Hidden Lake Academy

[Anonymous]

Interesting discussion going on about this program, especially the sad post from someone appealing to a current student's parents that they should bring their child home.

http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/178.html

[Anonymous]

Wonder what school in Alabama this child's dad objected so strongly to, he threatened to physically remove her if the mother placed her there?  Ultimately, the child was placed at HLA, a very expensive boarding school in Georgia.  The father who apparently objected to the placement and the high cost, filed a lawsuit which he lost.  Here is a copy of the appeal, which he also lost.  Interesting the child had no say in how she felt about her placement at HLA.

http://www.law.sc.edu/ctapp/3378.htm

[Anonymous]

I seem to remember a non-custodial parent complaining that when her kid was on restrictions of some sort at HLA that they *severely* limited his food---as in, below the amount he was expending doing the work they were making him do, and food of a kind that was seriously deficient in nutrients.

I think she said something about grilled cheese on  white bread---which is fine as an occasional part of a balanced diet or if you are taking appropriate dietary supplements, but awful if you're not.

Timoclea

[Deborah]

***The family court further ordered the father, who earned 82% of the family's income, to pay two-thirds of the child's medical expenses, excluding extraordinary medical expenses.
In May of 1998, the mother enrolled Gabrielle in Hidden Lake Academy, a therapeutic boarding school for children diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. (1) The cost of tuition at HLA was, at all times pertinent to this case, $4,150.00 per month.

Well, there we go.
HLA is STILL not listed as a Residential Care Facility in Ga. After all the reams of information I gave the ORS- which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were a therapeutic facility, they are still operating without a license. No traditional boarding school's tuition(whose primary purpose is education) is paid by insurance? Education at a traditional boarding school is NOT considered a "medical expense"?
How much plainer can it get?

http://www2.state.ga.us/Departments/DHR/ORS/
Definition:
Any facility providing full time residential care for six or more children under 17 years of age outside of their own homes.
Exemptions:
*Child welfare agencies and other facilities and institutions wherein children and youths are detained which are operated by any department or agency of state, county or municipal government.
*Any bona fide boarding school WHOSE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF ADMISSION IS EDUCATION, provided that such facility in order to claim exemption shall operate under a published academic educational curriculum which meets the requirements of the State Department of Education, shall have classroom facilities which are not used for residential living, shall not have been granted nor have assumed legal custody of children attending the facility, and shall not provide service planning and casework services as described in the licensing rules.
**************************

How can ORS allow the fraud to continue? Are they ignorant or are they colluding with the fraud?  I have to assume that they have been deceived- HLA claiming that their 'therapeutic' program is 'emotional EDUCATION'.
Bullshit!

[Anonymous]

Wonder how this girl enjoyed growing up in a therapeutic community as a result of her parents bad marriage?

[Deborah]

Regarding the 'Service Plan'. Apparently, since they are not listed as a RTC, they do not provide a service plan, but should if they are receiving money for 'medical' expenses.
How would their 'blanket' policies such as- all participants stay the same length of time; and one size fits all discipline/BM- qualify as any sort of service plan?

http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/BCB77.pdf
290-2-5-.10 Assessment and Planning.
An institution shall complete a full written assessment of each child admitted for care and
of each child?s family within thirty days of admission and develop an individual written
service plan for each child based on the assessments within thirty days of admission. If an assessment is not completed within thirty days, the reasons for the delay shall be
documented in the child?s case record and such documentation shall include statements
indicating when the assessment is expected to be completed.
(a) The assessment shall be completed by the child?s designated Human Services
Professional. The assessment shall assess the needs of the child in the areas of health
care, education, family relationships, personal and social development, psychological and
personal development, and vocational development. This assessment is intended to
expand upon the initial intake evaluation required by Rule .09(2)(a)1.
1. The institution shall obtain the child?s school records from the last school attended in
order to complete the education needs component of the assessment.
(b) A service plan shall be developed by the child?s Human Services Professional in
concert with the child?s primary Child Care Worker, meaning the worker who has
responsibility for supervision of the child in the living unit where the child resides. The
plan shall contain the following data:
1. The results of the assessment and identified needs;
2. Statements of time-limited goals and objectives for the child and family and methods
of achieving them and evaluating them;
3. Statements of activities to be followed by the child and staff members in pursuit of the
stated goals and objectives;
4. Statements of any special care and services that will be arranged for or provided
directly;
5. Statements of goals and preliminary plans for discharge;
6. Statements about the types of discipline that should be employed when necessary; and
7. Statements about any restrictions of communications or visitations with any persons;
such statements shall clearly show that the health, safety, and welfare of the child would
be adversely affected by such communications or visits.
(c) The child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s), or child placing agency representative
shall be involved in the development of the service plan, and its periodic updates as
described below.
(d) The service plan shall be updated by the Human Services Professional at a minimum
of every six months and pertinent progress notes and data shall be incorporated in the
plan to measure attainment of stated goals and objectives. The child?s primary Child Care
Worker shall participate in the updating.
Authority O.C.G.A. Secs. 49-5-8, 49-5-12. History. Original Rule entitled "Assessment and Planning"
adopted. F. Jun. 30, 1994; eff. Aug. 1, 1994, as specified by the Agency.

