Author Topic: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?  (Read 15093 times)

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Offline seamus

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anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
« on: November 07, 2010, 04:25:41 PM »
supposed to have been a "tough love" program in PA. Back in the seventies? Forest County? PA. or so Ive been told.
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Offline Inculcated

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Abraxas
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2010, 10:38:14 PM »
They're that and then some now...

Abraxas: another Synanon spawn that according to the paper quoted and linked below relies heavily on remand placements. Their reach has extended well beyond their PA origins.
Ursus once mentioned, the woman who formed Abraxas came out of Gateway. Like how Joe Ricci came through Daytop and then formed Élan. Like how David Deitch came off of the Narcotic Farm and sought out Synanon (from where he was reportedly “expelled from”) and then (with Casriel) brought that same indelible influence to Judge Bassin and Monsignor O’Brien’s Daytop Village…and after he was ousted (for of all things being a bit too culty)…he then went on with Phoenix house (‘didn’t stop there though) and then well that was a rocky marriage, but ultimately they reconciled…for the sake of the offspring I suppose. I digress...

From page 170 of Compulsory Treatment of Drug Abuse Research and Clinical Practice(numbered 163 and 164)
Quote
“Adolescent Legal Referrals
Among admissions to drug-free treatment, younger clients are more likely to be legally referred than adults. For example, nearly half of all male adolescent admissions to residential and outpatient programs
in the TOPS survey were legally referred (Hubbard et al. 1984).
At Phoenix House, approximately 40 percent of the adolescent admissions are legally referred, compared with less than 20 percent of adult clients. Indeed, there are TCs that serve legally referred adolescents almost exclusively, e.g., Abraxas in Pennsylvania. Findings are unclear for post-treatment outcomes of legally referred adolescent substance abusers.
Additionally:

Reported in a related article as a "California company", Cornell Corrections of California, which also does business as Abraxas Youth and Family Services sued the State of Utah after losing out on a multi-million dollar contract to Cornerstone Programs Corp

Related to Cornell Abraxas we have:
Quote
September 29, 2005 Baltimore Sun
Two Maryland judges said yesterday that the Ehrlich administration's decision to close the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School without a clear plan to replace it is jeopardizing the welfare of youths and putting public safety at risk. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Kathleen Cox and Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Pamela North told legislators that with Hickey preparing to close, there are not enough places to send tough young offenders who need to be removed from their homes to protect their safety and the community. The department said some Maryland youths will be sent to programs in Texas, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Ohio with rates ranging from $47,450 to $116,800 per child per year. The list includes three facilities run by a for-profit Texas-based company that, according to published reports, was forced to close one of its centers amid complaints of abuse. Under pressure from Pennsylvania authorities, a company operating as Cornell Abraxas closed its New Morgan Academy near Reading in 2002 after about a dozen children were sexually assaulted by adults over the span of less than two years, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The same company runs programs that the Department of Juveniles Services plans to use in Shelby, Ohio; Marienville, Pa.; and South Mountain, Pa., according to a list provided to legislators yesterday. Another facility on the list has had a more recent, but less severe, incident of violence. The Summit Academy reform school in Herman, Pa., has said that four workers were fired in July over a June 18 incident in which a 17-year-old male student suffered cuts to his face and ear. http://www.privateci.org/maryland.htm

Topix reports: "Two riots break out at Abraxas school" see also
More than a dozen juveniles are involved in incidents Monday and Tuesday. More than a dozen juveniles were involved in separate riots that broke out this week at Cornell Abraxas I in Marienville
22 comments on topix here

And from Abraxas Youth and Family Services in Texas we have:
Youth worker reportedly spent weekend having sex with teen
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Offline mlg81

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Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2010, 02:44:40 AM »
I worked at Abraxas for approximately three weeks, and what I saw was horrible.
The one I was at was the one in Pittsburgh.  Its for Adolescent females. Most of the girls are from Philly.  Alot of stuff going on with them.  Anyways, the girls had to ask for everything.  We couldnt talk to them unless they put a piece of paper outside the door.  Therapy was a joke.  No one got one on one time with counselors.  It was just horrible.   I saw at least 3 restraints being done every day.  Some girl broke her leg.  I actually got in trouble for NOT RESTRAINING a girl.  I would just talk and bullshit with them and they would listen.    Most of my girls were so damaged already that they were just crazy.  Abraxas messes them up even more.  It was so bad I would cry everyday before work.  I finally quit.  I wanted to help those girls but it was impossible to do in that hellhole.
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Offline Oscar

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Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2010, 05:31:54 AM »
Unfortunately we are not that far with the datasheet on the wiki.

