Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
MT BACHELOR LAWSUIT
Ursus:
Comment left for the above article, "Mount Bachelor Academy issues statement denying former students' claims of abuse" (by Helen Jung; July 07, 2011; The Oregonian):
Kelly_Matthews_775 · July 09, 2011 at 7:48AM
Of course they are going to deny it. Check out this HUGE forum that has many discussions going about the MYRIAD of abuses that take place at ASPEN EDUCATION GROUP schools.
viewforum.php?f=48[/list]
© 2011 Oregon Live LLC.
Ursus:
Video news footage at the title link:
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KTVZ.com
Mount Bachelor Academy Denies Allegations
Nine Former Students Claim Abuse, Seek Damages
By Barney Lerten and Shanna Mendiola, KTVZ.COM
POSTED: 1:42 pm PDT July 6, 2011
UPDATED: 9:16 pm PDT July 7, 2011
PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- Nine former students of Mount Bachelor Academy, a now-closed program for troubled teens east of Prineville have filed a $14 million lawsuit against the school and its parent companies, alleging serious abuse -- something its operators and supporters are strongly denying.
Their attorney, Kelly Clark of the Portland law firm O'Donnell Clark & Crew LLP, said Thursday this is only the first step toward closure and justice for what they claim happened.
"My folks have two reasons for doing this," said Clark. "No. 1 is to get this behind them, to have closure and healing and justice for themselves. But secondly and equally important to them is they want to get the word out that some of these 'Tough love' schools are not good places -- and there are hundreds of them all over the country."
People living near the closed school about 35 miles east of Prineville, had a different impression of the private boarding school.
"I thought it was a great school," said Jarrod Warren of Prineville."Every time when I was in middle school, I'd drive by there with my parents and I'd see a whole bunch of kids down there. And now I drive by and there's nothing now. "
"Not exactly what has happened at the school, but what happened in their past and how the school has changed them, but this is definitely different," said Tasha Asbow, also of Prineville.
The school was shut down by the state in 2009 after finding evidence to back allegations of repeated neglect and abuse.
The 52-page lawsuit filed by the nine former students who have chosen not to be named claim physical and psychological child abuse.
They say parents were instructed not to believe anything they say, and they were denied basic medical care. The claim also states they were sexually abused.
The attorney for Mount Bachelor Academy, Greg Chaimov Davis Wright Tremaine LLP said in a written statement Thursday afternoon, that these alleged incidents took place before the school was purchased by a "nationally recognized network of therapeutic schools and programs that espouse comprehensive best practices and safety protocols."
Chaimov closed his statement by saying, "Following review of this complaint, we firmly stand by our original statement and vigorously deny any and all charges of mistreatment."
The case now goes into civil litigation, where it could be thrown out, settled or eventuallyr heard by a jury. NewsChannel 21 looked into claims that the school might reopen, but lawyers for the school say they have no plans to do that at this time.
----
Our earlier story on the two sides' news releases:
Nine former students of one of Oregon’s best known “tough love” boarding schools, a facility east of Prineville that was shut by the state two years ago, filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The suit is being brought by attorneys Kelly Clark, Steve Crew, Gilion Dumas, Kristian Roggendorf, Peter Janci and the Portland law firm O’Donnell Clark and Crew, who often bring child abuse cases in Oregon and around the nation.
The suit alleges claims of battery, negligence, and infliction of emotional distress against Mount Bachelor Academy and its parent companies, Aspen Education Group and CRC Health. The suit seeks more than $14 million in compensatory damages, and punitive damages will be sought as well.
An attorney for the school's operator, Greg Chaimov, later issued a statement denying the charges, and issued a stronger denial of the allegations Thursday. It reads:
"We have reviewed the complaint and are confident that the allegations will be proven to be untrue. The events that Mr. Clark and his clients allege happened at Mount Bachelor Academy simply did not. We regret that, of the many hundreds of students who attended the program, there are these nine who consider themselves to have been mistreated. "
"Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) was a licensed and accredited program that helped troubled teens with serious behavioral issues who could not otherwise be successful at home, in school or in life. The truth is that MBA provided a nurturing and caring environment for over 1,000 young people over the course of its history, one that leading mental health professionals trusted enough for their own children. The strongest refutation of the claims comes from the many hundreds of families who have thanked MBA for saving their children when all else had failed. "
"All dates of alleged incidents occurred prior to the school’s acquisition by a nationally recognized network of therapeutic schools and programs that espouse comprehensive best practices and safety protocols. Following review of this complaint, we firmly stand by our original statement and vigorously deny any and all charges of mistreatment. "
The rest of the release about the lawsuit's allegations:
Located 26 miles east of Prineville, the controversial “therapeutic boarding school” known as Mount Bachelor Academy was closed by the state of Oregon in November of 2009 based on the findings of an investigation related to charges of systemic abuse and neglect.
