Thanks for your lengthy response SHH. To the educated reader, it spoke volumes. You strike me as a generally nice person, just seriously naïve and defensive about things you know little to nothing about.
I feel absolutely certain that the ?excuse? for those infamous sandwiches was not because they were ?easier to transport to other areas of the campus?. The restriction kids ate outside the cafeteria on the curb. If they are eating what others eat now, it apparently wasn?t a problem with transporting a plate of food outside to the curb, and most definitely part of the abusive punishment regime. Just as eating separately, which IS stated in the parent manual.
Another point that hasn?t been made is that you claim that they ?were fed? and weren?t malnourished. You would not think that had you seen my son at the end of his first four months. FYI, a child can loose their ?privilege? to eat on any given day if their counselor decides they are ?out of agreement? while on restriction.
You must be confused, because I never ?claimed? that kids were taken to the hospital for being malnourished. I do believe they were fed just enough to keep them out of the hospital. And yes, had a doctor seen my son, he probably would have diagnosed him, malnourished. A gross oversight on my part- I should have taken him to the ER and had his condition documented and sent a copy to the judge.
Your mil made all those cheese sandwiches. She should have reported this to anyone who would listen, but then I can only imagine that she feels the same way you do, even though she?d never seen such a thing in the public school cafeteria. In fact, had she served public school kids the same ?restriction? diet for even a week, someone would?ve been coming down on her. Justify all you want, it?s not okay, under any circumstance. Prisoners are fed better.
I?m not going to argue that teens never lie. Everyone lies when they want to avoid consequences that don?t seem reasonable. I will tell you that lying is modeled for them on a daily basis. I was even asked to lie to my son. When I confronted the counselor, it was suggested that I not think of it as lying, but ?not telling the truth?. The difference, please? I am in contact with another parent who had the same experience and consequently ended up removing their child. I could recount numerous examples of double standards and lying on the program?s part. If you want a child to be honest, better be modeling honesty.
You apparently don?t understand the difference between ?licensed? and ?accredited?, and are grossly mistaken, and misleading the public, when you claim that they are licensed and monitored by the state.
The state licenses programs after an initial inspection. They issue a permit and the program is required to follow their regulations to ensure the bare minimum of safety and proper care. Violation of those regs can result in sanctions. At their discretion, the state can also shut a program down if they incur too many violations.
Rather than reiterate the insignificance of ?accreditation?, in terms of monitoring the ?therapeutic? methods, I?ll refer you to another thread. Briefly, an accreditation organization is only concerned with the academic aspect of the program. They do not monitor (nor does the 'Health Dept') how the kids are treated, the living conditions, do not have the authority to sanction mistreatment, etc. The worse that might happen- the program could loose their membership status. More on that issue:
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... &forum=9&0I can assure you that kids would not have been eating those infamous sandwiches had HLA been licensed and properly monitored by the state of Ga. Providing adequate nutrition to keep someone ?alive? is not acceptable, obviously, hence the change of policy. And, it was punishment. The other residents weren?t eating that diet.
Yes, a kid can frequently be on restriction for weeks at a time. My information is not second-hand, as yours is. I got a weekly call which included reports of when my son was or was not on restriction. Unfortunately, I had no idea what he endured while on restriction until I saw him for the fist time. That was not covered in the parent manual.
Directly from that manual:
Zaps- laps around the lake. Too many results in no weekend fun trips.
Other consequences- doing dishes, extra chores, calisthenics, or work assignments.
Bans- No contact with a particular person or thing (like basketball).
Restriction (Fall-In) - No free time, work assignments (on campus projects that involve physical labor) and writing assignments. Contact with other students severely curtailed, and they eat separately. Fall-In may last one or more weeks.
Table- generally slightly less severe and less lengthy than Fall-In. Work assignments, eat separately from other students. May last several days.
Focus- Writing assignments, eat last at meals, contact with peers not nearly limited.
Then you move to Clean Air and Wilderness- which has already been outlined here.
WHERE?S THE PART ABOUT LIMITED CALORIES AND VARIETY? Do you feel HLA was ?in agreement? when they outlined these restrictions, but failed to tell parents about the ?restriction diet?? Someone, at some time, knew the ?truth? wouldn?t fly with parents, so...perhaps they didn?t ?lie?, they just conveniently ?didn?t tell the truth?. The first time a parent heard about the diet was at their four month visit, when they were warned that they might hear about it and assured that, while ?sparse? it was ?approved by the Health Dept?.
