Cross Creek Manor - Report of abuse

[cherish wisdom]

This was found on a site listing reportedly abusive facilities. The site can be found at
http://www.heal-online.org

Cross Creek Programs located in Utah is another World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools program.  Representative George Miller of California demanded in investigation into all World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools after receiving hundreds of complaints from his constituents about the torture and abuse suffered by them and/or their children.  There is an online article detailing the allegations of abuse at http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/2 ... -4985r.htm.  As of January 9th, 2004, California Representative George Miller demanded, and was denied by John Ashcroft, an investigation into WWASPS.  According to Representative Miller of California, ?There is a laundry list of abuse of children at WWASPS schools: deprivation of food, deprivation of contact with their peers, physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, and parents are paying big money for services not rendered," Miller added in a Nov. 6 news release.?  For more statements regarding Cross Creek programs, read below or click here.

 

Here is one parent?s review after rescuing their son from Cross Creek as could be found at http://www.teenprogram.info/schools/view/1177 as of February 13, 2004:

 

?I recently picked my son up from this program after they wanted to send him to one of their affiliate programs out of the country. The tactics they use are dangerous, my son attempted suicide while there and no one even bother to let his parents know. The official diagnosis from this school was that my kid was a "spoiled brat". He is actually Bipolar and we were seeking a therapeutic school that would help him deal with his problems in a positive manner. I was shocked to learn that the parent reference list is made up of parents who will say anything to get a month of free tuition. Follow the money trail, they also give misleading information about your child's progress so that they will stay longer...more tuition $ for them I guess. My son is now in an amazing school, has not had a single incident of bad behavior, I speak to him weekly and things are looking up...no thanks to Cross Creek. If you have or are considering this school LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP!!! If your child is already there insist on speaking to your child. I have already reported them to Utah child services. Oh by the way my husband and I are health care professionals...we hope anyone reading this will learn from our mistake.?

All who doubted or denied would be lost. To live a moral and honest life -- to keep your contracts, to take care of wife and child -- to make a happy home -- to be a good citizen, a patriot, a just and thoughtful man, was simply a respectable way of going to hell.
--

[cherish wisdom]

Cross Creek is located in the home town of Robert Lichfield - founder and trustee of WWASP.  It's in La Verkin Utah - a small town outside of Saint George - about 2 1/2 hours NorthEast of Las Vegas.  

Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world.
--Francois Marie Arouet "Voltaire", French author and playwright

[Perrigaud]

I never saw that happening when I was there. Hmm. Never happened to me either.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-04-20 06:49:00, Perrigaud wrote:

"I never saw that happening when I was there. Hmm. Never happened to me either. "

That doesn't mean it didn't happen. Or that it isn't still happenning at Cross Creek and in other gulags.

[cherish wisdom]

Most abuse takes place behind the closed doors of the observation rooms where children are isolated from the others.  There have been numerous reports of similar occurances at Cross Creek and other programs.  They do keep children cut-off from the outside world and this practice prevents them from being accountable to the public and parents.  To prevent a child from having parental contact is outrageous and dangerous.  There is a  professional book entitled "Emotional Care of Hospitalized Children."  Basically close involvement of the parent is essential for the emotional well-being of hospitalized children.  To prevent contact for several months is not therapeutic and completely exposes the child to abuse of every kind.  This needs to be exposed and prevented.  

When we talk to god, it's prayer. When god talks to us, it's schizophrenia.
--Lily Tomlin, American actress

[Antigen]

On 2005-04-20 06:49:00, Perrigaud wrote:

"I never saw that happening when I was there. Hmm. Never happened to me either. "

What did you never see happening? A suicide attempt? Cause Amanda said the other day she knew of a girl who tried to kill herself by drinking cleaning stuff or some such. And she also described her mother having to fight and argue w/ staff for a couple of weeks before being allowed to talk to her on the phone. And you know very well that they send uncooperative kids off to other, tougher programs.

So was there something else about CCM in that post that you're saying you don't believe?

