Legislative Committee Investigates Use of Restraint- RTCs an

[Deborah]

Copyright 2003 The Austin American Statesman
Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
November 6, 2003, Thursday

SECTION: Metro/State; Pg. B1
HEADLINE: Lawmakers to examine wilderness programs
BYLINE: Mike Ward, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
BODY:

A legislative committee will examine whether wilderness camps for troubled youths, such as the Hill Country camp [A Brown Schools facitlity with a terrible track record] where a Dallas-area teenager died a year ago, are properly regulated by the state, officials said Wednesday.

The use of physical restraints and their role in the deaths of 44 youths and adults in residential care settings since 1988 will be one focus of the Select Interim Committee on Child Welfare and Foster Care, according to state Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, chosen Tuesday by House Speaker Tom Craddick to head the committee. The committee's charge overall is to study how well the Texas child welfare system is working.

"If you're hurting kids, we're going to be after you," said Hupp, R-Lampasas. "There have been a number of revelations in the media, not only cases in Texas but cases in the country, and that and complaints we've gotten, will be a part" of the committee's study.

In a series published this year, the Austin American-Statesman detailed how the use of improper physical restraints at centers for troubled teenagers had continued despite the deaths and how regulatory agencies in Texas and other states had done little to halt their use.

In citing the On Track program for multiple violations after the Oct. 14, 2002, death of Chase Moody of Richardson, Texas regulators alleged that an improper restraint was used, although a grand jury later concluded that no
criminal charges were warranted.

An example of the restraint occurs when a youth is held facedown on the ground, with pressure applied to the back.

The camp has since been closed.

According to Craddick's directive, the 11-member panel will examine Texas' child welfare and foster care system, with a focus on reviewing the licensure requirements and performance of "all types of foster care facilities, including
residential treatment facilities, wilderness camps and emergency treatment centers."

Part of that study will include how well state agencies communicate in overseeing foster care and other child protection issues.

Craddick specifically asked the committee to "explore other states' efforts that will promote 'best practices' and help identify program efficiencies with (the) Texas child welfare system." [Let's hope they don't use Utah!]

Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, a committee member, said the study of restraints is important "so we can consider the application and administration of proper standards in this state." A bill to make the use of certain restraints a crime failed to pass in May.

Howard Falkenberg, Austin-based spokesman for the Brown Schools, owner of the On Track program, said the firm "supports the consideration of good licensing rules and strong standards that will improve our industry," even though it no longer operates residential treatment centers or the wilderness camp. [No longer operates RTCs? What do they consider their classification?]

He noted that the firm has supported tougher licensing standards in other states where it still operates programs.

Critics of physical restraints and lax regulations hailed the new inquiry.

"This investigation could lead to much better care and protection of the over 15,000 kids who are in the care of the state," said Jerry Boswell, president of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Texas, an advocacy group that has
campaigned to outlaw the use of the type of physical restraints involved in the deaths.

"We applaud the speaker's decision to address these very important issues."

In addition to licensing and regulation issues, Craddick asked the committee to study how to remove barriers to placing minority children in foster care and how to encourage more minority adults to become foster parents, among other
improvements in foster care.

Gratia Hupp said she hopes the committee will begin its work in the coming weeks.

[email protected]; 445-1712



[ This Message was edited by: Deborah on 2003-11-07 16:37 ]

[Anonymous]

i went to a wilderness program and was restrained i dont think this was a bad way but you said if you hurt kids we are after you and let me tell you it hurt so incredibly bad.....so what restraints are illegal??  i also think that some restraints shouldnt be illegal cause some kids at those programs (like me) are so bad and it would be alot better if they hurt me that way instead of me hurting myself in a more worse way

[FaceKhan]

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.

[Anonymous]

Your restraint that "hurt so bad" was torture, not restraint, unless you were actively struggling.

I studied the martial art Hapkido for several years, and that art includes joint locks, and includes most of the joint locks used for restraint by police agencies, etc.

A joint lock, done right, only hurts when pressure is being applied to it in the direction that locks up the joint, and is so finely controlled that pressure can be applied with a slight turn or twist, and is so finely conrolled that it is only necessary to apply that pressure and cause pain when the person restrained is actually actively struggling.

