Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Troubled Teen Industry

Catherine Freer Spins a Defense

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Oz girl:
In some ways this is encouraging. Obviously they saw the dressing down NATSAP got and are shitscared. Surely if anyone who has at any point been associated with the Mac Daddy of abusive programs that is Paradise Cove tries to present themsleves at one of these hearing as one of the "safe options" they will be hauled over the coals in the same way that NATSAP was.

AuntieEm:
There are several things about the hearings and the school replies, like Oakley's for Aspiro, that are alarming.

* The reassuring letter to parents from Oakley/Aspiro is pretty effective. How would any parent know that these are hollow promises? With such a closed and isolated system, who could prove them wrong?

* The emphasis on accreditation and licensing gives false reassurance  to parents. In another recent post on fornits, "a parent" asks about enrolling her son in VisionQuest, and says,


--- Quote ---According to what I've read VisionQuest is JACHO approved, and has been studied by the Rand Corp and University of PA and found effective.
--- End quote ---


"JCAHO approved"--that is her genuine perception. She is unaware that JCAHO "accreditation" (not "approval") means things like the staff checks 2 IDs before administering meds, that the staff agrees on acronyms and abbreviations in written records, and that they wash their hands.        

Have a look. Here are the "Safety Goals" that JCAHO accredits for VisionQuest:
http://http://www.qualitycheck.org/QualityReport.aspx?hcoid=418103&x=npsg&program=Behavioral%20Health%20Care

I'll all in favor of handwashing, but fawgawdssake, JCAHO accreditation tells you nothing about the facility's ability to handle a teen with a traumatic and violent past. Yet it is heavily implied.

Remedies under the law (such as are being considered by the House Commmittee on Education and Labor) could help if they were to pry open these facilities to the light of day--open records (student confidentiality preserved), open visitation policies, open communication between students and families, facilities required to report incidents of abuse/restraint/violence/accidents, and the like.

I support the calls on fornits for a cultural sea change to end "zero tolerance" and seeking Quick Fix Happy Meals for parents with troubled teens, but I must be too old and jaded. I'll take laws with teeth in them while we work concurrently on shifting the cultural norms.

 
AuntieEm

ZenAgent:
Say, Auntie Em - you aren't the same person who was posting on CAFETY as Aunt Bea, are you?  That was some savage bad craziness and heated debate.  Glad I wasn't involved in that bin'ness.

AuntieEm:
No, completely different Auntie. No relationship at all to "Aunt Bea."

I'm here in "Kansas" just waiting for my niece to return.

AuntieEm

Deborah:
CFW continues to defend.... splitting hairs with the GAO investigator.....

October 19, 2007
Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director
Forensic Audits and Special Investigations
U. S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20548

Dear Mr. Kutz:

I am writing to you to express serious concerns regarding the inaccuracies and misrepresentation of facts as noted in your testimony GAO-08-146T – “Residential Treatment Programs: Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youthâ€

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