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
--Albert Einstein

[Anonymous]

If Cross Creek is so great, great enough to merit the plane ticket out there or escort service fee *and* thousands of dollars a month for the kid to be there;

If the kid is really so fucked up and the parents aren't really overreacting;

If Cross Creek is really the appropriate facility for whatever the kid's problems are;

Then why wouldn't WWASPS and Cross Creek *support*---no, why wouldn't they be out in front *pushing* for----every state to have a list of independent licensed psychiatrists and independent licensed social workers and for each kid to be held under their state's emergency evaluation period in an independent hospital and the kid and his/her whole history evaluated both by said psychiatrist and social worker on an emergency admission basis?

If they're completely on the up and up and above board and honest and ethical and just want to provide kids with the best help possible, why are they so afraid of a pair of independent professionals evaluating the kid *before* the kid goes to make sure that placement in a facility is necessary and that the particular facility's treatment model (or if they use more than one, the treatment model that will be applied to *that* kid) is appropriate to the kid's problems?

If they're so great, why are they so afraid of independent professionals checking out whether their decision to admit the kid was a reasonable decision?

I mean, the reason *can't* be financial--a one-time evaluation by an independent psychiatrist and a social worker couldn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars, next to hundreds up front and thousands a month spent on placing the kid.  Wouldn't it be financially wise to make sure the placement is necessary *and* the right kind of placement for the kid's particular problems?

One of my grade school English teachers had a bunch of wise sayings on her wall.

One of those sayings was: If someone demands blind obedience, you'd be a fool not to peek.

The programs, WWASPS and Cross Creek included, go to an awful lot of effort to keep the laws lax to make sure parents go in *without* having to get a professional independent evaluation by someone with absolutely no stake in the outcome of that evaluation.

They go to an awful lot of effort to make sure that they have a lot of parent customers every month who are coming into the process blind.

Why do *you* think they do that?

Timoclea

[Anonymous]

Wouldn't it be great if before placement of a child, in state or interstate or international, the state required the facility to provide the distance from the place where the children sleep to the nearest Western Union (which can neither be a franchise run by the facility or its owners, managers, nor employees, nor their families, nor on grounds owned or leased by same), then the state calculated the cost for bus or train and/or taxi fares (cheapest reasonable route) from that Western Union location to the kid's home state's capital (plus a one-week bus pass), then required the parents to escrow that amount with the state before placement.  And required the parents to sign agreement accepting financial responsibility for any additional amount the state needed to spend to get the kid back to the greyhound station in the state capital.  And let the parents know that they could receive a refund upon presenting the kid in person at whatever specified office in the state capital and signing certifying that the kid is 18 OR that the kid has been completely discharged from the facility (at which point the kid, if 18 or older, is free to go from the office and gets papers informing him/her of his/her options).

Then if the state told the kid before they got sent that upon leaving the facility they could get to any telephone and call collect 1-area code-GET-HOME, collect, and the state would get them to the greyhound station in their home state capital and get them a one week bus pass for the state capital's public transit system.  And then either refund the excess to the parents or bill them for the difference.

Also tell the kids that they had until their 25th birthday to report anything they deemed abusive and that the state would review the complaint and if they felt it had merit would pursue it for the kid/new adult *if* the statute of limitations had not run (set state statute of lims to 7 years from 18th birthday), and that if they determined the complaint had merit they would no longer allow interstate placements to that facility or any facility that the state AG's office deemed to be substantially the same facility.

Hrms.  Also make them escrow a $250 exit cash amount for the kid, to be given to the grown kid with the week's buss pass, refundable if and only if the kid is presented earlier than six months after his/her 17th birthday--so that on the 18th birthday or after the kid *still* gets one paid transit to the state capital from wherever he or she is on or after his/her 18th birthday provided he/she is within 6 months after the 18th b'day or release from a facility, whichever is later.  Or before his/her 18th birthday if he/she is kicked out of his/her parent or guardian's home.

And you tell the kid this before they can put him/her in a facility.  So if the kid gets kicked out or takes the exit plan that he/she knows for a fact he/she will be able to get to his/her home state with public transit and at least some chance of getting a job.  Also let the kid know that they can use the GET HOME number for information on homeless shelters or social services they may be eligible for---including foster care if they've been kicked out underage, or even if they've run away as the delinquency of running away qualifies them for placement in foster care.

