Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group

CRC Health Corp. growth rate plunges

<< < (3/3)

Anonymous:
Michael:

>>OK. Now that is a bald face lie, if you are in fact Tom Croke. I know for a fact of a kid who you referred to Benchmark who was not happy at all with his >>placement (I think we both know who we are talking about. Initials are BW) and would definitely contest that statement. I'm pretty sure you knew about his >>dissatisfaction as well, either directly, through his parents, or through me, personally.


>>>I think I know who you mean, but if I am correct you are the only person who has told me that about him. And frankly, I don't have confidence in what you >>>tell me.  One of my top fans is a young man who went to Samoa then to the program that you attended in California, who, by the way, does not share your >>>views of eithe program.

I do not interview kids routinely following placement.  A significant number contact me. I am sure some are dissatisfied that I don't know about. I am also sure that some who are not happy feel as they do as a result of parents not following my advice.

The only Samoa program I have used is the one now known as Coral Reef Academy.  It has its issues, but I don't think anyone who has been there would confirm your generalities about Samoa programs.  It is not an abusive program. The last two people I have arranged to go there went by their own choice.  That is probably the program where I have actually had the largest number of people who have told me they appreciated the fact that I had recommended the program they attended.  If you were referring to Paradise Cove, I would understand where you were coming from on that.  I don't refer to programs out of country unless the young person understands what is at  issue and wants to go.  

>(Maybe posting this will lead someone to raise that, but we haven't heard it from them) Oops. I know one who might be pretty unhappy with us. Initials are JS and he's from New York City. I would not mind an opportunity to sit down with JS on equal terms and discuss what happened and how that situation got messed up. He's a neat kid. But that sort of thing is pretty unusual.

>>I think I know who you're talking about there (initials match, anyway), and no, he wasn't happy with your referral at all.

The person I am referring to is 16 years old, has attended schools and programs only in New York State near his home and I am rather sure you do not know him. I did make a mistake there.  

I leave the rest of this up to the reader.

psy:
For the reader, I present a thread on A Better Way's Coral Reef Academy including an article written by Tom Croke (above poster) himself:

viewtopic.php?t=14029#p174297


--- Quote ---THE CRISIS BEFORE US

What Happened In Samoa?

By: Thomas J. Croke,
Publisher

Because of the sensitivity of the information in front of us, we are not reporting everything we know or believe to be true regarding the account below. We are certainly not reporting everything we have been told. We will update on the web site as we can confirm or refute some of the issues that remain unresolved.

Several years ago, the owners and founders of Cross Creek Manor established a boys' version of their program in Samoa ? Paradise Cove. A few years later, another group, also from Utah, known as A Better Way, llc., started the program known variously as Robert Louis Stevenson Youth Academy, A Better Way Youth Academy, and Mole Ole Ava. One of the principals in this group was Sterling Deveraux, a man I had known, respected and trusted since his days as a therapist at Heritage Center when I marketed there, and again at the Western Youth Network (now part of YSI). Based upon that knowledge and trust, I was the referral person behind the enrollment of their very first student, a young lady who has done extraordinarily well, and swears by the program. Very recently, another program, New Hope, was organized, then disintegrated. According to published reports and multiple sources in communication with us, some of New Hope's students were literally abandoned in the village when that program closed.

The Samoa Story begins with the group of people who have banded together, mostly on the Internet, to attempt to shut down either the Teen Help affiliated programs or the entire industry. (See ?The Crisis Before Us?, page 3.) Perhaps it starts before that, but that is when, where and how Bridge to Understanding became aware of it. A semi-organized group of people was collaborating on the Internet, some to attempt to shut down the entire industry; some to shut down the Teen Help programs in particular.

Another group, which we believe was unconnected with those described in the above paragraph, made up primarily (probably exclusively) of the parents of the young people at New Hope in Samoa, kept in touch with each other via Internet. As a result, as soon as alleged abuses were known, the word spread quickly, to the other parents. Defections followed rapidly. We assume that the drop in enrollment this caused may have dissipated the assets of the New Hope organization, leading to its demise. Published reports and direct statements to us from multiple sources say that some students were simply abandoned. According to similar reports, at the request of U.S. Chargé d'affaires William Warren, both A Better Way and Paradise Cove absorbed some of these, and others were sent home with the assistance of Mr. Warren and Tom Mockett.

