Where Do Whitmore Academy Placements Come From?

[Joyce Harris]

When we began the enrollment process of our daughter at Whitmore Academy, the Sudweeks had the students at Lake Powell.

Sue Scheff of P.U.R.E. recommended Whitmore Academy as we have explained in our Statement to ISAC.

Tim Lowe, the therapist at Whitmore was the "acting" Admissions Director. He sent us the brochures, contract, and various paperwork that we needed to enroll our daughter at Whitmore.
Tim Lowe was the person who met us at Whitmore to accept our daughter at Whitmore the day we dropped her off. We signed our contract, and additional paperwork with him, and he accepted our initial payment of the first and last month, and a $2,000 fee. We were required to go to a local bank to have some paperwork notarized for him.

Tim Lowe told us on this occassion, and in 3 later telephone conversations that ALL of the placements at Whitmore Academy were made by Sue Scheff of P.U.R.E.

We assume that this information from Tim Lowe is true.  We can not think of any reason that he would lie to us, as parents.

We can not think of any reason that this would be information that would be harmful for us as parents to know, since Ms. Scheff referred us to Whitmore Academy, also.

If anyone is interested in knowing what percentage of students at Whitmore Academy, either now, or in the past are placed by P.U.R.E. we would think this information would be readily available; and can not think of any reason that both Whitmore Academy and P.U.R.E would not want to provide that information to the public.

What could be wrong with P.U.R.E.'s placement of students at Whitmore?

Besides the complaints voiced in our Statement about P.U.R.E, my other  concern with P.U.R.E has been its continued placement of children at Whitmore Academy while the owners are under investigation for abuse.  That is my own opinion, but I would think that a professional organization would not place any children at a school until the investigation is complete, and that the placement organization is 100% sure that the owners have done no wrong.

[Anonymous]

Everybody I've asked says "Sue Scheff."

[Anonymous]

Has anyone been referred to Whitmore Academy by any other referral service in the Teen Help Industry other than P.U.R.E owned by Sue Scheff?

[Anonymous]

Hear some of those students are on probation at the Whitmore. Maybe P.U.R.E now has some connection with the Court systems to save children too?

[Antigen]

That's an interesting issue. A few people who did time at Straight, believing they were court ordered later found out that had been a lie. Sometimes family courts will sign off on alternative plans made by parents or others to avoid juvenile detention. Could be either of those scenareos.

Or it could well be that someone's convinced a juvie judge or two that Whitmore is a really fine program. It's not like criminal court where things like evidence are important. In family court, they just listen to both sides (maybe) and then slam the gavel down.

G:   "If we do happen to step on a mine, Sir, what do we do?"
EB:  "Normal procedure, Lieutenant, is to jump 200 feet in the air and scatter oneself over a wide area."
-- Somewhere in No Man's Land, BA4

[Anonymous]

I believe the people lied to here are the parents who believe the part of their contract that read there would be no students accepted with a history of violence.  Now, we understand that some of these students at Whitmore had/have a rather serious history with law enforcement. Some of these kids are not just "trouble youth," some are actually of the criminal type. That is fine, and they do need help. But that is mixing a lot of different type kids together, and that spells trouble when there is a total lack of adult supervision.

[Joyce Harris]

Remember, some of us had very young children at Whitmore. Our daughter was only age 12.

And many of us did not have children who were having any type of LEGAL PROBLEMS AT ALL!
You have to remember that some of us were SOLD ON WHITMORE by Sue Scheff, and sent our child to Whimore under entirely different impressions than that of "helping a kid straighten out his rotten, illegal, druggie ways."

WE sent our daughter to this "private boarding school" because we were TOLD she would get a quality education along with therapy  with 14 OTHER ADOPTED KIDS JUST LIKE HER, because she had adoption issues from being in an orphanage for 7 years, and still had them after 6 years in our home. ALL LIES. There were not 14 adopted kids there...and the "education" and "therapy" was a JOKE.
And we most certainly did not bargain for the abuse issues-NOT AT ALL!
So it is upsetting to know we placed this little girls among a totally different population than was represented to us by Scheff and the Sudweeks.
Not that we are criticizing any of the kids at Whitmore--it was the wrong setting for a 12 year old girl who had none of those problems.

[Gmom]

We were also told their were no kids with violent histories, no kids that had been in trouble with the law.  Our granddaughter had some family issues that resulted in her making some poor that we needed help in resolving.  The Sudweeks completely misrepresented what their facility offered.  

The physical and emotional abuse by students with histories of violence and the law is something Cheryl uses to control and abuse other kids in the program.  That, in itself, is criminal.  And it most certainly is "morally" wrong.  Is this what "a Christian" atmosphere is?