I would really like to personally get down to the bottom of all these rumors. This is the main reason I say we should form a committee, with 501c3 status or some way of earning income so that we can fund the investigation on these schools and provide our findings in the form of a documentary. I honestly believe that if this bill is to make it through the senate and Obama passes it that there will need to be a centralized committee to advise and assist the states in creating a new regulation program. I think the ONLY people qualified enough to do so is us. We may need to learn a few things on the textbook way to investigate, but when it comes to what signs to look for and how to spot the evidence of psychological abuse and oppression in a residential treatment program there is no regular government employee who could do that job better than a survivor. Futhermore what comes to mind is if we are not closely involved with implementing the intentions of this bill I am almost certain that the government will pocket that 50 mill to push some paper work and the bill will only serve as a false sense of security for parents and could have the effect of working in the favor of the abusive programs, giving them a sense of credibility. This is something I feel very strongly about and even if no one on Fornits is interested in getting involved I would really appreciate everyone's advice on how I could go about doing something like this.
i hate to lock horns on this but the best way it would work is like this.
4-8 former members who can show that they can put there emotions aside when visiting a program (they would not be allowed to visit the program they were in) common practice with LEO, EMS, etc...
4-8 medical professionals mental health, MD, etc..
4-8 individuals who never attended a program
visits would not be announced, ALL students would be questioned alone and away from staff, all question sheets would not have students name.
if more than a majority of the former students and non students agree that there is a problem than the program would be closed for a more in depth investigation.
if ANY of the medical professionals see a problem with a student the student will be pulled if more than 5 need to be pulled the program will be closed for a more in depth investigation.
this is what i have come to think of as a workable thing. not much space for bias due to the many different view points. and all aspects of the program can be reviewed.