[Deborah]

This is a big reason HLA and others don't want to be monitored by the state. It would infringe on their policies and seriously jeopardize profits.

http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/D7AF4.pdf
290-2-5-.09 Referral and Admission.
(1) Referrals. An institution shall only accept referrals for children whose known needs can be met by the institution in accordance with its program purpose and program description.
(a) Referral agreements with any public or private agencies that place children in the
institution shall be in writing and shall include the following provisions and
requirements.
1. Preplacement assessment and planning with the placing agency regarding the institution?s abilities to meet the needs of the child shall be done. To the degree possible, all relevant information required for admission to the facility shall be reviewed in preplacement assessment and planning.
2. There shall be a preplacement visit by the child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s), or
placing agency representative if there is a reasonable likelihood that the child will be
admitted.
(b) Referrals from any persons other than placing agencies (such as a parent or guardian)
shall be handled in the same manner as described above for referrals from placing agencies.
(2) Admissions. An institution shall only admit children whose known needs can be met by the institution based on preplacement assessment and planning. The institution shall comply with the Interstate Compact on Placement when admitting children from another state.
(a) Written admission policies and procedure shall be established and implemented and
shall include the following provisions or requirements.
1. An intake evaluation, including social, health, educational, and family history, and if
appropriate, psychological and personal developmental history; shall be done on each
child.
2. A completed written placement agreement shall be developed with the involvement of the child, and the parent(s) or guardian(s), or placing agency representative and signed by all parties; such agreement shall include the following:
(i) Written authorization to care for the child;
(ii) Written authorization to obtain medical care for the child;
(iii) Written summary of discussions among the child and the parent(s) or guardian(s), or
placing agency, and the institution?s Human Service Professional regarding basic care,
any specialized services to be provided, the description of the institution as outlined in
Rule .09(2)(b); and involvement of the parent(s) or guardian(s), or the placing agency in
service planning.
(b) A written description of the institution shall be provided to the child, the parent(s) or
guardian(s), or placing agency and shall include:
(i) The institution?s program purpose and program description;
(ii) The description of service planning and normal daily routines of children;
****************

My son did not receive a pre-placement evaluation. He was not 'diagnosed' ODD prior to placement. The staff at HLA diagnosed him when he arrived, "based on his father's complaints". And they certainly didn't bother with the ICPC.

[Anonymous]

So what ever happened to this girl? Sure would be nice to hear from her about her experience at HLA.  As for the parents, it sounds to me like this girl paid the ultimate price for acting out in response to her parent's troubled relationship. Typical.

[Anonymous]

Deborah--Is HLA still operating unlicensed?  How would I verify that and what do I need to prove they ought to be licensed?

I'm a Georgia resident, and we have enough of a record of political involvement that I might be able to light a fire under somebody.

They should *at least* have to be licensed and meet the licensing requirements.

We also have local investigative reporters of the persistent and aggressive variety who could be sicced on this place---they'd probably eat it up.

Can you personal message me and we can see what we can do to put the documentation together?

