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

Legislative Committee Investigates Use of Restraint- RTCs an

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Anonymous:
CCHR Texas is working on one of its biggest projects yet.

We are working with state agencies and law makers in an attempt to stop the abuse of children in Texas psych centers. This is almost a billion dollar industry in our state.

This industry is made up of private institutions which are contracted through the state government and funded with your tax dollars.

The following is a copy of a letter to the editor written by CCHR Texas President, Jerry Boswell. This article appeared in the Dallas Morning News this Monday, November 17, 2003.

We are working hard to expose occurrences of fraud and abuse within this system to Texas law makers.

Please help us in this endeavor. As Mr. Boswell states, Texas leads the nation in the number of restraint deaths. We have an opportunity to save lives here. Your donations are truly needed now more than even.

Legislature must act

The Dallas Morning News has proven that investigative reporting is still alive.

Doug Swanson's in-depth piece Oct. 19 on Daystar was a no-holds-barred truth driven exposé ("Owner reaps millions through foster homes ? Legislator says law lax on oversight; state agency defends actions").

Texas children who have been remanded to residential treatment centers are at risk. Taxpayers' dollars are not being used to care for kids but instead are being funneled to closely held corporations and entities, often controlled by the same gangs that own the residential treatment centers. Abuse has been rife in these facilities, yet since many of the children held there are in state custody, parents and loved ones have feared reprisals from the agencies that are supposed to monitor these facilities, dreading that the slightest effort may interfere with their attempts to regain custody.

The Department of Protective and Regulatory Services has levied few fines and given few sanctions to facilities that are grossly negligent in their care. Amazingly few licenses have been revoked.

With tort reform even the fear of litigation has been removed as a tool for policing them.

Legislators have not been informed of egregious violations and many think children are being well cared for.

It is time for action, investigation and reform. This will only occur if the people of this state demand it, demand their children be educated, job skills acquired and proper humane treatment given. Not drugs to quiet them, not restraints that have killed them. Texas currently leads the nation in number of restraint deaths.

Let's not tolerate it. Call your legislator and demand action.

Jerry Boswell, president, Citizens Commission on Human Rights/Texas, Austin

CCHR
403 E. Ben White Blvd.
Austin, TX. 78758


                           oOo

Hamiltonf:

--- Quote ---On 2003-11-08 00:33:00, FaceKhan wrote:

"Restraint should be used with restraint. It is designed to be a defensive activity. You restrain someone to keep them from hurting themselves or others. If it hurts its not a restraint its torture. Handcuffs are a form of restraint, grabbing someones arms is a form of restraint and even tackling a person and holding them down is a form of restraint but twisting someones arms or poking at pressure points is just a form of torture and its illegal everywhere. Its called assualt."

--- End quote ---

Yeah, that is true.  But did you know that handcuff's originated as instruments of torture and are still used as instruments of torture by many cops, especially when dealling with people they do not like.  Did you know that when putting the cuff's on , the cop is supposed to be able to check that they are not too tight by inserting a finger between the cuff and the wrist.  What is often done is that they check this then tighten them a couple or more notches to deliberately inflict pain.  (sometimes they call it pain compliance)  This is a favourite technique when dealing with the poor and others who know nothing of their rights. Drug warriors particularly enjoy doing this.  After all druggies are particularly despised, right?

[ This Message was edited by: Hamiltonf on 2003-11-18 18:41 ]

Anonymous:
I ran across this thread while searching for a few people who were in 'treatment' with me at Krause Children's Residential Treatment Center in Katy, Texas, which is mentioned due to the death of Maria Mendoza due to being restrained. In May of 1996 I was admitted to Krause (I was one of the first five residents) to put on weight (recovering anorexic. Wheee) and work though a serious bout of depression. I must have been restrained to the point of severe pain at least a dozen times. Bruises, scrapes, and other lacerations are NOT by any means uncommon. They're the norm. It's not like these kids can just pick up the phone and call Children's Protective Services about abuse, either. When you're on a unit your every move is controlled, watched, and planned. There aren't phones accessible to patients. You're at the mercy of staff, so if you get hurt there's really nobody else to appeal to for help. You're screwed. It's not like you can get to a phone or escape very easily. Trust me. I tried and it only rendered me in yet another painful restraint.

Most staff members aren't properly trained on how to restrain a child or adolescent. This causes problems along with the mishandled administration, reviews, and liscencing by the state. The governmental machine is constantly backed up. Texas' public mental health system and its administration are metaphorically constipated. There is no such thing as a surprise visit to catch staff off guard and see what a facility is truly like. Hahahahaha. They're still trying to catch up on last year's case load and reviews!

I really wish that my Dad would've believed me back then, but at least I didn't die from any of my restraints. He just didn't think that someone would do that to a kid - and especially not in a theraputic setting! When this hit the media, he called me to apologize. I just laughed bitterly and explained to him that I held no blame with him. How could he know? Staff never said anything to him about these incidents!

My nine months at Krause was pure Hell. I cried when I left because I was so happy to get the hell away from there.

Reese Harrell
fallen AT zensearch DOT com

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