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The Troubled Teen Industry / Looking for Ex-Staff Testimony
« on: May 21, 2007, 09:16:58 PM »
1. What program(s) did you work for?
Three Springs, Morningstar Academy
2. What type of program was it?
Girls Therapeutic outdoor program, Mentally handicapped childrens therapeutic home.
3. How long did you work for each respective program?
3 months and 3 weeks... and approximately 1 month 2 weeks
4. How much were you payed?
21,000 a year -- there was a raise but i forget that figure it was something like 23,700 a year....2,700 raise.
Morningstar-- 10.00 an hour
****Job Description****
Three springs - Counselor I
Morningstar - Paraprofessional (school)
5. Did you ever witness physical abuse?
if restraints were considered physical abuse, then yes. If "vocational" time (forced yard work) was considered physical abuse then yes
6. Did you ever physically abuse a student?
IF either of those were true, yes
7. Did you ever witness psychological abuse?
at times there were things that could be considered psych abuse
8. Did you ever psychologically abuse a student?
manipulating the student into doing what was required of them by the program- - yes.
9. Were there ever reports of sexual abuse at the facility?
Three Springs - Some.. but not many
Morningstar - yes--- staff on student, and student on student.
10. Did any of the staff use drugs or alcohol while on duty?
Not to my knowledge
11. Were kids ever left unattended that should not have been?
Not to my knowledge, though both facilities had their moments.
12. Were meals limited?
Diets were monitored by the state, but the meals were sub par (alot of hamburger helper and tuna helper, alot of chef boyardee, alot of crappy pre-made stuff, snacks were junk food because of the calories, not the nutritional content.)
13. Did you help implement a level system or peer review system?
Yes, there was one in place when i got there... The students earned points to advance in levels.
14. Was isolation used as punishment?
Three Springs- it wasnt called isolation, it was group ignore. The student would still stick with the group but not allowed interaction. In some cases, the student would be required to cook own meals outside of the group.
Morningstar- there was an isolation room that we could lock from the outside. we mostly used this room for extensive restraints... the room was the size of a large walk in closet. It had a light to be controlled from the outside and a deadbolt on the door. When i got there, we were only supposed to use the room in extreme cases. Children would urinate on the floors to get out of the isolation room. some children would smear poop everywhere. Bathrooms were kept locked and had to be opened with a key.
15. Was contact for the student with society limited? In what ways?
Yes for both facilities. Rarely or no contact allowed.
16. Did the kids seem happy or sad? What was the day to day mood like?
Three Springs: kids hated it.
Morningstar: kids didnt know any better, they were mentally retarded.
17. Do you feel your place of employment was the best place for the students in your care?
In some cases yes, in others no.
18. Do you keep in contact with students still?
1 student from 3 springs. yes. and i;ve had contact with a couple others as well.
19. How common was physical assaults and fighting?
Three springs - every day
Morningstar - every day
20. Did you ever have to restrain a student, if so, how many times?
Three Springs - like 4-5 times in 3 months (they discouraged restraints) most of my incident reports were from physical altercations.
Morningstar - Every day 3-5 times a day with different students.
21. Were you properly trained to do restraints? Were they ever excessive?
Yes i was properly trained by their system. and yes i believe some restraints were excessive...
22. Do you regret working for a program?
EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Three Springs, Morningstar Academy
2. What type of program was it?
Girls Therapeutic outdoor program, Mentally handicapped childrens therapeutic home.
3. How long did you work for each respective program?
3 months and 3 weeks... and approximately 1 month 2 weeks
4. How much were you payed?
21,000 a year -- there was a raise but i forget that figure it was something like 23,700 a year....2,700 raise.
Morningstar-- 10.00 an hour
****Job Description****
Three springs - Counselor I
Morningstar - Paraprofessional (school)
5. Did you ever witness physical abuse?
if restraints were considered physical abuse, then yes. If "vocational" time (forced yard work) was considered physical abuse then yes
6. Did you ever physically abuse a student?
IF either of those were true, yes
7. Did you ever witness psychological abuse?
at times there were things that could be considered psych abuse
8. Did you ever psychologically abuse a student?
manipulating the student into doing what was required of them by the program- - yes.
9. Were there ever reports of sexual abuse at the facility?
Three Springs - Some.. but not many
Morningstar - yes--- staff on student, and student on student.
10. Did any of the staff use drugs or alcohol while on duty?
Not to my knowledge
11. Were kids ever left unattended that should not have been?
Not to my knowledge, though both facilities had their moments.
12. Were meals limited?
Diets were monitored by the state, but the meals were sub par (alot of hamburger helper and tuna helper, alot of chef boyardee, alot of crappy pre-made stuff, snacks were junk food because of the calories, not the nutritional content.)
13. Did you help implement a level system or peer review system?
Yes, there was one in place when i got there... The students earned points to advance in levels.
14. Was isolation used as punishment?
Three Springs- it wasnt called isolation, it was group ignore. The student would still stick with the group but not allowed interaction. In some cases, the student would be required to cook own meals outside of the group.
Morningstar- there was an isolation room that we could lock from the outside. we mostly used this room for extensive restraints... the room was the size of a large walk in closet. It had a light to be controlled from the outside and a deadbolt on the door. When i got there, we were only supposed to use the room in extreme cases. Children would urinate on the floors to get out of the isolation room. some children would smear poop everywhere. Bathrooms were kept locked and had to be opened with a key.
15. Was contact for the student with society limited? In what ways?
Yes for both facilities. Rarely or no contact allowed.
16. Did the kids seem happy or sad? What was the day to day mood like?
Three Springs: kids hated it.
Morningstar: kids didnt know any better, they were mentally retarded.
17. Do you feel your place of employment was the best place for the students in your care?
In some cases yes, in others no.
18. Do you keep in contact with students still?
1 student from 3 springs. yes. and i;ve had contact with a couple others as well.
19. How common was physical assaults and fighting?
Three springs - every day
Morningstar - every day
20. Did you ever have to restrain a student, if so, how many times?
Three Springs - like 4-5 times in 3 months (they discouraged restraints) most of my incident reports were from physical altercations.
Morningstar - Every day 3-5 times a day with different students.
21. Were you properly trained to do restraints? Were they ever excessive?
Yes i was properly trained by their system. and yes i believe some restraints were excessive...
22. Do you regret working for a program?
EVERY SINGLE DAY!
there is no way he was left unattended for "a few minutes" something like that takes time and the child would be squirming and other children would have noticed something... that was malicious intent to kill.