Academy at Swift River - Split from TTI

[TheWho]

Deborah Wrote:

Apparently more than name, date, time.

I did indicate more than Name, date and time.  Maybe you missed it.

Here it is again:

TheWho wrote:

What a log typically wants to document is “Student name”, Time, location, date and a brief description or check box indicating if the call was successful/completed or not.

These are typical logs.  Each place of business adds or diminishes as they see fits best for their business.

Is that a problem? It would be interesting to see what notes were jotted down to bring up in "group". Also interesting to know how that's handled in/by group.

It may or may not be interesting… could be comments like “Distressed after call home” , “Phone call didn’t go well based on attitude afterwards”.  I think knowing that a child is having difficulty it should not be left to fester quietly and it would be a good heads up to the child’s counselor that he/she isn’t feeling too well after “Home contact” and may need to talk or deal with an issue that has risen to the top.

I know many may feel the phone call home can be no big deal (just let them be ), but many kids struggle with this and can be a big issue.  There are many issues that can arise, conflicts that have not been touched upon before or newly emerging emotions.  I think it would be irresponsible to place a child in a situation like this without someone nearby for support if they need it.

As far as regulation is concerned, I am all for it.  It makes things more difficult for the school but from a parents and child’s perspective it can help in some areas.

[Deborah]

Actually, psy provided the link to that message in a response to Who.
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... 647#255647

Who doesn't always bother following the discussion. He prefers to shoot from the hip with his responses. One time as expert, then a know-nothing, when a question comes up he doesn't want to respond to.

BTW, thinking this thread should be split from this post:
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.ph ... 542#255542
and move it to the Aspen forum.
Anyone disagree?

[Troll Control]

Well, I've had some free time today (been out sick with that nasty bronchitis going around), so I decided to follow up on my own with ASR about their abuse hotline, or lack thereof as it were.

So I called up there posing as a parent wanting to enroll my kid but having "a few questions about policies" and such.  I was passed from the operator to a very pleasant sounding administrative-type person named "Kara".

After some more or less idle chit-chat, I asked "How often can my son call home?" The reply was "Once weekly, with his counselor."  

I then asked "Can he talk to me in private on the phone without a counselor listening?"  The reply was "That's not our policy.  In our experience, unmonitored contact just leads to a bunch of manipulation, crying, yelling and things like that.  We don't view that as productive."  

I then asked "What if something happens to him - he gets in a fight or has an accident or something?"  The reply was "In that case, you'll be contacted by his counselor to let you know what's going on."

Finally, having laid the groundwork, I popped the question: "I have read a lot of stuff on the internet about kids being abused by staff at residential facilities and it worries me.  Will my son have access to a phone to report any abuses?  Sorry, I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything - you came highly recommended to me.  But, say something did happen?"  The answer:  "We don't provide phones for student use.  Something like that would be reported to his counselor who would then take the appropriate steps to address it."

So, there you have it, people.  No unmonitored calls and no access to an abuse hotline at ASR.  

Hey, Deb, can we get these posts moved over to the ASR thread?  It's valuable information that won't be seen when searching here for ASR information...  (EDIT) I was thinking the same thing myself, Deb.  Good idea to move it!

Thanks for encouraging me to call and find out for myself, Who.  It was well worth the time!

[TheWho]

That’s funny I asked the same thing and spoke with Millie or Mollie?.  Here is what I got:


asked "How often can my daughter call home?" The reply was "Once weekly, sometimes more but we schedule it on a weekly basis.
I asked if she could talk to me in a private area and I was told, no.  The phones calls are made in an area with others, although the students can talk freely there is a counselor present in the room.

She never spoke to me about manipulation, crying, yelling etc. as DJ indicated (From a business perspective this would never be said, not good for business, these are potential customers, it has to be kept positive)

I asked if my daughter could contact me in an emergency and she said “yes.  Her counselor would contact you and then you would speak to you daughter”.

