Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > News Items
Teen on life support after assault at children's home
wdtony:
http://www.fox19.com/story/16376836/tee ... r-fight-at
Teen on life support after assault at children's home
Posted: Dec 22, 2011 8:53 AM EST
Updated: Dec 22, 2011 12:20 PM EST
FAIRFIELD, OH (FOX19) -
A teenager is on life support after an assault earlier this week at a Butler County children's home.
Chief Richard St. John with Fairfield Township Police says the assault occurred Monday night at One Way Farm on River Road.
According to the incident report, the 16-year-old victim suffered head injuries from a punch and being slammed to the ground by another juvenile at the facility. Witnesses say there was an argument over a flashlight that escalated to the assault.
The assault occurred between 7:30 and 8 p.m., but wasn't reported until employees were conducting bed checks at 11 p.m. and found the victim lying on the floor.
The victim was taken to Children's Hospital, where he has been placed on life support. The 17-year-old suspect is facing an aggravated assault charge and is being held at the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center.
St. John said reports that the teen had died are untrue.
According to its website, One Way Farm provides residential care 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, serving approximately 8,500 children since it opened in 1976. The agency provides an Animal Education Therapy Program, an Employment Training Program, Counseling Services and a Youth Program to further the healing of children.
One Way Farm's board president, Greg Elam, released the following statement:
"On Monday evening two of our children, ages 16 and 17, were involved in an altercation that resulted in the hospitalization of one of the children. As an organization that has been recognized as a leader in healing and helping children live a long and fruitful life, we are doing everything possible to understand and to cope with this unfortunate event that has affected these two children. The incident is currently under investigation by Fairfield Township Police and One Way Farm. While it is being investigated, the instigator of the fight was removed immediately from One Way Farm and placed in the Butler County Juvenile Detention. We continue to work in the best interests of the children in our care and will be providing counseling to protect the progress they have made and to continue to support their emotional healing.
"We are extremely heartbroken over this event. With more than 9,000 children coming through the One Way Farm, we have never experienced such loss."
Copyright 2011 FOX19. All Rights Reserved.
wdtony:
Program Home page link:
http://www.onewayfarm.org/
cmack:
--- Quote from: "wdtony" ---Program Home page link:
http://www.onewayfarm.org/
--- End quote ---
I saw this story earlier. Very sad. Thanks for providing a link to the program homepage.
This doesn't appear to be the typical kind of program discussed hear of fornits. I couldn't determine by reading their website the percentage of kids admitted by parents versus those committed by agencies or courts. However, it does seem that they accept and presumably mix abused and neglected children with those placed by the juvenile courts. On the surface this seems like a potentially dangerous practice which the above story seems to support.
http://www.onewayfarm.org/about.php
--- Quote --- http://www.onewayfarm.org/programs.php?id=youth
The One Way Farm Children's Home is a non-profit organization located in Fairfield, Ohio, caring for the abused, abandoned, neglected, troubled youth, and children with disabilities and developmental disabilities in the State of Ohio without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin. The One Way Farm Children's Home is state-certified and provides the following services:
Temporary/emergency housing for abused, abandoned, neglected or troubled children, many in need of medication/pharmaceutical administration.
Meeting the needs of special education children.
Long-term independent housing.
Placement of children by the Juvenile Courts, Job and Family Services Department, and other placing agencies.
An alternative to institutionalization for mildly troubled children, developmentally disabled and the physically challenged.
Animal Education Therapy Program.
The children of One Way Farm Children's Home are abused, abandoned, neglected, or troubled and sometimes have other disabilities. One Way Farm Children's Home tries to reunite child and family whenever possible and coordinates family counseling if it is indicated. The One Way Farm Children's Home's primary objective is to break the present cycle of abuse or disruption and help every child to a normal and fruitful life.