According to a report by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Mount Bachelor Academy reportedly used “punitive, humiliating, degrading and traumatizing” tactics as “treatment” 00– an approach some say stems from the Synanon self-help group of the 1960's, which was rejected as a cult by mainstream mental health community by the late 1970s.
At the time of its closure in 2009, Mt. Bachelor Academy reportedly had more than 75 staff supervising approximately 90 students who were being charged a tuition of $6,400 per month.
“The so-called ‘treatment’ that these children were forced to endure on a daily basis at Mt. Bachelor Academy is obscene. Not only did the program ‘break kids down’, it did nothing to build them back up,” said Kelly Clark, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “We intend to prove that this wasn’t education, it wasn’t treatment and it wasn’t ‘tough love’ – this was abuse.”
The plaintiffs in Wednesday’s suit, who all attended Mount Bachelor Academy in the late 1990s, allege: that they were subjected to regular psychological abuse and shaming, including being required to reenact traumatic experiences (such as prior instances of child sexual abuse) in front of their peers; that they were subjected to extreme isolation and prolonged deprivations of food, water, shelter, and basic medical care; that students were required to go days with little or no sleep and were also regularly forced into “chain gang” style labor; that phone calls to their families were limited and were monitored by Mt. Bachelor Academy staff; and that parents were instructed by staff not to believe their children if they claimed malfeasance or abuse – i.e., the children will lie, it is all part of the treatment process, parents were told.
The allegations in the lawsuit are consistent with the findings by the Oregon Department of Human Services. In late 2009, following a seven month investigation, DHS found multiple incidences of “abuse and neglect” and “serious violations of Oregon’s licensing standards.”
The DHS report cited nine substantiated claims of abusive practices, including “punitive, humiliating, degrading and traumatizing” activities such as “sexualized role pay and reenactment of traumatic events, such as prior physical or sexual abuse.” The state also found that these were not isolated incidents; instead, “many of [the abusive] behaviors fell within the range of behavior expected, encouraged or condoned by the Mount Bachelor Academy program itself . . . .”
DHS determined that “MBA poses a serious danger to public health or safety of children . . . [and] should not be permitted to continue operating as a therapeutic boarding school for children.” Thereafter, in November of 2009, the state gave Mt. Bachelor Academy 72 hours to shut down its program and remove students from its facility. The facility closed on November 3, 2009. Later, in October 2010, as part of a settlement of a suit by Mt. Bachelor against the state contesting the DHS findings of abuse, Aspen Education Group and CRC Health Group (the parent company’s of Mount Bachelor Academy) agreed that DHS had reasonable cause to believe that abuse or neglect had occurred at the school, and that DHS had a reasonable basis to investigate and to seek corrective actions.
The lawsuit names Mount Bachelor Academy and its parent companies as defendants. Those include Aspen Education Group – a national conglomerate of therapeutic boarding schools which, at its peak had nearly 40 youth programs throughout the United States – as well as Aspen’s parent company, CRC Health Group. CRC Health Group is a large national healthcare corporation owned by Bain Capital, a private equity firm with $65 billion in assets.4
Wednesday’s lawsuit is part of a larger response to decades of abuse and mistreatment in so-called “tough love” facilities – both inside and outside of the Aspen Education Group.
According to previous news reports, at least four children have died in Aspen-owned facilities since 2004. One of those incidences occurred in Oregon in 2009 – the death of student Sergey Blashchishen during a wilderness hike in the Redmond-based Sagewalk Wilderness School.
Blashchishen, a minor at the Sagewalk facility, collapsed in August of 2009 while hiking on his second day Aspen’s Sagewalk program. Staff had reportedly ignored repeated signs of a serious medical problem, and the boy died at the scene. The lead sherif’s investigator on the Sagewalk case recommended that the Lake County district attorney file homicide charges. Sagewalk had previously been the subject of the nationally broadcast ABC television series “Brat Camp” in 2005.
As Peter Janci, one of the Plaintiffs’ attorneys explained,“Many ‘tough love’ schools have been a breeding ground for abuse – isolating vulnerable kids and subjecting them to debunked so-called ‘treatments’ by unqualified staff, while their parents are kept in the dark and bilked out of tens of thousands of dollars.”
Problems of abuse, injury and even death are present throughout the “tough love” industry. Some reports indicate that more than two dozen teenagers died in such facilities between 1990 and 2001.
