Academy at Sisters

[juliechan]

Ask your dad to contact the program and press them for answers about outside contact, program details, etc. If they cannot come up with a clear answer or block requests they are definitely shady.

[juliechan]

He may also want to view this: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consume ... /pro27.pdf

[Whooter]

The main thing the program can provide is distance from the environment that is making a child at-risk.  The program does not know the cause.  From their standpoint it could be uncle Marvin who molested the child when she was young, or a school teacher who is abusing her.  Could be a friend of the family or a neighbor.  Could be a parent or a drug dealer.  So I think we can all agree that it makes sense to eliminate contact remove the cell phone until the child has a chance to talk to her therapist and determine who is safe for her to have contact with.

The strength of programs in general is providing a safe and structured environment for the child to heal and grow in.  Over time my daughter was able to communicate with friends and family, but it takes time.  

I agree that if the parents have questions about Academy at Sisters they should call them.  Another suggestion is to ask to speak with other parents who have had children graduate the program so that they can ask them questions they don’t feel comfortable asking Academy at sisters.

On another note I think it is irresponsible for people to suggest living on the streets is a safe alternative for a 15 year old girl.  You dont realize it but you have become blinded by your own quest to discredit all programs.  You should try step back a little and see what is best for the child and not try to frighten her to the point she runs and puts herself at risk of getting hurt or worse.



...

[Whooter]

He may also want to view this: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consume ... /pro27.pdf

Great link Julie, thanks.  I condensed the questions parents should ask below:


1.   Are you licensed by the state?

2.   Do you provide an academic curriculum? If so, is it available to all program participants? Do you have teachers who are certified or licensed by your state?

3.   What about accreditation?

4.   Do you have a clinical director? What are his/her credentials?

5.   What are the credentials of the staff, especially the counselors and therapists, who will be working with my child?

6.   How experienced is your staff? Have they worked at other residential treatment programs? If yes, where and for how long?

7.   Do you conduct background checks on your employees?

8.   What are the criteria for admission ? Do you conduct pre-admission assessments? Are they in person, by phone, or over the Internet? Who conducts them?

9.   Will you provide an individualized program with a detailed explanation of the therapies, interventions, and supports that will address my child’s needs? When is this done? How often will my child be reassessed?

10.   How do you handle medical issues like illness or injury? Is there a nurse or doctor on staff? On the premises? Will you contact me? Will Ibe notified or consulted if there’s a change in treatment or medication?

11.   How do you define success? What is your success rate? How is it measured?

12.   How do you discipline program participants?

13.   Can I contact/speak with my child when I want? Can my child contact me when he wants?

14.   What are the costs? What do they cover? What is your refund policy if the program doesn’t work out?

15.   Do you have relationships with companies and individuals that provide educational and referral services?

-- The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) http://www.gao.gov



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[Vic Zealot]

What I think it's important to know is that this place itself is only a small part of a massive web of bullshit. The accreditation, the testimonials, the everything can be (and probably is) either gross fabrication or heavily "re-interpreted". Evil hides behind stock photos of smiling people and all-white backgrounds more often than drawings of pentagrams and all-black backgrounds.

Yup. And this industry has been nurtured and bred in a society that's been fed a steady diet — via the media, the foci of the "experts," governmental mandates, advertising, etc. — that pathologizes any but the most conformist of adolescences. Small wonder then, that parents believe there's "something wrong that can be fixed" with their kid, when they get that message coming from all directions.

At this point in time, this cultural mindset seems to be unique to the U.S. You hear from posters in other countries that this kind of stuff just isn't going on there, certainly not to the pervasive degree that it is here.

Besides the societal impetus necessary for this crap to go on - whose existence I think ought to be self-evident, but would nonetheless sound wacky to someone just hearing it for the first time - there's, on a smaller scale, the B.S. going on in the individual "schools" and in the organizations that support them. Essentially, the nationwide associations giving awards and credibility to these places are about as impartial as the tobacco advocacy groups who told people smoking didn't lead to cancer. Nothing but papier-mache props that they are really hoping nobody looks at closely enough to tell what they are. Instead they see the individual abuses that happen and attack leaves, while ignoring the big nasty gnarled tree that allows those leaves to grow.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Instead they see the individual abuses that happen and attack leaves, while ignoring the big nasty gnarled tree that allows those leaves to grow.

Reminds me a whole lot of the whole "well we didn't see anything wrong with THIS program" business. This is completely insane. It's a whole lot like "well THIS wild tiger didn't eat anybody, so we should assume it's safe to be around". Um, what? Whatever happened to pattern recognition? Charles Darwin's ghost must have a raging hard-on by now.

[Troll Control]

Parent organization of Academy at Sisters is J Bar J Youth Services. They run four programs; the more coercive ones are first and last:

• Academy at Sisters
  
  provides a personalized emotional growth treatment program for troubled female adolescents.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon
  
  empowering youth through one-to-one mentorships.

• Cascade Youth & Family Center
  
  offering outpatient crisis intervention and support services for troubled youth and their families.

• J Bar J Boys Ranch
  
  serving adjudicated adolescent males in a structured residential program.

Let me just make an unequivocal, blanket statement here:  Any "program" or "academy" that purports to offer "emotional growth treatment" is, on it's face, bogus.

This quite obviously a duck farm packed full to the gills with quacks.