Thanks,
     Timoclea

[Deborah]

See the list of RTCs at:
http://www2.state.ga.us/Departments/DHR/ORS/

Their wilderness program which began in 2001 was required to obtain the proper license. When I inquired- after my son was sent there under questionable circumstances and lost his visit home-  I was told by an HLA rep that wilderness programs in Ga were not required to have a license. ORS did do the right thing in this case.
Ridge Creek is listed under Outdoor Therapeutic Facilities:
http://www2.state.ga.us/Departments/DHR/ORS/


They are not listed as a private school at the Dept of Education either:
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/_dbs/schools/p ... stemID=693

Nor, do I find them listed as a member of SACS:
http://www.sacs.org/reports/membership/ ... EC_GA.html

Apparently, they lost their accreditation with them:
http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives ... een01.html

HIDDEN LAKE ACADEMY ACCREDITATION
(December 7, 1999) Rusty Ray, Director of Academics at Hidden Lake Academy (HLA), Dahlonega, Georgia, 706-864-4730, a structured residential school, announced the school has been accepted as a Candidate for Accreditation with the Southeastern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). SACS has stringent requirements, and a school must be in existence for at least five years before it can even begin the process of applying for accreditation. In the negotiations, Ray reported, the representatives of SACS were so impressed with what HLA was doing that they recommended they apply for accreditation as a Traditional Private School, which has higher academic requirements than the category the school started the application with as a Special Purpose school.http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives ... een01.html

HIDDEN LAKE ACAD. ACCREDITED BY SACS AS TRADITIONAL SCHOOL
(December 9, 2001) Dr. Len Buccellato, founder and Chairman of Hidden Lake Academy, Dahlonega, GA, 800-394-0640, was recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, (SACS) at the SACS Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, for being the first therapeutic boarding school nationwide to achieve full academic accreditation as a TRADITIONAL school.
http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives ... heard.html

They are listed as a Educational Agency with Special Purpose at Ga Accrediting Commission
http://www.coe.uga.edu/gac/index.html

Timocleo,
I'll mail you later, busy now.

[ This Message was edited by: Deborah on 2004-06-15 16:23 ]

[Anonymous]

Thank you Deborah for all of your hard work. I hope that this will have the effect of making people think and act.

[Deborah]

Check out their demographics:
http://www.hiddenlakeacademy.com/NEWHLA/newstdemo.htm

Enrollment Grade
7th/8th 13%
9th 28%
10th 35%
11th 24%

                Male Female Total
Physical Abuse 7% 6% 7%
ADHD 32% 3% 10%
Sexual Abuse 9% 10% 5%
Sexual Acting Out 13% 67% 30%
Eating Disorder 5% 27% 12%
Suicidal Gestures 13% 42% 22%
Previous Runaway 25% 29% 27%
Divorced Parents 37% 40% 38%
Adopted 21% 31% 24%
Single Parent Family 27% 31% 24%
Prior Counseling 92% 99% 95%
Previous Wilderness 40% 33% 38%
Prior Hospitalization 23% 54% 33%
Medication at Enrollment 46% 33% 38%
Previous Wilderness 40% 33% 38%
Prior hospitalization 23% 54% 33%
Medication 46% 58% 50%

Alabama 3
California 3
Colorado 2
Connecticut 4
Florida 4
Georgia 14
Illinois 6
Iowa 1
Kansas 1
Kentucky 3
Louisiana 6
Massachusetts 4
Maryland 4
Michigan 4
Minnesota 2
Mississippi 1
Missouri 1
New Hampshire 2
New Jersey 10
New York 9
North Carolina 5
Ohio 4
Oklahoma 1
Pennsylvania 5
South Carolina  5
South Dakota 1
Tennessee 1
Texas 19
Virginia 5
Washington, DC 1
Costa Rica 1
Mexico 1
U.A.E. 1
Total Students 150
****

There have always been a large number of teens from Texas. I always wondered why that was.

Oh, this is good.
http://www.hiddenlakeacademy.com/NEWHLA/financial.htm
The tuition and fees are very reasonable for the program that we offer.  We do not require any admission or orientation fee.  The tuition is currently $5,400.00 per month.  This tuition is guaranteed for the entire program, and will not increase even if the school?s rate increases.  Under this tuition, almost everything is provided, with the exception of uniforms and medical expenses.  The initial uniform expense is $1,300.00.  Each student?s desk in the dorm room is equipped with a computer system that includes:  Windows operating
[They fail to mention that your child can not posses any toiletries, etc from outside the facilty. They have their own 'store' and sell the 'approved' items at a significant profit. Like Sauve shampoo- .99 at WalMart for $4-5 if I remember correctly]

Insurance
A portion of the monthly tuition may be covered by medical insurance.  We suggest you contact your insurance company for benefit information.  Upon enrollment, your child will be placed on the insurance form list.  Upon receiving your third Group Counseling/Insurance statement, you will need to contact the financial coordinator in HLA?s Business Office to arrange continuation of monthly insurance statements.  HLA does not file insurance forms for students.  Insurance forms are mailed to parents with monthly billing statement the month after the date of service.