The lawsuit is one in a growing number of actions by individuals who survived these facilities, only to be left with serious, long-term psychological injuries. Several weeks ago, a civil suit was filed against Silverado Academy in Utah for claims related to a staff member’s sexual abuse of at least 10 boys.
Previously, in 2006, attorneys for another group of individuals filed a major lawsuit alleging neglect, fraud and abuse against the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools and related entities. That suit is still pending in federal court in Utah, and now includes 353 plaintiffs who allege they were wronged by therapeutic boarding schools and their related entities.
“This is a watershed moment in exposing organizations that have profited from broken promises to desperate families,” said Clark. “We believe that institutions like Mount Bachelor Academy need to be exposed for what they are and held accountable for the permanent damage they have done to the lives of vulnerable teenagers entrusted to their care.”
Clark and his firm are among the most prominent child sexual abuse attorneys in the nation, having brought over 300 claims against such organizations as the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, the Boy Scouts of America and dozens of other youth-serving organizations.
Clark has twice won landmark child abuse cases at the Oregon Supreme Court, and last year was lead counsel in a six week sex abuse trial against the Boy Scouts of America resulting in a jury verdict of nearly $20 million.
---
The initial response from Greg Chaimov, a lawyer with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, on behalf of client Mount Bachelor Academy
While we have not yet had the opportunity to evaluate the allegations in the complaint filed today, we would like to go on record that Mount Bachelor Academy was successful in resolving the dispute with the Oregon Department of Human Services last fall after abundant evidence was collected that showed the allegations of abuse made to the Department were unfounded.
DHS initially took action based on students’ allegations, but withdrew its orders, including the suspension of Mount Bachelor Academy’s license, after further information became available. Given the favorable terms of the settlement agreement, we agreed to dismiss our various legal proceedings against the state. We also independently decided to leave Mount Bachelor Academy closed due to the fact that the sudden and erroneous closure of the campus effectively shut the program down the year prior.
For over two decades, Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) positively changed the lives of over 1,000 troubled young people. MBA was a program specifically designed for troubled students who had failed to progress in other settings. It was designed to help kids confront the worst of their behaviors and take ownership of them, whether that be substance abuse, sexual acting out or other issues. This approach proved successful at producing positive, life-changing – and, in some cases, life-saving – results. The numerous positive testimonials provided by families and students over the years further attest to the success of MBA.
MBA and its parent companies never condoned or participated in the mistreatment or deprivation of any students. As we understand, the plaintiffs in this lawsuit attended MBA prior to its acquisition by a nationally recognized network of therapeutic schools and programs that espouse comprehensive best practices and safety protocols. While we cannot comment on specific allegations from individual students due to HIPAA privacy regulations, we vigorously deny any and all charges of mistreatment.
Full Text of Suit Against Mount Bachelor Academy (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
Previous Stories:
* October 2, 2010: DHS, Mount Bachelor Academy Settle Case
* November 5, 2009: Mt. Bachelor Academy Updates Its Defense
Copyright 2011 KTVZ.
Ursus:
Comments left for the above article, "Mount Bachelor Academy Denies Allegations" (by Barney Lerten and Shanna Mendiola; July 6, 2011; KTVZ.com), #s 1-18:
FreedomFighter100 · 1 week ago
This facility was all mandatory 12-Step religious cult Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Voodoo & horrifying torture to the kids...
Little kids who stole ONE BEER from their fathers & got caught were thrown here and DIAGNOSED FOR LIFE seriously mentally ill & alcoholics....Kathryn Carter · 1 week ago in reply to FreedomFighter100
Hunh? Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Voodoo (brush up on your capitalization skills, please)? You two people who liked this should be ashamed of yourselves. It was absolutely not religious, and the implication of magic is just stupid. If you're going to criticize at least make sure you're somewhat acquainted with what you're criticizing. Horrifying torture? I guess hard work and being made to face what you've done without excuses could be called torture, but horrifying? Please do not encourage this person by "liking" his post.wal52 · 1 week ago in reply to FreedomFighter100
Little kids...one beer...diagnosed for life....?[/list]
rfo · 1 week ago
I actually met someone who used to work there and learned quite a bit about the place after the fact.
It seems there really two sides to this story. If I'm understanding what I heard correctly, there were never any charges which moved forward after the school stopped operating. I was told that they were capable of starting back up without a problem but the parent company saw that as a bad move financially.