We provide a warm and loving shelter for children who have been abused, abandoned, neglected, and troubled. One Way Farm Children's Home houses a maximum of 20 youth, providing both emergency and long-term housing for children in crisis. Our agency provides Animal Education Therapy to further the healing of our children, a very unique program. We have served thousands of children since our beginning over 32 years ago. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and are located in Butler County in southwestern Ohio. Our continuing goal is to provide for the best interest of the child.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote --- http://www.onewayfarm.org/about.php?id=admissions
The residents of One Way Farm of Fairfield, Inc. have access to the following schools and educational programs:
Alternative School
Fairfield West Elementary School
Fairfield Middle School
Fairfield Freshman School
Fairfield High School
Butler Tech
Hope Academy
St. Aloysius
Fairfield Intermediate
--- End quote ---
Otherwise, it seems that kids here have better protected rights and more freedom than those placed in the kinds of programs usually discussed on fornits. Per their admission forms:
http://www.onewayfarm.org/about.php?id=admissions
--- Quote ---ADMISSION INFORMATION (PAGE TWO)
Rule 5101:2-9-16
VISITATION:
Youth may have contact with the following:
Father____ Mother____ Sisters____ Brothers____
Grandparents____ Aunts/Uncles____ Prev. Foster Family____
Friends____ Other____
List Names:___________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
VISITS: on-grounds____ off-grounds____ Supervised____ Unsupervised____
Friday____ Saturday____ Sunday____ Overnight____ Day Only____
How Often?_____________________________________________________
List persons with whom youth is to have NO contact:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Rule 5101:2-9-12
Youth can go on overnight with friends? Yes ? No ?
If on level 5, can go on unsupervised on-grounds: Yes ? No ?
Amount of time: 1 hour____ 2 hours____ 3 hours____
If on level 4 or 5, can have unsupervised activities OFF-GROUNDS: Yes ? No ?
Can walk out for: 1 hour____ 2 hours____
Can go to school functions (unsupervised by One Way Farm Staff): ball game____
School dances ____ sports____ shopping____
Religious preference: Catholic____ Protestant____ Jewish____ Other__________________
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---PLACEMENT AGREEMENT
NAME OF YOUTH:_________________________________PHONE;______________
LEGAL ADDRESS:__________________________________DATE:_______________
CLIENT CLAUSE: I understand the rules and regulations of the One Way Farm and I agree to follow them. I understand that I am able to go on home visits after I have been a resident of One Way Farm for at least two weeks and that visits may vary depending on situations in the home. I do understand that I may send as well as receive mail from family and friends and that I do have phone privileges as long as I don’t misuse the privilege. I will work on trusting the staff and other residents as much as possible and I will be honest about my feelings. With the help of the staff. I will realistically explore what alternatives I have and will make the most responsible decision regarding my future.
___________________________________
Client Signature
--- End quote ---
wdtony:
I agree, mostly this does look like a decent place. There is a section on their website that states something about long term placement but it is very vague. I do not think this is a behavior modification program at this time. It is another news article about a child almost killed in a program and there was a 3 hour window after the assault that no staff checked on the victim.
cmack:
--- Quote from: "wdtony" ---I agree, mostly this does look like a decent place. There is a section on their website that states something about long term placement but it is very vague. I do not think this is a behavior modification program at this time. It is another news article about a child almost killed in a program and there was a 3 hour window after the assault that no staff checked on the victim.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, It sounds like a closed head injury. He appeared fine just after the altercation, but a small bleed or swelling can be deadly. I'm not medically trained but even I know that you aren't suppose to let people with concussions go to sleep. At the very least he should have been checked on regularly. Maybe if they'd gotten him to a hospital sooner the doctors could have done something to relieve the pressure and save the young man.
It doesn't really matter what kind of policies are in place or how well intentioned the people are invariably the line staff who work directly with the kids are low-paid and ill-trained. This is just another reason I'm opposed to any kind of involuntary commitment of teens or adults. If that young man had gotten mugged or into an altercation on the streets and then not sought treatment the outcome would have been the same, but the responsibility would have been his for not seeking treatment. (Of course in this case the responsibility for the injury belongs to the 17 year old who attacked him over a flashlight.) But whoever placed the boy in this program stripped him of his decision making powers. The program assumed the awesome responsibility of making potentially life and death decisions for this young man and they failed. The boy couldn't have done any worse if left to his own devices and he probably wouldn't have gotten the injury to start with.
According to Dr Robert Epstein somewhere around 13 or 14 kids are capable of making just as good decisions as adults. It's time we as a society start recognizing teens as young adults deserving of basic human rights of self-determination and not just as big children who need to be protected from themselves. I firmly believe that most of the social pathologies we lament concerning teens is the direct result of the powerlessness they feel in society. In past generations teens were active, contributing members of society, working, getting married, and otherwise getting on with the business of life. Freedom is the answer, while paternalism and overprotectiveness is the problem.
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