I knew the answer already because this already happened to me when my daughter attended.

I ask if they had access to a phone at night, no they did not, emergencies would be reported to the night staff in charge and they would make the decision.

Don’t want 100 pizzas showing up a 2 a.m. I guess (ha,Ha,).  Sorry, but I was a teenager once and I know this would be done.

So good try DJ, you were partially right.  The restricted phone access is there for a reason and part of that reason is to keep the kids safe.

[Troll Control]

So you're saying Kara is a liar then?  Hmmmmm...  Interesting.  Even when ASR's own personnel says something that doesn't add up to what you've been pushing you call them liars.

Anyway, we have established that there is no mechanism for reporting abuse at ASR and kids have no access to an abuse hotline as required by law.

Glad to clear that up.  Even the Who agrees - no abuse hotline, no unmonitored calls, no access to phones unless explicitly directed by staff.  Good.

BTW, I already debunked you "pizza story" earlier in the thread.  Any telecom guy or gal, at the cost of about $40, can install a dedicated line that rings to only one number, like the state abuse hotline for example, so, once more, that story is pure hogwash.

Now, let's examine this, Who:  Let's say, for argument's sake that a kid's very own counselor sexually abuses him/her.  ASR's plan, as you verified with them like I did, is to have that child report the abuse directly to the person that perpetrated it.

This is downright scary and paves the road for child abuse.  I would avoid this facility at all costs.  It's dangerous!

[TheWho]

Now, let's examine this, Who: Let's say, for argument's sake that a kid's very own counselor sexually abuses him/her. ASR's plan, as you verified with them like I did, is to have that child report the abuse directly to the person that perpetrated it.

This is downright scary and paves the road for child abuse. I would avoid this facility at all costs. It's dangerous!

Sure, DJ, of course it is possible.  The guy on the abuse hot line could talk dirty to the kids also, but it is highly unlikely.  The hot line never helped the kids who were raped by their teacher at public school, so, the way I see it, you need to do 2 things to convince us one is needed:

1. Determine if the law requires a “Hot Line” to be installed in the school.

2.  How effective is this hot line in keeping kids safe.

[Troll Control]

Well, since I worked as a therapist for many years, I can answer this.  If you don't like my answer, you can "do the work yourself"!

One, anywhere that provides treatment to 24/7 residents (as ASR does) is required by law to provide unfettered access to a free telephone to report abuse (Deb posted the Mass law earlier).  So, yes, ASR is required by law to do this.

Two, your premise is totally absurd.  You said: "The hot line never helped the kids who were raped by their teacher at public school..." (so why help a raped kid at ASR, right? :roll: ) This may be because there is no abuse hotline at public schools :wink: . The kid can go directly to his/her parents or the police.  Also, you're just talking out of your butt.  You have no idea about these things, you're just looking for wiggle room after you already scored a devastating ground-zero hit on yourself by confirming with ASR and documenting that there is never any unmonitored contact and that no child can ever use a phone unless directed to so by their counselor (their very own abuser in the above scenario - SICK!).

Three, no hotline ever prevented anything, it is simply a mechanism required by law so that the child can report abuse and be protected from further abuse.  If you had your way, the staff would be free to rape kids at will with no way for the kid to report it except to their abuser.  Again, very sick!

"Sure!  Rape the children as much as you want!  Just make sure no one orders pizza!"  Oy vey. :roll:

[RobertBruce]

Who the abuse hotline is monitored, sometimes even recorded. A counselor is in a much better position to abuse the kids then an operator.

Youre also again ignoring that children services already came into ASR and stated the monitoring of communication that went on was illegal. ASR chose to ignore that law as they found it to be.....inconvienent.

[Troll Control]

RB, even responding to "the hotline opertor could talk dirty to the kids" is crazy.  In any case, The Who places the same value on physical forcible rape and dirty telephone talk.  This is how sick and twisted this guy is!  