We are in the process of doing some archive search on Google, so the article can expended and possible some of their departments can earn their own datasheet in due time. It will take some time.
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Offline Ursus

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Arlene Lissner: Gateway -> Abraxas -> Cornell Corrections
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2010, 11:35:14 AM »
Quote from: "Inculcated"
Ursus once mentioned, the woman who formed Abraxas came out of Gateway. Like how Joe Ricci came through Daytop and then formed Élan. Like how David Deitch came off of the Narcotic Farm and sought out Synanon (from where he was reportedly "expelled from") and then (with Casriel) brought that same indelible influence to Judge Bassin and Monsignor O'Brien's Daytop Village…and after he was ousted (for of all things being a bit too culty)…he then went on with Phoenix house ('didn’t stop there though) and then well that was a rocky marriage, but ultimately they reconciled…for the sake of the offspring I suppose. I digress...
Her name is Arlene Lissner and yes, she did have a fair amount to do with the addiction treatment TC Gateway Foundation (orig. Gateway Houses Foundation c. 1968). Incidentally, David Deitch also helped set this TC up, right around the same time as when he did his magic for Daytop Village and Phoenix House.

Although I believe Lissner's first exposure to Gateway may have been as a client, she was soon enough serving the government of Illinois in some professional capacity, i.e., one having to do with drug abuse treatment and/or administration.

In case it wasn't clear, Gateway is located in Illinois, but they have projects/programs in other states as well. They run the Texas prison program that wdtony likens to Straight, Inc.

Briefly, Lissner founded Abraxas in Marienville, PA in 1973. It was a small drug abuse treatment TC, dedicated to the addiction treatment of juveniles, but perhaps not exclusively. I think they had 30 residents in the beginning. They were absorbed by Cornell Corrections, Inc., at Lissner's initiative, shortly after the Welfare Reform Act was pushed through during Clinton's term in the latter half of 1996. This Act made economic survival real difficult for some private non-profit social services programs.

Lissner courted a deal which enabled her program to continue operations, semi-autonomously, within the larger framework of the for-profit corrections corporation. She also started a small research foundation which she still heads, at least as of a few years ago, which is also somehow connected to Cornell Corrections, Inc.
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Offline Antigen

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Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2010, 01:43:00 PM »
I know two graduates right around my age, so late 70's alum. Both of them are a couple of fucked up cup cakes. Other than that I don't know too much about it. My old next door neighbor used to be a social worker for CYS. I once asked her if she knew anything about it and she just got scared and clammed up. Promised to have that conversation at a later date but I've lost touch w/ her these days.
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Offline seamus

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Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2010, 07:45:35 PM »
somebody I talk to on my end went to college with a guy who worked briefly at abrxas in the 70's. He said the program in those days was in the fucking middle of nowhere,and was some abysmal,hopless shit at best. He also speculated that there was more to the story there than face value,said the very buildings radiated dread,and ugliness. I know what he means.
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Offline Ursus

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Gateway Foundation
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2010, 03:57:00 PM »
Here's a snippet from an article in Macmillan Reference USA's Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior (2001, pp 1134-1140) titled, "TREATMENT PROGRAMS, CENTERS, AND ORGANIZATIONS: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE," by Alfonso Acampora, Arlene R. Lissner, Daniel S. Heit, David A. Deitch, David E. Smith, David J. Mactas, Ethan Nebelkopf, Faith K. Jaffe, J. Clark Laudergan, Jane Velez, Jerome F. X. Carroll, Jerome H. Jaffe, John Newmeyer, Kevin Mceneaney, Richard B. Seymour, Robin Solit, Ronald R. Watson, Shirley Coletti, and Sidney Shankman:


    GATEWAY FOUNDATION

    In 1968, Gateway Houses Foundation was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and became the first THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY in Illinois. Modeled on DAYTOP VILLAGE, it was established as a residential setting in which former drug addicts could help other drug abusers find a way to live drug-free, useful lives in the community.