Mind you, this is only what I heard.Kelly Matthews · 1 week ago
There are thousands of abusive schools, camps and rehabs. This has been going on for well over 50 years. You can join the cause to get these places shut down by visitinghttp://www.troubledtee... Please visit today!Also check out the trailer to our upcoming documentary about Straight Inc. An abusive rehab that started back in 1976 and ran for 17 years. http://www.survivingstraightincthemovie.com/[/list]
ImaBurthur · 1 week ago in reply to Kelly Matthews
Really, thousands eh? So does this "statistic" mean that MBA is automatically guilty because you're a crusader?
It's easy to be a sniper when people doing courageous hard work with troubled youth make mistakes or just perceived that way.
Yes, there's bad apples everywhere and should be identified but there's no easy solution dealing with kids who struggle in today's society of declining morals,divorce, materialism[/list]
Dirty · 1 week ago
To all those spreading rumors... My girlfriend attended Mt. Bachelor as a youth. After which she went to college and attained a B.A. and began working there for many years. She is about to receive her Masters and has a very succesful career. I don't believe a word of what these children are saying. Maybe they should take their resentment out on their parents for sending them in the first place. Cult? Witchcraft? Sorcery and Voodoo? Puhlease! Sue happy and looking for a free paycheck. The media doesn't help anything with its sensationalism either. I know many of the employees who were employed up there and none of them are witches. I would say they were doing something right. My girlfriend would be proof of that.yahoo-4RFYRM3CD7ESI34I6XZYI5M55E · 1 week ago
It's my guess the next step for these "students" was the criminal courts and incarseration. I wonder which
direction was better for them and society??proudparent2011 · 1 week ago in reply to yahoo-4RFYRM3CD7ESI34I6XZYI5M55E
It's "my guess" that you have absolutely no knowledge concerning this case other than the biased article from KTVZ. Sensationalism sells. My daughter attended Mt. Bachelor Academy in 2001-2002 and graduated from there with a high school diploma. She is a happy well adjusted young woman with a steady job. If she had not attended the school it's "my guess" that she would have been incarcerated or possibly dead by now. Although I am going to be paying for her tuition for 10 more years all I can say is, "what price do you put on your child's life?" Before you get out your pitch fork and rally the mob make sure you have your facts straight.Barney Lerten · 1 week ago in reply to proudparent2011
The Bulletin P.1 story today also details the allegations in the lawsuit we linked to and has similar response from its operators. Serious allegations deserve attention, as do responses.[/list][/list]
Hayha · 1 week ago
Who needs the Pledge of Allegiance and Christmas programs when you can have a "winter festival" and act out sexual role play in front of your classmates. pigspullsantassleigh · 1 week ago
"My folks have two reasons for doing this," said Clark. "No. 1 is to get this behind them, to have closure and healing and justice for themselves"
So get it behind them and move on, but of course the money doesn`t hurt either does it ? I guess when your a lawyer like this guy, the only way to healing is with money right ?rfo · 1 week ago in reply to pigspullsantassleigh
I wouldn't argue with you on that point except to say that it has been proven over and over that the most painful place you can ever hit anybody is in the wallet.
That being said, I do not see this action gaining any steam. One of the issues is that most of the evidence presented will probably fall into the anecdotal category and there will always be the question as to why everyone waited so long to come forward.
For everyone who thinks this suit is a good idea, there will be an equal number of people who will feel the school did their children a lot of good.
I don't see the possibility of any real "traction" here.pigspullsantassleigh · 1 week ago in reply to rfo
I agree with you RFO. I don`t care one way or the other. Lawyers dont do these lawsuits for any other reason than to line their pockets. I`d also like to point out to Mr Clark who says theres TWO reasons for doing this. Technically councilor you pointed out FOUR. I know how you lawyers like to point out technicalities. This guy is nothing more than an over priced ambulance chaser.[/list][/list]
Andrew · 1 week ago
This was an amazing school and it is shameful to claim abuse. Geez, I would claim the opposite occurred, the staff dealt with very difficult and sometimes violent kids, they were constantly verbally abused and challenged. I know, I was a student there 1991 & 1992. Maybe things have changed since then, but the complaints sound like what I remember but I didn't find any of it abusive.
If you believe in our current mental health techniques, basically take a pill and check out, then I can see how you see real emotional work to be abuse. I you don't dig in and have people pushing you to do some real work, you are wasting your time. Just like exercise, if the muscles aren't burning yet you probably need to push a little further to get any benefit out of it. Again, if you'd like a pill or to sit on someones couch who is counting the minutes, be my guest. If you want to grow, its a struggle, its painful, its exhilarating and rewarding. You can't get past deep issues without confronting them. That's just common sense.
