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

tampa bay academy

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Anonymous:
And then what? I can't believe this place is still open.

Anonymous:
Tampa Bay Academy is a reputable program.

Ursus:
Getting close to D-day... The job losses are announced in the media (as opposed to being simply discussed in the previous Comments sections):

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Tampa Bay Academy Loses Staff Following Removal of Students
By ADAM EMERSON  | The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 3, 2009

Riverview - A troubled youth mental health center in Riverview has laid off more than a third of its staff now that the state has removed many of the children in its care.

The Tampa Bay Academy let go 125 workers in its residential treatment center this week, even as it prepared a final effort to stop a state agency from seizing its license to provide round-the-clock mental health care to children.

Two weeks ago, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration reported that conditions at the for-profit academy's treatment center were "substandard." Inspectors found evidence that residents sexually preyed on workers and on each other -- all made easier by the failures of a poorly trained and equipped staff.

Employees got pink slips after most of the 54 children and teenagers previously enrolled at the treatment center were placed in other group homes or mental health centers, said Rich Warden, the academy's executive director. The last two children will be moved next week.

Most of the laid-off workers included therapists, counselors and support staff needed to provide 24-hour care to children with severe mental health needs. About 200 employees remain in the academy's group homes and charter school, which aren't affected by the Health Care Administration's order.

But the academy kept 15 staff members from the treatment center to help rebuild what its leaders hope will be an effort the state will accept. Warden said the academy and its parent company, Youth and Family Centered Services in Austin, Texas, will submit an improvement plan to the Health Care Administration next week.

The state, however, still plans to suspend the academy's license officially on Friday, said Fernando Senra, a spokesman for the Health Care Administration.

The troubles at the academy aren't new. Inspectors have found deficiencies at the academy during the past year, unearthing evidence that an inadequate staff with untrained workers repeatedly restrained children improperly and isolated them unnecessarily for days.

And the Department of Children & Families found many of the same problems at the academy three years ago, including inadequate staffing, abuse complaints and an alleged sexual assault on a patient.


©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC.

Ursus:
Notice how dismissive some former staff, previously so eloquent 'bout "really caring for the kids," are towards the few former residents who weighed in.

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Comments for the above article, "Tampa Bay Academy Loses Staff Following Removal of Students" (by Adam Emerson; The Tampa Tribune; January 3, 2009):