Scholarships and Financial Aid
Hidden Lake Academy offers scholarships and financial aid programs to new students.  Our program varies based on the particular needs of the student and their family.  Please contact our Admissions Department for further information.

Tax Deductions
Monthly tuition payments may be tax deductible.  As a parent of a disabled child, you are entitled to deduct as medical expenses the cost of tuition and room costs for a residential school.  Reference:  Revenue Ruling 58-280.  Transportation costs that are deductible as medical expenses, are those incurred in transporting your child and yourself, to and from special schools and institutions.  We encourage you to contact your Tax Accountant for other applicable tax laws and implications thereof.

Hmmmm
http://www.hiddenlakeacademy.com/NEWHLA/hlaunique.htm
An Individualized Therapeutic Plan including clinical treatment goals is maintained and revised by clinical supervisors throughout the enrollment of the student.  
-Sounds like a Service Plan to me.

[Deborah]

You will find a story of a stepdad whose stepdaughter was sent to HLA here:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:9i ... %22+&hl=en
It's a very lengthy document, but an excellent account that accurately exposes the nature of the program!

Anyone here from this site? Why did it close?
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:rx ... %22+&hl=en

Survivors of HLA
Name: Survivors Of Hidden Lake Academy
About: This community is to try and bring together some of the survivors/alumni of Hidden Lake Academy, the boarding school in North Georgia.
Interests: 7: boarding school, boarding schools, dahlonega, dahlonega ga, hidden lake academy, hla, ridge creek. [Modify yours]
Members: 6: bargeld, blahthequah, horncall, oaksilver, poopfish, zisforzillah
Watched by: 6: bargeld, blahthequah, horncall, oaksilver, poopfish, zisforzillah
***

Or this disscussion forum at EZBoard
http://p068.ezboard.com/bhladiscussionboards
Which appears to have been put up a couple of years ago, but no activity.

Or these:
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:OK ... %22+&hl=en

http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:FQ ... %22+&hl=en

[Deborah]

Recent dialogue with a parent considering HLA at Amazing Forums.

DeeDee:
I am considering trying to get help for my child at Hidden Lakes.. What about an honest rundown on the school

Healed:
You won't get it on any of these boards. there is nothing but anger and immaturity here, contact the schools directly or an ed consultant, please don't depend on these sites, you will only get the opinion of the angry, spoiled children that never finished the program because they got dismissed or convinced their parents that they are "better" or that "hla sucks", or "they learned their lesson and wont do ... again, but end up falling back into their old patterns eventually or initially especially if they convinced their parents because they know that their parents are weak and that the kids rule the roost...hla is a good school that does wonderful things and if your child is a good fit, it will save his/her life and your sanity.

Deborah:
Dee Dee,
You will be discouraged from seeking information from ex parents and participants of any program who were not satisfied with their experience. I think this is bad advice. I would encourage you to seek information from all sources before making a decision. Yes, some ex participants are angry about their experience. If their allegations are true, their anger is justified. Ignore the unpleasant language, but pay close attention to their accounts of the experience and allegations. Use these accounts to compile a list of questions for the program.

You can not necessarily depend on the advice of an Ed Con. Many are former employees of programs and are therefore, not objective. The one who referred my ex knew nothing about the program- that they were not licensed or monitored by the state, knew nothing about their behavior modification techniques, was not familiar with their policies and if those policies were carried out in the manner they were described in the parent manual. She referred based on ?the owner?s reputation?. That is not sufficient.

To depend solely on the advice of a program or an Ed Con would not be wise. Both have an obvious conflict of interest because they stand to profit from the placement of your child. When making such an important decision one should do careful research. It is incumbent on the parent to ask hard questions of the program, questions regarding the policies and methods of modifying your child?s behavior. As your child?s advocate who has a vested interest in their well being, it would not be wise to go into this type of arrangement blindly trusting. You must determine if you are in agreement with the methods they will use, and monitor to ensure the methods are employed as they were presented to you. The best way to monitor is to maintain contact with your child, who the only person who can warn you of potential abuse or discrepancies.

