noticed on their website that they laud the fact that they only take 15 kids (12 on a different page) so they can give them more individualized 'treatment'.
Hmm, is it actually because that is the maximum number of participants allowed in a FH situation?

[Anonymous]

I noticed on their website that they laud the fact that they only take 15 kids (12 on a different page) so they can give them more individualized 'treatment'.
Hmm, is it actually because that is the maximum number of participants allowed in a FH situation?

Could be.  Whatever the reason, it is working for us.

[Anonymous]

APPROVED TELEPHONE LIST
Rule #3 states    

Calling privileges are according to the levels system.

This is found on the enrollment agreement.  Does this mean that PURE or someone she associatates with agrees with calling privileges being based on the level system.  Is there a connection between PURE and Focal Point?

Absolutely!

[Anonymous]

I noticed on their website that they laud the fact that they only take 15 kids (12 on a different page) so they can give them more individualized 'treatment'.
Hmm, is it actually because that is the maximum number of participants allowed in a FH situation?

Could be.  Whatever the reason, it is working for us.

This has to be a joke or a troll..I cannot imagine a mother/father intentionally placing a child, however desperate, at an unlicensed RTC which is ONLY licensed as a foster care facility.  Why don't you post a picture of this place..?  I have been told, it is a run down shack of a home.

[Anonymous]

MomofMat was posting on Struggling People right before Scheff and Focal Point lawsuit was filed.  Extremely suspicious that this poster is Izzy posting!
Izzy cleaned up the CAICA website; eliminated all links to PURE; and took Sue Scheff off CAICA's "Advocate of the Month" list.
Izzy's blog page now refers readers to Positive Family Solutions; but this website is down, parked.
Strange happenings since this lawsuit was filed.
Wonder why?