HEAL has great information for parents on Ridge Creek and why your child should not go there!!! Please read!
http://www.heal-online.org/ridgecreek.htm Excerpt from HEAL's web site:
Grievance Policy (page 1)
"Conflict Resolution Policy"
"While a student is enrolled at Ridge Creek, parents, guardians, or referral sources that have concerns regarding the program's treatment of a student should first make those concerns known to the class counselor assigned to work with a student. The class counselor will, in turn, make the issue(s) known to the Team Leader, and Directors who will insure that all allegations and/or concerns are investigated and resolved appropriately."
"Once a student is no longer in the Ridge Creek program, parents, guardians, or referral sources should contact either the Director of Admissions or the Director of Counseling with any concerns regarding the program's treatment of a student."
"In addition to the above procedures, parents, guardians, or referral sources may contact the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Office of Regulatory Services Division. Ridge Creek is licensed by this agency as a Therapeutic Camp, and will fully cooperate with any and all inquiries or investigations made by independently or on behalf of student's representatives."
*Credit Card Authorization Form and some other forms will not be addressed in the review, but, HEAL is concerned about families entrusting their credit card information to programs such as Ridge Creek School. HEAL has reviewed all of the forms linked above and as many repeat issues raised on other forms, we have chosen not to repeat it.
The major concern here is that Ridge Creek does not specify a grievance procedure for children in the program. This suggests such a procedure does not exist and raises serious concerns regarding the safety of children at Ridge Creek.
It is a major concern that the majority of the complaint process is handled in-house. This will delay investigation and provide ample time to cover-up abuses that may have occurred. And, it hampers the ability of the proper authorities to investigate properly when serious allegations come to light.
The Georgia Department of Human Resources no longer exists. It has been replaced by the Georgia Department of Human Services. There is no Office of Regulatory Services Division listed on the Department of Human Services website. HEAL assumes that the current office in charge of "regulating" facilities such as Ridge Creek School is the Residential Child Care Office. We found three listings for Ridge Creek, which include Ridge Creek, Inc. (Child Caring Institution), Ridge Creek, Inc.-Mountain Brook Academy (Child Caring Institution), and another for Ridge Creek, Inc. (Outdoor Program). For Ridge Creek, Inc. (Institution), the state of Georgia has no information on whether or not Ridge Creek is accredited and does not show any information regarding the administration of this program. However, the hyperlink above includes some of the inspection reports made by authorities. Many of these reports are also available and linked through our site at
www.heal-online.org/hidden.htm. In January, 2010, the state of Georgia found violations when investigating Ridge Creek, Inc. - Mountain Brook Academy. Again, all three programs listed share the same address and the state does not know how many children are even in the programs. Check the hyperlinks for more information. Ridge Creek, Inc. (Outdoor Program) shows that the administrator is Steve Sorrels. The linked government site also includes inspection reports for the "wilderness" program and claims a current enrollment in the wilderness program as 64 children as of December 4th, 2010. It appears that it may be possible that the "wilderness" program is the only program in "good standing" with the state of Georgia that is offered through the services of Ridge Creek, Inc. And, as the other programs operating at the same location have been in repeat trouble with families and authorities, we advise against placing any child in this program or affiliate programs.
http://www.heal-online.org/hidden.htm