While HLAs policy is ?no restraint?, it does occur. I am well aware of the dangers in that area- bears, bobcats, coyotes, and rattlesnakes. I didn?t sleep well when my son was at Ridge Creek sleeping on the ground on a black trash bag, no flashlight, no food or water, and a poncho to cover his head. He?d already had a close encounter with a rattlesnake. Did I mention it was extremely cold and he was vomiting all night? And, there was no one to hear his calls for help or respond. Call me ?reactive? but what if he?d had appendicitis? We?d be having a very different discussion.
No specifics on Rudy and Jill? You have determined that they were ?flakes?, but nothing to substantiate it? I am not defending them- I?ve heard some awful things myself. It would just be useful to hear someone elaborate on what ?flake? implies. Two years seems like a long time to tolerate a ?flake?.
So, you don?t ?know? any kids who went on to Ivy League colleges? Just heard of them. And you have no idea how their lives are today. I agree, it is sad when children prefer a residential facility to being home. I can?t speak to HLA buying Xmas presents, but I can tell you that some kids, whose parents did send gifts, did not receive them.
You are not telling me ?what you KNOW?. You are telling me, in most cases, what you?ve been told. Much of what both of us say comes from someone who actually experienced it- resident or staff. The difference is that you totally discount the kids and put complete faith in the staff. I don?t, and I think it is unwise to do so. I beg to differ, the staff at HLA do lie, and ask parents to lie.
You said, ?First of all..if a school decides that a practice isnt worked like they thought..or its not getting results...they change it..its called improvement...and thats what all schools do..DUH...the kids werent guinea pigs..they benefited from any changes made I am sure...but nobody intentionally opened that school to make kids guinea pigs...and secondly..nobody intentially avoided regulatioins..they were trying to get organizations to accredit them so how is that avoidance??? another DUH and it IS a therapeutic facility...they have counseling and NA meetings and AA meetings and therapeutic programs and rewards and they do community service and do things for the poor in the area and the elderly.?
No argument that HLA is a therapeutic facility. They told the Office of Regulatory Services that they ?began as a boarding school, then became a therapeutic facility?. Is that the truth SHH? Can you substantiate it?
Perhaps they had other reasons for ?avoiding regulations?, I don?t know, but my guess is that they knew they couldn?t implement their program if they were required to abide by state regs. HLA did not ?make improvements? until the state required them to do so. Yes, the kids who went through the program were guinea pigs for methods that have not been proven effective and certainly some methods that have been proven to be harmful.
To the issue of the teens not having access to phones. Your argument is well taken, in terms of the potential of planning a run away. That does not make it okay. Even psych hospitals and jails provide access to a public phone and the facility is required to post numbers to which inmates can report abuse. The teens at HLA and other BM facilities do not have that right, nor are they allowed to report abuse (real or perceived) to their parent without being punished.
OTHER QUOTES from Parent Manual:
Students on the Incomplete List (academically) lose their eligibility for off-campus trips and weekend movies; if they are on a restriction, their restriction does not end until they have made up all incomplete work.
Indefinitely?
Incomplete List student can also loose the seasonal breaks- visits home.
?Agreements? is another word for ?policies; or ?rules?. Upon enrollment, students and parents agree to accept and abide by our policies?.
How many teens genuinely agree? To suggest otherwise, feels a lot like manipulation to me. How many parents are well enough inform about the policies to genuinely make that 'agreement'?
?Any behavior that violates school policy is termed ?out of agreement?.
Student may be asked to write a ?fall-out list?- list of information they have about any ?out-of-agreement? incident, whether or not they were actively involved. Fall out lists offer students an opportunity to be honest; if they choose to become hones, their own consequences may be decreased.
My child was punished for fall-outs provided by other ?lying, manipulating? students. When it was confirmed that he was innocent, he remained on restriction. They must have had difficulty determining which 'liar' was being honest.
Once your child is enrolled at HLA, your visits to campus must occur only at scheduled parent workshop/visit times. First visit does not occur until the peer group is formed ? 4 to 6 months. Only certain events [sports, clubs, activities] will be selected as being open for parents? attendance. And only after completion of Water Element. Parents who are approved to attend events may not bring any special treats or any other kind of items to their child. Parents are not to transport their child to or from the event; student may not be in parents? vehicles at any time. Parents may be allowed five minutes to talk with their family members after the event, but parents must sit with other spectators rather than with their child or the team during the event.
Didn?t you claim that parents were allowed to drop in and that there were parents on campus all the time?
Requests for additional visits will be handled on an individual basis. Ex: parents or grandparents experience serious illness and/or surgery, parent?s remarriage.
Why did it take an act of congress to get more than a 24 hour visit when my father died?
Regarding the ?seasonal breaks?- Seasonal visits may be restricted for therapeutic reasons, which would, in our clinical judgment, put a student or family at risk.
And, Due to the eligibility requirements for seasonal breaks, we normally have a substantial percentage of our students remaining on campus during these breaks.