Basically, I would love it if my state defined and enforced a *reasonable* plan for exiting from minor status to adult status, at the parent's expense.

That's the societal norm, and I think the law should ensure that parents can no longer get away with ducking it.

Timoclea

[cherish wisdom]

Before a child is placed in a residential program or boot camp they should most definitely have a complete psychological evaluation to determine if the intervention is correct.  No competent psychiatrist would place a child who is depressed in a tough love program or boot camp. A child who is ADDICTED to drugs should be placed in drug rehab program where they are skilled with dealing with the detox associated with each drug and or alcohol.

A complete psych eval isn't cheap - but neither are these programs.  A complete psych eval costs about $2,000 to $3,000.  It takes a lot of time. The child is evaluated and the parents are questioned thouroughly.  Other therapists and counselors are also questioned.  All of this information is then evaluated and the psychologist or psychiatrist then determines what course of action would be appropriate - counseling, drug rehab, AA, NA, medications and so forth.  

Too many people rush in - or read about these program in a magazine.  These programs should not be allowed to accept children who have not had a complete physical and psychological evaluation first and a recomendation from both a medical doctor and a psychiatrist that the program could benefit the child.  

Alot of pain and suffering and DEATH could have been prevented if this had been done in every case.  

for nothing can keep it right but their own vigilant and distrustful superintendence.

--Thomas Jefferson

[Deborah]

Ironically, if the ICPC was followed and enforced, no kid crossing state lines would be placed without an eval.
Even more disturbing is the program providing a dx based on a brief interview. In my case, they heard dad's complaints, but weren't even interested in taking a history from me. I'm sure he alerted them to the fact that I would be opposed to the placement.

[Perrigaud]

Antigen,
  Not saying abuse didn't happen. I am saying I didn't see it or experience it. My parents had excellent communication. My rep and therapist were excellent at communicating with them and calling them back. This is my personal experience. Bare in mind Amanda didn't have the same therapist and rep.

[Anonymous]

Another report of abuse at CCM:

http://www.heal-online.org/crosscreek.htm

[Anonymous]

"Too many people rush in - or read about these program in a magazine. These programs should not be allowed to accept children who have not had a complete physical and psychological evaluation first and a recomendation from both a medical doctor and a psychiatrist that the program could benefit the child.

Alot of pain and suffering and DEATH could have been prevented if this had been done in every case. "

This is so true - children who are in poor physical condition, overweight, underweight - should not be placed in boot camps or wilderness programs where they may be under physcial strain.

A child needs a physical and a physcian's statment to play football - why not a strenuous boot camp?  The physician and psychiatrist who conducts the evaluations should have absolutely no connection to the program.  If they are paid by the program - then that is a connection.

[Deborah]

That would be a step perhaps and could have a positive impact.

In the case of Ian August, he was given a physical and had approval from an MD, AND was refered by an Ed Con. As it happened, Skyline Journey didn't divulge the extremely rigorous nature of the program. Ian was also on several psychotropic drugs which caused him to overheat, without exercion. I don't think doctors understand the true nature of these places and how they operate- forced marches, sometimes going without water for hours until they reach the next drop point, etc. I imagine they invision a reasonable program where the teen is encourage to take breaks and drink water or electrolite replacement every half hour. They probably don't know that they sleep outside in the elements either- rain, snow, sleet, hail, scorching heat. Extremely stressful conditions. The average person would spend weeks in preparation before embarking on a hiking expedition as rigorous as this. My neighbor was a hiker and we always knew when he was planning a trip- he'd be walking daily with a loaded down backback.

My son knew he was going to be sent to wilderness from his TBS, so he refused the physical. They sent him anyway and told him 'he'd have to deal with the consequences of his decision".

[Antigen]

On 2005-04-21 02:25:00, Perrigaud wrote:

Not saying abuse didn't happen. I am saying I didn't see it or experience it.

So you never saw a takedown or extended ISO?

Preacher man don't tell me heaven is under the earth; you don't know what life is worth;.......If you know what life is worth, you will look for your's on earth.

--Bob Marley