I've read countless comments on many sites since 2009 and I really am in disbelief. The staff were warm, friendly and were there for me and others more than most of our parents (who caused most of the students issues to begin with). I am in contact with many people I met while there and none of them have reached out to me in tears citing abuse. Some make jokes like, "I had a hard day, I need group" (group for group counseling normally 3 days a week for 1 hour session).
It was intense, challenging, emotional (THUS, an emotional growth school) and life changing. They didn't let you get away with anything, act out and someone was right there to help you understand the what and why behind it as well as provide sound and alternative behaviors. Frankly, I found it brilliant and have began to understand its simplicity and elegance as I get older (37 now). Is it a one size fits all program, I don't know nor am I any kind of expert on the subject. What I do know is, nothing is for everyone, there is always a percentage that fall through the cracks. I'll concede to that. I won't concede that the staff or program had any malicious intent. That is simply ridiculous.
For me, it opened up my world and gave me new tools that have helped me succeed. I'm no perfect person, but I understand who I am and how to channel my energy in positive ways. Do the right thing, stay honest, serve somebody, think about the effects of your actions on others, lead by example, know what's in your heart vs your head. Those are things the school constantly spoke about it,and some call that brainwashing? They were onto something. Not sure how much it changed from my time there, but they were really onto something.If you weren't there and have no idea what a lifestep is all about, or its intent, or the spiritual nature of it, then you have no business passing judgement. Many students and staff "wanted" to go through them and were excited, many were not. Things have been taken completely out of context. Nobody explained that the staff didn't sleep either during these lifesteps and sometimes they engaged in the exercises. Claims of brainwashing, unbelievable. More like de-brainwashing. The brainwashed are those led to believe that any confronting yourself is bad and abusive or helping other do the same, unless some bookworm with a PhD certifies it. There is very little backbone in left in this society anymore and it shows. If you are looking for examples of brainwashing, turn on your TV to any 24-hour news cycle. Geez, people, give me a break.To Sharon & Alex Blitz, Steve and Linda, Jeanine, Bill Hoffman, and Jeff, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Took me several years to sort things out, but when I did it was worth it. Thank you from the guitar playing Jersey boy, may "the truth about you" be told.rfo · 1 week ago in reply to Andrew
OK, .... there's part of your answer. Kinda' sounds about like basic training in the military. Nobody understood the seemingly stupid things that were forced on you, but at then end of 12 weeks you came out of there with a definite sense of self worth, a direction to move in, goals, and your head planted squarely on your shoulders.
Thanks for the enlightening post Andrew and I'm really glad you shared this with us. It took guts.[/list]
right to bear arms · 1 week ago
If these kids were truly harmed by this school then any money they get for their suffering should go to some kind of program to help other kids to stay out of trouble. God forbid these kids should be held accountable for their actions from their past. Before this lawsuit goes to far they need to interview the other kids that went to this school and not take the word of just the ones filing the suit!lawyermom206 · 1 week ago
My son attended Mt Bachelor Academy in 2005-2006 and I am firmly convinced that it saved his life. I am so grateful for the education he received there that gave him a sense of himself. He is now a part time college student and works part time, and handles life's challenges with a sane and level head. Everyone in our family thinks he is the most grounded person we know. That, I believe, is thanks to the program he went through at Mt Bachelor. I am so sad to hear that others feel it necessary to pile insult onto injury to the truly fine people who ran the school and who taught there. Closing the school was bad enough, and now this? Shame on the plaintiffs.
Copyright 2011 KTVZ.
Che Gookin:
Is it just me or do alot of these responses follow a standard sort of programmie style fill in the blank Mad Libs sort of thing?
My (victim's relationship to you here) went/is attended/ing Mt. Bacherlor Academy from (date) to (date). I feel my (victim) was/is on the road to being deadinsaneorinjail. He/she was also molesting (farm animal here) and smoking (drug here).
blah blah..
Just my throughts.
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "Che Gookin" ---Is it just me or do alot of these responses follow a standard sort of programmie style fill in the blank Mad Libs sort of thing?
My (victim's relationship to you here) went/is attended/ing Mt. Bacherlor Academy from (date) to (date). I feel my (victim) was/is on the road to being deadinsaneorinjail. He/she was also molesting (farm animal here) and smoking (drug here).
blah blah..
Just my throughts.
--- End quote ---
Mmm. Don't forget the part where "my child's success in life is totally the result of the 1-2 years he/she spent getting chuckawalla'd at Mt. Bachelor, and has absolutely nothing to do with how I raised him/her the previous decade and a half, not to mention the native goodness or resilience inherent in his/her nature to begin with." :D
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