The impact of the new students at A Better Way either caused or contributed to a decline in morale at A Better Way. On that, everyone, including the management of A Better Way agrees. Several other events at A Better Way also led to problems. Seemingly with agreement all around, the classroom program carried out in cooperation with the correspondence curriculum from Brigham Young University was not working as efficiently as might have been hoped, and there were some protests from parent regarding that just at the time these events were developing. A fire damaged the building facilities on the older of the two campuses. A Better Way management acknowledges some communication problems. A very charismatic Samoan staff member who was greatly beloved by the students at A Better Way and seen as a father figure by many was let go. We are not at liberty to disclose as many details as we have in our possession, but we are satisfied that this action was not undertaken frivolously. We also believe that this staff member reacted in anger to undermine the program. We have been advised by A Better Way management that the dispute has now been resolved, and others tell us this man is now back on staff.

Another event at the same time was the loss of therapist Jeff Scott, and program director Adrian Faust, just about the time Sterling Deveraux relocated to live in Samoa and take over direction of the program. The issues with Jeff and Adrian seem to be primarily that both parents and students were on overload with change. Both Jeff and Adrian had their followings, but change itself seems more an issue than the particulars of their personalities.

Over this time, and beginning prior to the introduction of the students from New Hope, some of our own parent clients were beginning to complain loudly and energetically about the manner in which they and their offspring were being handled by the program. We could not conclusively establish what went on, but we were alarmed by two A Better Way parents, in very close sequence with each other, coming into sufficient conflict to pull their young people out of the program, following what was in each case their second visit to the island. Both reported deterioration in the functioning of the program between visits, and reported very angry confrontations with program owner / managers.

By February we had our fourth report, confirmed by A Better Way management of possible inappropriate sexual contact between staff and students we had referred (when I use ?confirmed? and ?possible? in the same sentence, I mean that the management was taking the reports seriously, but in at least one case and perhaps three of the four, had some doubt about the allegation).

The first two reports had involved the night staff and we believed had been addressed properly, with respect to the victims, their parents, us as referral source and the alleged perpetrator. Of particular significance, I understood that a procedural change had been put into place to prevent similar incidents. I came back from my April, 1997 visit to Samoa understanding that female students would always sleep behind locked doors when only the all male security staff was on duty. Samoan custom does not permit Samoan women to work overnight without taking on a moral stigma, and A Better Way was limited in the number of Americans they could bring in on work visas. This made it difficult to put female staff on duty overnight. I was uncomfortable with the young women being exposed to a minimally trained all male staff in this manner, but believed the problem to be solved. I later learned (see below) that ?policy? was not maintained.

The third report of staff crossing sexual boundaries was strongly substantiated, and fit no recognizable pattern, as it involved a female staff member. The fourth was recent, and again involved the Samoan security staff. All of these involved students I had referred.

Beginning about February, we began to pick up completely unattributed and unsubstantiated allegations of sexual impropriety at A Better Way on the Internet. Our contacts in the ?opposition? group were quick to let us know they were not responsible and to attribute the source to their opposition in the pro-Teen Help group. They also made a point of not confirming the accuracy of the story, although they repeated their opposition to all offshore programs. The storm really broke for us when we began to receive phone calls and email messages from one educational consultant and several parents who were NOT our clients expressing concern about what was happening at A Better Way in Samoa. We initially doubted these stories because the two parents who had pulled their kids under very angry conditions did not support the particular issues raised. I had several conversations with owner Rodney Rice who vehemently denied most of what was being added by the latest group of protestors. He also denied the reports of the two angry parents who were our clients, although he acknowledged the four sexual incidents referred to above as being at least worthy of serious attention even if not conclusively proven. For purposes of determining procedure, they were assuming them to be true. Nevertheless, in the course of these conversations, I learned that A Better Way had not maintained what I had understood to be its policy of allowing females to sleep behind locked doors and its management denied ever having told me that. They confirmed that students at the ?basement? level had been required to sleep in an open fale (Samoan word for house or hut, pronounced ?FAH lee?), and strongly defended the propriety of that, implying that the policy would continue. I do not suggest that the managers are lying. The assurances I was given on this occurred during my visit in April, 1997, after which there has been almost 100% turnover in staff. David Smyth, one of the owner managers was present for part of this discussion, but I do not know the degree to which he was paying attention. The therapist, at the time, clearly participated in the discussion, and it was primarily he who provided the assurances, but he left the program only a few months later.