My advice to you is to ask many hard questions of any program. Severing contact between the parent and child is typical with programs. Don?t be swayed to believe it is a good policy because ?they all do it?. Refuse to comply with this policy. Let the program know that you want unmonitored phone calls with your child, and do not want your child to be punished for reporting anything negative. Assure them that you can distinguish between truth and ?manipulation?. Any program that is operating ethically will not fear this. In most states it is unlawful to sever contact between parent and child unless a professional has determined that contact with the parent is not in the child?s best interest. Ask the program if their state has such a law and why they are violating it. Children sent to juvenile facilities are not restricted in this way- why would it occur in the private sector? The primary reason for severing contact, in my opinion, is two fold. One- to reduce attrition. Two- to set a precedent with the child. In order for the program to ?work?, the child must believe that the program has the ultimate authority. Your compliance with this policy directly and indirectly tells your child that you have indeed abdicated all parental authority to the program.

Ask the program if they post phone numbers for reporting abuse, and a public phone which your child may use to do so. No matter how ?good? the program is, there is always the danger of a staff member perpetrating abuse. Pedophiles are drawn to residential facilities for children. A program one of my sons attended has had two occurrences of this- one was my son?s dorm officer. My son reported him and he is now serving a 95 year sentence. Degrees and background checks are not sufficient, as he was working there under an alias. A parent can not be too cautious.

Make numerous visits to the program unannounced. Don?t be discouraged when you are asked to leave. This is another of the standard procedures- no visits except during scheduled events. Parents are typically not allowed on campus for months. Why? My opinion, is that they discourage contact until after the child (and parent) have been conditioned. The parent is conditioned to put their faith in the program and the child is conditioned- through punishment- not to report anything negative. If there is ample trust between you and your child it is likely that s/he will violate this rule and attempt to tell you what is going on. You would be wise to listen, and err on the side of caution.

Ask if they accept severely distressed kids or kids with a violent or criminal past. Review the demographics.

Ask how many of the participants actually leave for the regularly scheduled home visits, particularly in the first 9 months. For what reasons would home visits be denied?

Ask if participants have ever acquired illegal substances while in the program. How often has it occurred?

Ask how your child will be punished for x,y,z behavior. What is the child?s day like while on ?restriction?? Are the participants ever restrained? Is staff trained in de-escalation techniques? Then verify these things with your child on an ongoing basis.

How are their ?therapy? groups run? Will your child risk punishment if he does not divulge intimate details about himself before s/he is ready to do so? How much one-on-one time will my child have with his counselor/surrogate parent?
What is the policy for addressing a child who is grieving the loss of contact with his/her family? Would my child ever be punished for talking about home, or missing home? If so, why?

Are the children placed on restriction given fewer calories or less variety of nutritious foods? Is food every denied, or the time in which they have to eat, shortened? Do they take their meals with their peers? Will your child be allowed contact with peers? What physical work will your child be assigned to do? How long can a child remain on restriction?

If my child is reported to have violated a rule by another participant, how is it determined if s/he is indeed guilty? Do your staff members apologize to the children when they have made a mistake or unjustly accused and punished someone?
How do they reprimand their staff for violations of ethics and policies? Is a parent notified when this occurs?

If any staff member tells your child that you do not love him/her, or that you support everything the program does, pull him/her immediately and ask questions later. The only people who know what is occurring on a daily basis is staff and your child. It would be unwise to completely discount your child?s reports and allegations. If you are uncertain about a particular policy or method, consult with an independent, third party, professional for advisement.

This should give you a place to start. And never forget that you are your child?s best advocate, his/her only contact with the outside world once enrolled in a residential program. Don?t let anything sever that contact. Despite the conflict and strife between the two of you, it is very damaging to what trust may remain, and there is absolutely no reasonable or rational reason to do so.

[Anonymous]

im in hidden lake and the school is a very strict structural school they are in quite a large debt and they continue to fire staff.
hideen lake has quite a few issues such as strip searches which i believe to be violating against students with insecurity problems

hidden lake has been known for the child labor in fields and a lot of physical training leving students sick from rain and in quite a bit of pain,

their doctor has no clue whats hes doing because he gives students twice as mucha s tehy need which makes things worse.

Thank you