Posted by ( thehonestchick ) on 01/03/2009 at 09:40 pm.
I was in this center in 1993, and I have to say when I was in this center, I felt worse while I was in there, than before I became a patient. I am happy that this hell hole is closing. I pray for the other people that have had harm come their way due to this place. I am not saying all the staff was bad, however I am not saying all of them should have been working there. It is in my opinion when you're working with "troubled children" you don't tell them to kill themselves if thats what the kids are trying to do. As a staff member their responsibility should have been preventing the thought when the thought arises to a child. I feel more training and definatly some more investigation on the staff members are WAY over due! --Thankyou!!!!Posted by ( northofcuba ) on 01/03/2009 at 10:28 pm.
What a suprise! A reduction in staff following students being removed. I hope the staff wasn't caught off guard. Funny how when demand drops in a business, layoffs occur. What did they think was going to happen? An increase in staff.Posted by ( MyThoughtsToday ) on 01/04/2009 at 12:08 am.
Let us hope and pray that ACHA and TBA work together to make the place a good place. The state does not have enough places like this.Posted by ( Letsgo ) on 01/04/2009 at 09:45 am.
No, we were not surprised...Even after being assured we would have our jobs and would go through more training. I had not been there long and did my best, with the tools I was given. I knew there were problems with the way things were being run but you expect these problems will be addressed and fixed. That is why there are supervisors. Had I known of some of these problems, I may not have applied for the position to begin with. I needed a job and believed I could do some good. There were alot of staff that truly cared about these kids and their futures, including myself. Some were just there to collect a paycheck. As with any business, there is good and bad. These children had some serious issues and some you couldn't get through to, while others wanted someone to listen and not judge them. I had some problems at first but they didn't act up while I was there. Atleast not in the hall I worked. They were teenagers and tried to manipulate to get what they wanted. Some threatened to call and report abuse if they didn't get what they wanted. Some tried to get attention, no matter what the cost. The fact still remains, they were in this facility for a reason. I am not saying all reports of abuse were false. I am sure, however, some were. I personally did not witness anything as bad as the paper reports. I am not saying it is true or not true. I just wanted to let people know that alot of us did our jobs to the best of our ability and we do care about these kids.Posted by ( MyThoughtsToday ) on 01/04/2009 at 10:56 am.
Letsgo, that was well said. The ability for any child at any time to call in an abuse report, regardless of the situation, coupled with TBA's mandatory obligation to allow every child the ability to make an abuse report, makes for a big problem. A problem that I cannot think of a solution for. Add to this that a sheriff's deputy has to come to the facility for every abuse report, and you are taking officers off the street to deal with abuse reports that often times are not abuse at all. The deputies get frustrated, the abuse investigators get frustrated, the staff often times have to be suspended so they are frustrated, and then they have to replace that staff on the unit during the investigation. If ACHA truly wants to help, they should investigate the proper procedures and develop new ways of doing this.Posted by ( wanna_be_like_darth ) on 01/04/2009 at 12:46 pm.
Apparrantly some of the staff missed the part during orientation to report ANY abuse they witnessPosted by ( Letsgo ) on 01/04/2009 at 01:09 pm.
Apparently someone did not read my post thoroughly. I stated " I personally did not witness anything as bad as the paper reports". Had I witnessed what has been alleged, I would have followed proper procedure. Hope that cleared it up for you.Posted by ( stratoblaster ) on 01/04/2009 at 04:25 pm.
No one commented on the honest chick's statement above. She lived at TBA. No matter haw bad it might have gotten for staff, they got to go home.Posted by ( Letsgo ) on 01/04/2009 at 06:40 pm.
I am very sorry that Honest Chick had to endure what she did. To tell you the truth I did not even know TBA existed until a few years back. I passed by numerous times but with the white picket fence and horses, I assumed it was just a boarding school. Funny thing about appearances. I do totally agree with honest chick, that some people do not need to be working with children, especially those who are so troubled. There has got to be a better way to screen potential employees for places like TBA.Posted by ( TACT1 ) on 01/05/2009 at 04:57 pm.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)[/list]
Posted by ( MyThoughtsToday ) on 01/06/2009 at 02:00 pm.
Well said TACT1, HonestChick was obviously a student there for a reason. They do not put kids there that do not have issues. I guess she was happy to leave, while many students would do anything to stay. If people that read these articles truly understood what many of these kids have been through before they got there, they may have a better understanding of what the staff are dealing with. And "wanna_be_like_darth", everyone there is trained to report abuse. I would hope that if you choose to work in a facility like that, you would have enough common sense that you would not have to be trained to report abuse.Posted by ( historyinshort ) on 01/07/2009 at 06:56 pm.
I was a resident at TBA several years ago when i was in my teens. Luckily i was only there for 2 weeks before my mother realized the terrible conditions and removed me for placement in a RTF that actually helped me with my substance abuse problems and depression. TBA was an absolutely awful place to live even for 14 days. It remains the worst 14 days of my life. The staff was completly oblivious to what was going on. The kids were out of control and the builings themselves were dirty and horrible. Not a good place for "recovery". I was elated to hear that such a travesty of a "treatment" center is finally being shut down. There are FAR better resources in FL for troubled kids TBA was NOT one. I agree that even a short stint in that place could do more damage to a child than when they went in. 3 cheers!!

©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC.

Ursus:
The "companion piece" to the just above article, "Tampa Bay Academy Loses Staff...":

Youth Center Layoffs Hit 125
By ADAM EMERSON aemerson@tampatrib.com
Published: January 4, 2009

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Comments for this article:


Posted by ( historyinshort ) on 01/07/2009 at 06:53 pm.
I was a resident at TBA several years ago when i was in my teens. Luckily i was only there for 2 weeks before my mother realized the terrible conditions and removed me for placement in a RTF that actually helped me with my substance abuse problems and depression. TBA was an absolutely awful place to live even for 14 days. It remains the worst 14 days of my life. The staff was completly oblivious to what was going on. The kids were out of control and the builings themselves were dirty and horrible. Not a good place for "recovery". I was elated to hear that such a travesty of a "treatment" center is finally being shut down. There are FAR better resources in FL for troubled kids TBA was NOT one. I agree that even a short stint in that place could do more damage to a child than when they went in. 3 cheers!!

©2009 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC.

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