It is precdisely these self-proclaimed EG programs that end up killing/maiming/abusing the most kids.  Another NATSAP program, Mount Bachelor Academy, an Aspen Education kiddie prison, was forcibly shut down via license revocation by the State of Oregon after investigators concluded that 100% of the kids there were abused simply because the EG program itself is, by definition, abusive.  100% of the kids were abused.  One was raped and MBA didn't even report it, which is a serious crime.

[DannyB II]

Not that you folks needed to hear this, I just wanted to say thanks...... DJ, Pile, Ursus, Paul, Nihilanthic, Morgan and juliechan for helping this young girl. I was taught something today.
I have a story I want to share with you folks. I am in NYC now for the holiday, at 6:30am I got a phone call from a friend in Georgia, she told me that a young man that I have known since he was 7 (10 yrs. ago) had OD last night and died. This coming off his mother dying 3 months ago from the same thing. Mother overdosed on alcohol a Valium and the son heroin. I asked where his father was, my friend starting sobbing, she said,"he is in Florida lying on a beach with his new girlfriend".
I wanted to share this because this is what we are up against with a large percentage of parents, they don't give a fuck one way or another, either they don't care to get the right help for their child in need or if they do find something (anything) it is just to get the problem out of their hair.
I will not belabor on with this story, it just makes me sick.
I know some of you think I want to promote programs, I am really not interested in that one way or another. I am more interested in helping Megan stay alive long enough to reach "18"yrs so that she can get away from the parents trying to kill her with their irresponsible actions.
I do not have the right now, to post this young mans name he is/was 17yrs. old. May his father rot in hell.

[Troll Control]

Sorry to hear this sad story, Danny.  I hope those surviving this boy and his mother get through the nightmare.

And it is true that these kids need an advocate for the reasons you stated.  Someone has to stand up for them lest they be fed, without resistance, into The Machine.  If anyone thinks their chances of avoiding abuse is bad on the streets, it's near nil at these kiddie jails.

Not germane to your point at all...but Morgan is the kid we're working for.

[DannyB II]

Sorry to hear this sad story, Danny.  I hope those surviving this boy and his mother get through the nightmare.

And it is true that these kids need an advocate for the reasons you stated.  Someone has to stand up for them lest they be fed, without resistance, into The Machine.  If anyone thinks their chances of avoiding abuse is bad on the streets, it's near nil at these kiddie jails.

Not germane to your point at all...but Morgan is the kid we're working for.

No it may not be directly germane (my story) but it comes close enough. I can only hope Megan's father listens to the feedback so he makes a responsible decision for his daughter. That he reads and asks the tuff questions and demands answers before he lets his child be taken away.

[Troll Control]

I wasn't saying your post was not germane, Danny.  It was, insofar as the parents are usually the cause of the kid's problems and not the solution to them.  

I was saying the last line of my post was not germane to the content of your post but only pointing out the girl being threatened with being sent to this duckfarm goes by the name Morgan, not Megan.  No worries, just a minor clarification.

[DannyB II]

I wasn't saying your post was not germane, Danny.  It was, insofar as the parents are usually the cause of the kid's problems and not the solution to them.  

I was saying the last line of my post was not germane to the content of your post but only pointing out the girl being threatened with being sent to this duckfarm goes by the name Morgan, not Megan.  No worries, just a minor clarification.

Sorry Morgan, I got'cha DJ. I'm just missing everything right now. This post and what happened last night has got my head/heart twisted around. I'm signing off.
Morgan, I'll be praying for ya, girl.

[Joel]

Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010

[Troll Control]

I agree that individual and family counseling at home sounds like just the right approach for this family, Joel.  This is common sense advice from a man who has a lot of experience in this area.

Putting Morgan into an EG kiddie jail will only make things worse, not better.  There's no way to help a family by isolating a minor child from it.  It makes no sense whatsoever.

[Morgan's mom]

Wow!  So much to read here....

There are always 2 sides to every story and so much to reply to here and discuss...But, as we need to get on with our day as the local farmer's market closes soon, i will simply say this...

If Morgan would agree to actively participate in family counseling (as we have tried several times in the past), don't you think we would do that before looking at other options of sending our daughter away from us?...WE LOVE HER WITH ALL OUR HEARTS!!!

And, as for the tour...Morgan isn't even required to join us.  We told her that!  So as for this "dropping her off" theory - Sorry, wrong!!  We are still checking things out.  

There are always good and bad situations to everything in life.  I'm not that BLIND as to not be aware of the history with some of the programs out there.  My husband and I both had the delightful pleasure of experiencing the possibility of being sent to a program in our youth.  We, too, went through many of the things my daughter is going through now.  We also know the path she is on and where it has the potential to go.  We are fortunate to be here today to tell about it.  I guess
God had future plans for us - there are many scenarios we got ourselves into that could have ended our lives along time ago.

This is not about changing WHO our daughter is!  She is a great individual with great potential...she is in a pattern of bad choices.  And, I will state it clearly here - it is not all her fault.  No parent is perfect and not every parent has the tools to
help in all situations with all issues.

I have to give her credit for the smart kid that she is to do as she always does and research the situation for herself.  We have complete communication with her as far as looking at things from all angles!  Remember, you are reading posts from a 15 year old who is scared, I'm sure, but also is notorious for making up stories and lieing.  If we could figure out how to get this situation corrected, we wouldn't be in this predicament.  Try to imagine ALL trust being gone.  I know she does not mean to make some of the mistakes that she does, but it is jeopardizing her safety and success in life....