He has argued that in order to prevent the ordering of pizzas or the dirty talk of the abuse hotline operator ( :roll: God, where do you get this from? ), the kids should be prevented from using the telephone to report abuse by staff, as is current ASR policy documented in the Who's earlier post.

[TheWho]

Well, since I worked as a therapist for many years, I can answer this.  If you don't like my answer, you can "do the work yourself"!

One, anywhere that provides treatment to 24/7 residents (as ASR does) is required by law to provide unfettered access to a free telephone to report abuse (Deb posted the Mass law earlier).  So, yes, ASR is required by law to do this.

Two, your premise is totally absurd.  You said: "The hot line never helped the kids who were raped by their teacher at public school..." (so why help a raped kid at ASR, right? :roll: ) This may be because there is no abuse hotline at public schools :wink: . The kid can go directly to his/her parents or the police.  Also, you're just talking out of your butt.  You have no idea about these things, you're just looking for wiggle room after you already scored a devastating ground-zero hit on yourself by confirming with ASR and documenting that there is never any unmonitored contact and that no child can ever use a phone unless directed to so by their counselor (their very own abuser in the above scenario - SICK!).

Three, no hotline ever prevented anything, it is simply a mechanism required by law so that the child can report abuse and be protected from further abuse.  If you had your way, the staff would be free to rape kids at will with no way for the kid to report it except to their abuser.  Again, very sick!

"Sure!  Rape the children as much as you want!  Just make sure no one orders pizza!"  Oy vey. :roll:

The law you posted applied to mental hospitals.  didnt see anything required for boarding schools or TBS's.

So I guess it is fair to say there is no requirement... the rest is moot

[RobertBruce]

DJ what you have to keep in mind is that in Who's deranged mind a hotline isnt needed at ASR even if it is mandated by law. The reason being is that according to him no kids are ever abused at ASR. So really what would they have to report?

It's like a castrati buying a box of condoms. Really when's he going to need them?

[RobertBruce]

The law you posted applied to mental hospitals. didnt see anything required for boarding schools or TBS's.

So I guess it is fair to say there is no requirement... the rest is moot

Except they advertise as a theraputic boarding school, they even say so right on their website. So tell us Who, why would they claim to be one thing to potential customers but another to the state?

Could it be to avoid things just like this?

Also why did children services tell them what they were doing was illegal if it doesnt apply to them?

[Troll Control]

I suppose you must not have read it.  If you did, you would have seen that Deb posted it.

It applies to any 24/7 residential facility that provides mental health services, like, for example, ASR!

So raped kids are a moot point, huh?  SICK.  Where did this guy come from?  Even the most hardcore program parents I've dealt with never said anything like this.  This is truly a disturbed individual...[/quote]

[TheWho]

I suppose you must not have read it.  If you did, you would have seen that Deb posted it.

It applies to any 24/7 residential facility that provides mental health services, like, for example, ASR!

So raped kids are a moot point, huh?  SICK.  Where did this guy come from?  Even the most hardcore program parents I've dealt with never said anything like this.  This is truly a disturbed individual...

No, I read it.  It doesn’t apply, we have been though this already and established they don’t fall under this law. They aren’t set up to care for the mentally ill or insured thru the state under this category (keep reading).  They fall under boarding school which doesn’t have this requirement that I am aware of.

[Troll Control]

First this:

Once more, it's the law that any child in treatment must have access to a free phone to report abuse. You are saying it's OK with you and you condone (or at least won't bother to look into it) that the children aren't being treated in accordance with the law. Thank you at least for admitting it to us.

I have been there I know there are offices and phones everywhere if kids needed help.

Then this:

I ask if they had access to a phone at night, no they did not, emergencies would be reported to the night staff in charge and they would make the decision.

Woops!  Caught again...

The night staff ponders...  "Hmmm... I just raped this kid.  Should I let her use the phone to report it?  NAH!"