All mail to and from students will be routed through their counselors. At any point in the program, mail may be opened, read, and checked for contraband, inappropriate materials, or content that undermines students? work.
Student calls are scheduled during the evening hour Mon-Fri. A very limited number of calls can be placed Sunday evenings around 5pm. No call are made on Saturday.
Why did they require me to receive my calls during normal business hours? Could it be that they knew this created a significant hardship that could result in less contact with my child? I had to leave work and go home to receive my weekly call. That is ?when? I actually received it.
Please be aware that students will not receive a birthday call or extra time on their phone call if they are on restriction. Phone calls students miss because of an event related to their academic or therapeutic work or because of an athletic event in which they are participating can be rescheduled.
Why weren?t mine?
Students will not have their phone calls rescheduled if they are off campus for an optional activity that is not related to their academic or therapeutic work.
The child must choose between a rare off-campus event or talking to their parents?
At no time during the program are students to speak with friends (even ?positive? friends).
GCA 15-11-2 (2)(a) states that a ?child? is any individual who is under the age of 17 years. Any HLA student who is age 17 will not be apprehended by law enforcement officials should they choose to leave HLA of their own accord, unless they commit a crime. For this reason, we strongly recommend that parents of students who are (or soon will be) 17 years old seek extended guardianship or custody of their child. Under the circumstances of the child?s behaviors which led to enrollment at HLA, courts will often be open to this extension for the child?s own safety. HLA is willing to provide testimony as to the need for extended guardianship.
HLA offers a clinically based ?insightful thinking program? that incorporates the best of other types [of programs], omits some methods that others use, and adds a number of unique features. HLA does not use restraints or locked rooms, relying instead on verbal redirection and on students? ability to maintain appropriate self-control. The professional staff-to-student ratio at HLA is less than 2:1.
Where is it mentioned that restraint will occur when they deem it necessary? Other places it is mentioned they are a non-restraint facility. Period. No exceptions are spelled out.
It is extremely important that you commit to the entire program before enrolling your child. Your complete support is vital to your child?s success here. It is not possible for lasting change to be effected in a few short months. Parents who have bought into this and withdrawn their children early have later told us they regret having done so. In addition, an early withdrawal is often viewed as a ?drop-out? by colleges or other programs to which you may want to have your child accepted later.
Do I detect manipulation?
At HLA, we take the future placement of our students very seriously. Post HLA placement has a significant impact on students? ability to apply what they learned at HLA and to continue their success. Therefore, we recommend the use of educational consultant, particularly those who are members of the Independent Educational Consultants? Association (IECA), in this placement process.
Not in the manual, but in a form letter:
Because future planning is an essential part of your child?s program, HLA will reimburse you up to $250 for your consultant?s after-care fee, contingent upon your child?s graduation.
From a form letter 2001:
Over the past few months we have heard from many parents the inconvenience that has arose from the policy of HLA not taking students to the dentist for routine dental work including cleanings. Coupled with the increased difficulty of coordinating medical trips so that they do not negatively impact the program in any way has help HLA evaluate its position on this issue. After considering all the options, we are please to announce that HLA has entered into an agreement with XXXXX to provide services exclusively to HLA student on campus. Not having to leave the campus for service will afford every student the maximum amount of time possible to continue the hard work in the program and still receive the best care possible.
How many other inappropriate policies are/were there? I?m sure the state would have an opinion about that. This is not ?growing pains?. This is a blatant disregard for the needs of the children.
If a child voluntarily withdraws after thirty days from admission, all pre-paid tuition will be refunded except for the tuition for the month the student is withdrawn and the 20th, 21st, and final month?s tuition. Before thirty days, all tuition is refunded except the pro-rated tuition for the days in attendance plus a $1,500 admission charge.
Why did HLA tell the judge that my ex would loose all pre-paid tuition if my child came home for Christmas- just over thirty days after enrollment? Why have other parents had to hire attorneys to get their refunds? Why was one child classified as being withdrawn when HLA requested that the parent remove the child? Dismissal or Forced withdrawal?
FYI, tuition received after the 1st incurs a $100.00 late fee. After the 7th, $375.00.
Should the student?s parents not be able to agree on the rights of one or both parents with regards to communication from the school, access to academic and counseling reports, and communications with, access to, and visitation with the student, then the school shall retain attorneys to determine these relative rights, and all costs and attorney fees incurred by the school will be billed to the parent responsible for the tuition and fees under the terms of this agreement and paid immediately upon receipt.
Interesting, I never received my child?s records after repeated requests. They certainly didn?t take this action to determine my rights.
And this one takes the cake: ?Receiving mixed messages from the authority figures in their lives is very confusing to teenagers and often allows them to justify their own negative behaviors.?