    The early years of treatment experience demonstrated that not all of those entering Gateway needed long-term residential treatment. Programs were devised or modified to fit the specific needs of the individuals served. The agency adopted the name Gateway Foundation in 1983 to better symbolize the services offered. To extended care (residential, long-term treatment), Gateway added outpatient (both intensive and basic), detoxification, and short-term treatment, as well as community-based EDUCATION and PREVENTION PROGRAMS.

    The therapeutic community remains the core of Gateway's programs. Participation in TWELVE-STEP support groups are the client's mainstay during and after treatment. Gateway Foundation's successful treatment center within the Correctional Center of Cook County (the largest U.S. county jail) resulted in treatment programs for inmates in other Illinois and Texas correctional programs. Treatment for all Gateway clients includes work and social-skills development, continuing education, and employment counseling.


    Copyright © 2006, The Gale Group, Inc.[/list]
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    Offline Ursus

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    Abraxas
    « Reply #8 on: November 12, 2010, 04:02:30 PM »
    Here's another snippet from that same article in Macmillan Reference USA's Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior (2001, pp 1134-1140) titled, "TREATMENT PROGRAMS, CENTERS, AND ORGANIZATIONS: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE," by Alfonso Acampora, Arlene R. Lissner, Daniel S. Heit, David A. Deitch, David E. Smith, David J. Mactas, Ethan Nebelkopf, Faith K. Jaffe, J. Clark Laudergan, Jane Velez, Jerome F. X. Carroll, Jerome H. Jaffe, John Newmeyer, Kevin Mceneaney, Richard B. Seymour, Robin Solit, Ronald R. Watson, Shirley Coletti, and Sidney Shankman:


      ABRAXAS

      The Abraxas Foundation was started in Pennsylvania in 1973, in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP) from the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Abraxas's founder, Arlene Lissner, had been the deputy clinical director for the State of Illinois drug-abuse treatment system. There were two mandates to the RFP: (1) that a drug-treatment program be devised to directly serve the juvenile and adult justice system, and (2) that the program would utilize a then-abandoned U.S. forest-service camp, Camp Blue Jay, within the Allegheny National Forest. The original proposal stressed the development of a comprehensive program incorporating intensive treatment, education, and, of particular importance, a continuum of care to assist residents to reenter through regional reentry facilities. After an initial attempt to use only a behavioral approach, a THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY (TC) model was implemented.

      By 1988, all Abraxas facilities had focused their target populations solely on adolescents and had become gender specific. For example, Abraxas V in Pittsburgh was developed as an all-female residential facility. In 1990, an intensive project known as Non-Residential Care was developed to provide community-based transitional services to youngsters returning to Philadelphia after placement in state institutions. The success of this project led to its expansion to Pittsburgh. Inspired by the Non-Residential Care model, Supervised Home Services was developed later that year as a nonresidential reentry service for youngsters returning to Philadelphia from Abraxas's residential programs.

      Education has been an integral part of the philosophy of treatment since Abraxas's inception. The Abraxas School, a private high school on the Abraxas I treatment campus, offers a full curriculum of courses and special educational services for the resident population. Alternative schools have been developed in Erie and Pittsburgh in recognition of the tremendous difficulty troubled adolescents have returning to public high schools. Abraxas has also extended its programming to include families of origin: The Abraxas Family Association meets in chapters throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia to offer education, group counseling, intervention, and referral work to the families of clients.


      Copyright © 2006, The Gale Group, Inc.[/list]
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      Offline seamus

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      Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
      « Reply #9 on: November 12, 2010, 04:25:13 PM »
      Holy batshit,batman........mebbee they need a fora? :eek:
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      Offline mlg81

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      Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
      « Reply #10 on: November 13, 2010, 01:23:30 AM »
      Education has been an integral part of the philosophy of treatment since Abraxas's inception. The Abraxas School, a private high school on the Abraxas I treatment campus, offers a full curriculum of courses and special educational services for the resident population. Alternative schools have been developed in Erie and Pittsburgh in recognition of the tremendous difficulty troubled adolescents have returning to public high schools. Abraxas has also extended its programming to include families of origin: The Abraxas Family Association meets in chapters throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia to offer education, group counseling, intervention, and referral work to the families of clients.