I had the various joint locks done to me over and over in the learning process, by classmates and instructors (and I did them on them)---they only hurt when pressure is being applied, and it only needs to be applied when the subject is actually actively struggling.

If you were restrained in a way that hurt when you were not actively struggling, it was done wrong---either through incompetence or sadism by the person applying the restraint.

[Anonymous]

Oh, also, I don't care how "bad" you are.  My training is adequate to restrain you without either hurting you or harming you so long as you REALIZE from the initial pain that struggling WILL cause me to tear your joint or break your arm and WILL hurt---you stop actively struggling, and the restraint, while still there, stops actively hurting.

As long as you are not actively struggling, I can hold you in a joint lock without hurting you at all--a slight stretchy feeling, maybe a hint of an ache--maybe---but to actually have anyone say it hurts, no.

So if it hurt, it was either because the person applying it was a sadistic abusive bastard, or because you were actively struggling, or because the person applying it was ill-trained and incompetent.

[Antigen]

SATURDAY November 08, 2003oicur12
 
By Jacob Santini

The Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Nov/11082003/utah/utah.asp

    A California lawmaker has requested a federal investigation to determine if a St. George company, and its network of schools that promise behavior modification for teens, has abused kids and duped parents.

    In a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft dated Nov. 3, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., accused the system of schools of using "deceptive advertising" and alleges "hundreds of children have been mistreated or neglected and that their legal rights have been regularly [flouted]."

    The company, World Wide Association of Specialty Programs, or WWASPS, fired back a letter Thursday claiming the request is based on misinformation perpetuated by the news media and dissatisfied clients.

    "Many view our methods as harsh, and certainly most miscreant teenagers find that the ordeal of being taken away from home, liberties removed and luxuries eliminated is a huge shock," said Ken Kay, WWASPS president, in a response sent to Miller.

    "However, our charge is to return sometimes violent, drug-addicted, promiscuous, delinquent and other like teenagers to their families not only able to be productive in society but to be confident and happy individuals."

    The system of schools has courted the concept of tough-love and operates with strict rules and consequences for teens, according to previous reports. The schools can cost nearly $4,000 a month for teens who stay an average of 16 months in the program.

    WWASPS was founded as a nonprofit agency in 1998 and currently has nine affiliated residential treatment programs.

    Whether the congressman's letter will prompt an investigation is unclear.

    The U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City has yet to receive an official copy. Office policy, however, will not allow the U.S. Attorney to confirm an investigation into the schools either, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake City office.

    Miller, the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Education and Workforce, has requested a report by Nov. 17 on whether an investigation is coming.

    Miller said his interest in the WWASPS system stems from allegations of abuse from within the system.

    "The reports of abuse of these children never stop coming in," he said.

    WWASPS, however, denies there is any abuse, neglect or "deception" of parents going on.

    "There's nothing to find from a federal investigation," said James Wall, a public relations consultant in Denver representing WWASPS.

    The WWASPS has schools in Utah's Washington and Rich counties, Jamaica, Mexico, Montana and Canada.

    In May, the system once again came under public scrutiny after the Academy at Dundee Ranch was shut down by Costa Rican officials who alleged widespread mismanagement and abuse.

    Miller also cites the closure of six other WWASPS-affiliated programs, some that predate the formal organization of the umbrella association, since 1996.

   
• Sunrise Beach in Cancun was closed in 1996 following allegations of abuse.
     
• Brightway Adolescent Hospital in St. George closed in 1998 following state licensing trouble. Kay was an administrator at Brightway.
     
• Paradise Cove in American Samoa closed in 1998 after the U.S. State Department requested an investigation.
     
• The Morava Academy in the Czech Republic shut down in 1998 after allegations of physical abuse.
     
• High Impact in Mexico closed in 2001 following abuse allegations. According to Miller's letter, there is debate over whether High Impact was affiliated with WWASPS.
     
• Bell Academy in California closed in September for failing to meet licensing requirements, according to Miller.
  
      WWASPS has invited Miller to come to Utah to check out the schools. Miller said he was uninterested, calling such tours "dog and pony shows."
  
