Academy at Swift River

[PFRR]

I can only speak to their licensing and I do not feel they are appropriatly licensed.  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts says if they take a certian percentage of special needs children they must license, they continuasly deny taking this population with the state but not with parents.  I would love to catch them so they have to license to at least meet minimal standards.  Listen folks their is an importance to licensing and appropriate licensing.  In MA you go to http://www.qualitychildcare.org and if it is not listed there it is not licensed which means no accountability or oversight.  Also PFRR has a national list serve, and one in every state, before you place a child ask other parents they are your best sources of information.
Andrea
http://www.pfrr.org

[Antigen]

What do you know about Elan? As far as I know, they're licensed. But people keep coming around describing a typical Synanon style thought reform Program. And you have a link to them as an approved school on your site.

I just don't have a lot of faith in licensing as a solution to the problem. Consumer education seems to be the only really effective remedy.

A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another; shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement
http://laissezfairebooks.com/product.cfm?op=view&pid=FF7485&aid=10247' target='_new'>Thomas Jefferson  

[Anonymous]

Consumer education certainly seems to be doing more good than most anything else at this point.

Although, on the Casa business, kudos to Mexico.

Hey, given the reputation of Mexican jails, just how bad do conditions someplace have to be for *Mexico* to find them abusive?  I'm figuring what they found was probably pretty bad.

Timoclea

[PFRR]

That is why I started Parents for Residential Reform, PFRR is a great resource and our networking through our parent list serves helps a lot because Parents as Consumers are your best resource in getting to the truth about a program you are looking at for your child.
http://www.pfrr.org
Andrea :wave:

[Antigen]

On 2004-09-18 19:03:00, PFRR wrote:

Parents as Consumers are your best resource in getting to the truth about a program you are looking at for your child.

http://www.pfrr.org

Andrea :wave: "

Oh no! You're making a big, big mistake here! Call my mom up and ask her about The Seed and Straight, Inc. She'll tell you they were the best thing since sliced bread. Never mind that the six of us kids rarely speak to her and won't leave our children alone with her.

Or look over the CEDU forum on this site. We've had a pro-program parent posting there for awhile, as well as a few really articulate and thoughtful ex Program students. I think you may be hearing a bit about Abundant Life Academy, too if you hang around. Just look at how wonderful that program was, according to one of the mothers who went to work for them as a "family consultant".

The parents, being the ones who sign the checks, are always the most brainwashed. The kids go along to get along. The parents are the true believers. You can't count on their word alone to ensure that a place is not highly abusive.

If you're going to endorse any program or school, you should clearly state what that means; exactly how you go about making the determination that the place is worth endorsing. If it's simply that the place is licensed, you're wasting your time (unless, of course, you're getting kick backs of some kind, which would make you another kind of animal altogether). The state licensing agency does that already at tax payor expense.

I don't know anyting about the other programs you endorse. But, based on what I've heard about Elan, I wouldn't trust one of them. In fact, I would hope that some of them have enough integrity to balk at being listed along with a place like that.
 

Either cocaine and marijuana are terribly dangerous substances, and breaking the law by consuming them is a major offense that should be severely punished, or these are minor, personal matters that do not really count in the big picture of a man's life. If the latter is the case, then the rationale for a bloody, costly and futile war against drugs simply disappears.
--Jorge G. Castaneda, Newsweek International, September 6, 1999

[Antigen]

Let me put it bluntly, Andrea. Are you just another edcon?

There are not enough jails, not enough policemen, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people.
-- HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, speech (1965)

[Anonymous]

Andrea - I think you should probably take your pfrr.org and go somewhere else.  I don't think you will get much support here.  oh, and by the way - fuckyoubitch.

[Anonymous]

I apologize I have not been here for a while, no I am not an ED Consultant, no I do not endorse any programs, yes I promote least restrictive enviornment which means at home, no I do not endorse or approve of transporters, and I don't get flown out to programs, given lavish meals, and a 2 hour PR tour to promote programs.  I am a parents of a now adult child who was in a residential school residential hell for that matter, which has since closed due to MY advocacy, I felt that as much as I had known about special ed I didn't know a thing about this whole new world, and felt that Parents although I can't make the choices for them should have all information available to them and the young people as well.  As far as the F U phrase that was uncalled for I changed a lot here in MA much more than sitting an posting on a board and complaining I did something about it.
Good luck!
`a

[Anonymous]

On 2004-09-18 18:00:00, Antigen wrote:

"What do you know about Elan? As far as I know, they're licensed. But people keep coming around describing a typical Synanon style thought reform Program. And you have a link to them as an approved school on your site.



I just don't have a lot of faith in licensing as a solution to the problem. Consumer education seems to be the only really effective remedy.

A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another; shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement
http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa let me know if you have problems.
Andrea
pfrr