      BULLSHIT!  The school is a joke.  They made us sit outside of the classrooms just in case the girls got out of hand. the Alternative school was shut down in Pittsburgh because it was horrible.  Cornell also just got bought by the GEO group, which is second largest for profit prison system.  Listen, ACAF in Pittsburgh isnt even working on a full liscense. They are supposed to be able to house 90 girls.  They are only allowed 45 now.  I will help create a fornits page.  Let me know what I can do!!!!!!!!
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      Offline Oscar

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      Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
      « Reply #11 on: November 13, 2010, 08:06:29 AM »
      Quote from: "mlg81"
      I will help create a fornits page.  Let me know what I can do!!!!!!!!

      1) Google all references - use archivesearch if necessary. Whenever a newspaper have something to report, we have to put it on as reference. Put them on this thread or in a blog and pm me.

      2) Write a blog and pm me with the link. It can be your story, it can be an essay over some news brought in a local newspaper, which is offline.

      3) The talk page can also me used. The Wiki syntax can be quite something to handle, so if you are not familar we can add it if we get a link.
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      Offline Ursus

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      Arlene Lissner: "Capturing the moving balance"
      « Reply #12 on: November 16, 2010, 08:41:16 PM »
      From the above snippet from Macmillan Reference USA's Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior (2001):

        The Abraxas Foundation was started in Pennsylvania in 1973, in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP) from the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Abraxas's founder, Arlene Lissner, had been the deputy clinical director for the State of Illinois drug-abuse treatment system. There were two mandates to the RFP: (1) that a drug-treatment program be devised to directly serve the juvenile and adult justice system, and (2) that the program would utilize a then-abandoned U.S. forest-service camp, Camp Blue Jay, within the Allegheny National Forest. The original proposal stressed the development of a comprehensive program incorporating intensive treatment, education, and, of particular importance, a continuum of care to assist residents to reenter through regional reentry facilities. After an initial attempt to use only a behavioral approach, a THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY (TC) model was implemented.[/list][/size]
        Below is info re. an out-of-print "report" by Lissner published in 1974, in case anyone comes across it. I have to wonder whether this may, in fact, be publication of the above noted proposal submitted to the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, or perhaps a progress report:


          Capturing the moving balance, or the crosstown bust don't stop here no more

            (Report series - Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse ; number 4)
          [Unknown Binding]
          Arlene Lissner (Author)

          Product Details
            Unknown Binding: 11 pages
            Publisher: Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse (1974)
            Language: English
            ASIN: B0007306O0
          [/list][/list]
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          Offline seamus

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          Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
          « Reply #13 on: November 17, 2010, 12:34:26 PM »
          Im glad to have played a small part in this .These too,are our bretheren.They deserve to be heard,and their dead remembered.
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          Offline Celyne

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          Re: anybody ever hear of Abraxas?
          « Reply #14 on: November 20, 2010, 12:28:23 PM »
          Hi:

          I'm so glad to have found this post.

          I did know that GEO bought Abraxas  but just found online that Cubic Corp bought Abraxas, (from GEO?) if this is the same Abraxas that runs the juvenile facilities? Maybe it's a different Abraxas Corp? I believe Cubic is one of the leading manufacturers of military weapons. I have to research this more....

          FYI: This posted 4 days ago on the WEB:

          "Cubic Corp. (CUB) has agreed to pay $124 million for Abraxas Corp., a provider of risk mitigation and expertise for national-security, law-enforcement and homeland-security clients."

          I am new here and should introduce myself. I am a mother of a young child in the Philadelphia, Pa. schools, a freelance writer/independent journalist, deeply concerned about education and our young people. I am interested in writing a fair and balanced article about the Abraxas facilities in the Philadelphia area in the hopes of informing the public about what goes on in them and to spark a local dialogue about whether these facilities are helping our youth or not. If anyone has experience on any level with the Philadelphia area facilities (also the Philadelphia Alternative Elementary School program) I would be very interested in speaking with you. I assure you, if you so desire, to keep your identity confidential, and will only make public information that you feel comfortable sharing. As I said I only want to write about this subject out of my concern and not to profit from anyone else's good or bad experiences. If there are problems with these facilities it is important for us to air this information so that our children won't be harmed any more. If there are problems in these facilities we can help fix them, and if I find that everything is above board then that's what I will report.

          Thanks, Celyne
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