      [email protected]
  
  

  As your attorney, it is my duty to inform you that it is not important that you understand what I'm doing or why you're paying me so much money.  What's important is that you continue to do so.
  --Hunter S. Thompson's Samoan Attorney
  

[Anonymous]

well the restraint that they used on me was the wrist lock where they bend your wrist forward and hold it there it hurt so bad and i would sit in that restraint for sometimes over and hour and my hand would be all tingly and when they held me in it for a long time the most painful thing was when they would let go of it that would hurt just as much as when they put me in the lock now my wrists crack whenever they move i can make my wrist crack and make it sound like jingle bells some staff would be rub my wrists after they let go and this one staff would when she put me in the lock she would put so much pressure on it just to be mean cause she didnt like me to much.  so sometimes it was torture

[Deborah]

The behavioral health industry is out of control and needs to be restrained.

After witnessing a restraint that injured a boy's arm, one of the leaders at the wilderness program (actually a boot camp- all ex military staff with no other credentials for working with youth)- which had just been opened by his TBS, asked him if they restrained kids at the TBS. He replied yes. The staff chuckled, "yeh, but I bet they don't have as much fun doing it as we do."
Regarding the ex military staff, they have taken down the page which contained photos and bios of staff members at the wilderness portion of the program, but left the staff bios for the TBS. Guess they didn't want parents to notice they had NO previous experience with youth.

Restraint is not used to protect teens and property. It is used as intimidation or for punishment. In a word, "step out of line and I/we will hurt you."

How many times have we read of a child/teen being restrained by multiple adults and suffocated to death. What gives? Were they so angry/scared that they couldn't notice the kid wasn't breathing? That he was chocking on his own vomit?

Restraint should be outlawed, period. Training in de-escalation techniques should be required. I believe many who work in this industry have been hurt (treated disrespectfully) themselves and enjoy exercising their "power", doling out punishment, control junkies.

How many times is the teen "out of control" because they have been harrassed by staff? Subjected to irrational and unreasonable treatment and demands- pushed to the point of breaking- I would guess sometimes intentionally. Fight or flight.

What happens to a child when their fight or flight response is damaged? When they are shut down to the point of no longer being able to discern a harmless situation from a potentially dangerous situation, physical or emotional?

[Antigen]

In actuality, my work is not much different from my military specialty of "Psychological Operations" or "Psychological Warfare". I am still looking to modify people's behavior by studying their strengths and weaknesses and discovering what will motivate them to change their behavior. In a sense, the only change is that my "target audience" has changed. Instead of dealing with foreign governments and terrorists I work with parents and children.

http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... forum=22&0

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
Anonymity Anonymous

[Deborah]

http://www.statesman.com/specialreports ... cases.html

-Chase Moody 17 Oct. 14, 2002 On Track wilderness program Mason Physical
-Maria Mendoza 14 Oct. 12, 2002 Krause Children's Center Katy Physical
-Cedric Napoleon 14 March 7, 2002 Mason Middle School Killeen  Physical
-Latasha Bush 15 Feb. 14, 2002
(Died three days after incident) Daystar Residential Center Manvel  Physical
-Stephanie Duffield 16 Feb. 11, 2001 Shiloh Residential Treatment Center Manvel  Physical
-Willie Wright 14 March 4, 2000 Southwest Mental Health Center  San Antonio Physical
-Randy Steele 9 Feb. 6, 2000 Laurel Ridge Hospital San Antonio Physical
-Jerry McLaurin 14 Nov. 2, 1999 New Horizons Ranch Brownwood Physical
-Demetrius Jeffries 17 Aug. 26, 1997 Crockett State School Crockett Physical
-Roshelle Clayborn 16 Aug. 18, 1997 Laurel Ridge San Antonio Physical
-Bobby Jo Randolph 17 Sept. 26, 1996 Progressive Youth Center Houston Physical
-Eric Roberts 16 Feb. 22, 1996 Odyssey Harbor  Mechanical
-Dawn Renay Perry 16 April 10, 1993 Behavior Training Research Center Manvel  Physical
-Anthony Green 15 May 12, 1991 Brookhaven Youth Ranch Brownwood Physical
-Diane Harris 17 April 11, 1990 Seguin Community Living Center Seguin Physical
-Brandon Hadden 18 1988 Texas Neurological Rehab Center Austin Mechanical

Federal study found restraints lack sufficient regulation
http://www.statesman.com/specialreports ... 18gao.html

[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]

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."

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