Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Mount Bachelor Academy Shut Down
AuntieEm2:
--- Quote ---Guest wrote:
Could you consider the possibility that none of the substantiated findings are true?
--- End quote ---
Like it's a big conspiracy involving law enforcement, human services, current and MBA former staff, and 88 students? That's ridiculous on the face of it.
You might want to go look up the word "substantiated," as in "to establish by proof."
Auntie Em
psy:
on this PDF, page 2, it says 65 students and staff were interviewed in march (however more might be listed later in the pdf. I'd have to read. I know I saw 100 somewhere).
Interestingly, it also says that they photographed MBA materials used as part of their program. I wonder if that stuff could be made available by a FOAI request. Anybody know how to file one?
AuntieEm2:
Delete duplicate post.
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "psy" ---on this PDF, page 2, it says 65 students and staff were interviewed in march (however more might be listed later in the pdf. I'd have to read. I know I saw 100 somewhere).
--- End quote ---
It was "65 witnesses, including MBA students and staff, along with licensed therapists familiar with individual students" in March and, between then and October, "numerous parents and former students" as well as "interviews ... conducted with staff and students." I presume that very last quote refers to current staff and students, of which there were approximately 77 and 88, respectively. The Complaint did not state that all of them were interviewed.
Here is that whole section from the (full) transcription:
-------------- • -------------- • -------------- • --------------
Background:
Mt. Bachelor Academy (MBA) is a licensed Therapeutic Boarding School, located in a rural area, 26 miles east of Prineville, Oregon, licensed originally in 1988. The school admits both male and female students who are from age 14 to 17.5 at the time of admission, although same children are admitted pursuant to an exception as young as age 13. The total capacity is 125 students and the average length of stay is 14-16 months. In 1998, Mt. Bachelor was re-organized and became a program of Aspen Education group. Aspen was recently acquired by CRC Health Group, Inc. As of March 209, MBA had approximately 77 staff and 88 boarding students.
On or about March 20, 2009, DHS received reports of child abuse against MBA. The DHS Office of Investigations and Training (OIT) handled the investigation of the reports of child abuse at MBA. There were two investigators primarily assigned to go to Prineville and interview people on campus. In addition, the office used three other investigators to conduct witness interviews of people in- and out-of-state. The investigators conducted interviews involving 65 witnesses, including MBA students and staff, along with licensed therapists familiar with individual students. Investigators reviewed documents and photographed materials used as part of the MBA therapy program.
At the same time, the DHS Licensing and Residential Treatment Services (Licensing) program investigated standards for health and safety and looked at MBA's compliance with Oregon Administrative Rules related to their license as a therapeutic boarding school. Licensing accompanied OIT investigators on a site visit to the program on or about March 26 and 27th. Based on the initial information gathered from the investigation, on or about March 31, 2009, Licensing notified MBA that they were prohibited from conducting their own investigation into the allegations of abuse reported records; prohibited from destroying or otherwise concealing school or student records; prohibited from disciplining or threatening to discipline students interviewed during the investigation; and prohibited from conducting Lifesteps activities until further notice. Parents of students were notified of the investigation.
Over the next several months, Licensing spoke with numerous parents and former students, made additional site visits to the program to conduct further reviews of student records, medical records, personnel records, and program procedures and policies. Interviews were also conducted with staff and students. Licensing further reviewed another "emotional growth" curriculum called Transitions that MBA sought to use in place of the Lifesteps program. DHS reviewed the program and expressed concerns to MBA that the Transitions program too closely mirrored the prohibited Lifesteps program. MBA proceeded to offer the Transitions program knowing that such a choice could result in further investigation of MBA.
In October 2009, the Office of Investigations and Training (OIT) completed its investigation and determined that eight allegation of abuse involving five individual students were substantiated against the agency,, Mt. Bachelor Academy. The report indicates that the abuse allegations are "exemplars" in that these five clients' experience is not unique and is "substantially consistent" with the experience of all children enrolled in the program. The report further substantiated an allegation of abuse against the Executive Director. The Executive Director either knew of the abusive practices of the agency, or she should have known what was happening under her authority.
Whooter:
--- Quote from: "guest" ---
--- Quote from: "Guest" ---Another way to help clarify my thoughts:
Lets say that “Big Al’s Daycare and Towing service” ( a local business model that found success because Big Al would pick-up and drop off the kids) was shut down for abuse, due to reports that children were seen playing on the edges of major highways in the area and also were present at the scenes of major car accidents on a daily basis. After 6 months (and $300,000 in legal costs) Big Al successfully argued that he technically never broke any laws because cars naturally break down all the time and parents place their families on the side of the highway at a safe distance, which was what Big Al does so he isn’t placing the kids at any higher risk than a normal family would. So all charges were dropped.
The problem is that people will remember the Name “Big Al” associated with “abuse” and therefore his business will be permanently damaged. Big Al’s only options would be to drop the Daycare from his business model or move to another state where no one associates his name with abuse. Or he could transfer the daycare portion to his wife and call it “Big Bertha's Daycare and Septic Cleaning” and try to start anew.
Sometimes it is best to stay and fight and others to just move on.
--- End quote ---
"Big Al" could then sue the state for losses. Why hasn't MBA done this if the claims are false? Why hasn't MBA, like "Big Al", contested the charges against them in court? The law not only affords a person a reasonable defense. It also entitles a person to damages caused by false allegations. Why isn't MBA pursuing this course if the claims against them are false. Why not simply release the LifeSteps scripts to the public and show the world what they do if there is nothing to hide?
--- End quote ---
In hindsight even though "Big Al" eventually won in court he would have been better off folding and moving to another state and restarting his business. He lost $300,000 in fighting this case and his name will forever be associated with abuse. Yes he could sue the state and recover some of his losses but he cant restart his child care business and has no money left to relocate.
I think Aspen is smart to just cut the umbilical cord on MBA and move on, whether they are guilty or innocent of the charges. The event that tipped the scales, in my opinion, was when the kids were ordered to be transferred to other programs within the Aspen Community. The allegations would weigh heavily on MBA for years to come and the end effect would be a reduced volume of kids being placed there resulting in lower profits.
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