As the intensity of the matter escalated, I began to contact other IECA member consultants to gain other perspectives. Except for the one who had initiated a call to me, all reported very positive impressions, including one of great excellence with therapeutic programs, who had just visited in December. However, there was at least one additional story of crossing sexual boundaries from a consultant who believed that was the only case that had ever occurred. If that consultant, who had strongly positive regard for the program, was talking about an actual confirmed case, the total was now five.

Since the downsizing, there has been a rash of allegations of sexual abuse beyond the ones noted above, but referring to a time period before the downsizing. The common element in those complaints is the Samoan night security staff. We can neither substantiate nor refute those allegations.

There have been reports of drugs on campus. Management acknowledges that has occurred. With respect to both drug use and inappropriate sex, management gives a very different description from what some former students are saying. We all know students in behavioral change programs frequently accuse the programs of all kinds of things in order to get out, and that allegations from those sources need to be examined closely. But allegations specifically of sexual abuse can never be ignored. Programs that expect the kids to allege untrue things are in a difficult spot when that happens unless there are witnesses. That is why all staff-student behaviors under these conditions should be witnessed. That is for the protection of both staff and students.

As of this point, A Better Way has downsized, removing many of its negative students. A Better Way has issued two strongly worded letters reassuring parents and referral sources that all is now under control. We have offered to put them up on the Internet, and would like to publish excerpts here, but they will not give us permission to do that at this time. They suggest they might do so later. We will definitely give them space on the Internet for that purpose. They are accepting no female intakes and will transition remaining females out. They have pledged to keep awake female night staff on duty while females remain.

Many parents and other educational consultants, with whom we speak, give rave reviews on this program. Even our parents, who pulled their offspring in anger, confirm that their son/daughter made gains they would not have made any other way. ?Parents Corner - LifeSaver? is another sample tribute by a mother of how a program helped bring her son back to her and their family.

Although we have been less positive in the past about Paradise Cove in particular and the Teen Help programs in general than we have been with respect to A Better Way, we can absolutely confirm that those programs, too, have been lifesavers for many parents.

As I get the opportunity really to understand the volumes of material before me on this topic which I have not yet fully absorbed, I will probably say more on the Internet, and later maybe in print. Maybe by that time concern will have died down. I understand a person of great credibility will be going to Samoa soon to review the program. I hope he is in a position to publish a strong affirmation. This program is too valuable to lose. But we can't afford a repeat of some of the recent past history.

--- End quote ---

Again, Croke, those are your words. Exactly how many allegations of abuse does it take before you stop referring to a place?  5 instances of abuse not enough?  Collateral damage, i'm sure.  Did I hear you praise Paradise Cove too in that article?  Call it a "lifesaver"?

More on the fornits wiki about the place, including it's over 18 "My Choice" (HAH!) program (from which studnets allege that they are kept past their 18th birthday against their will, which is false imprisonment but more or less not enforced since it's outside US jurisdiction and nobody gives a shit about the rich white kids in 3rd world countries:

http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title ... ef_Academy

Read what a parent has to say about Coral Reef in this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=14029#p174297

psy:

--- Quote from: "FamilyLight (sm)" ---And frankly, I don't have confidence in what you tell me.
--- End quote ---

Why is that?  Because I was a participant and not a parent?  Some "lumping" going on there or are you just going on gossip?  Frankly, you don't know me at all and have never made an effort to.  Furthermore I have attempted to contact you in the past to rectify the situation but you never bothered to respond to me or question me about the allegations i put in that email.  You then proceeded to forward the email to the program and write a declaration in support of the program that sued me (and lost because it was a frivilous, baseless, SLAPP suit, and have since paid me every single dime spent on my attorneys who took the case primarily on a contingent fee basis because they were so offended).

Tell me.  Is that how you deal with every kid who contacts you and has something negative to say about a program you refer to?  It's no wonder you don't get many kids contacting you if you deal with them like you did me.

Anonymous:
Tom Croke,
Helen Croke
 thea McCurry
 Jody Adams
of "family light" engage in human trafficking. For money, they arrange abduction and imprisonment without due process. Some of the gulags they have referred to practice thought reform, they organized and systematic destruction of a human mind. The places they refer to, which claim to administer medical care, and the staff who primarily oversees detainees are not credentialed in any way.

He refers to organizations which have multiple allegations of abuse or torture in far away locations which make suing or pressing criminal charges even harder than normal.


Shame on you Tom Croke, Helen Croke, Thea McCurry, Jody Adams.

http://www.familylight.com/link4/index.htm

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page