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Messages - Hedge

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1
Found this from 2008:

Focused Monitoring Report
State Supported/Operated Programs

(Retrieved from http://http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=three%20springs%20new%20beginnings&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDcQFjAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.alsde.edu%2Fdocuments%2F65%2FThree%2520Springs%2520New%2520Beginnings.pdf&ei=rKeMT7T4H8bq0QGO243yCQ&usg=AFQjCNEnDznCmDjBkqMZaqkhnS4AQ3nuqA)

The report appears to be focused on whether kids' educational needs are being met at Three Springs New Beginnings. I am completely unsurprised that the answer is no.

Of note from the report:  "Parents are involved in such activities as Family Support Day."

This leads me to believe that the facility staged some sort of visitation day during the period of the monitoring. (April 28-May 2, 2008)


"The staff maintains certification in the Satori Alternatives to Managing Aggression methods of managing behavior." Che, I remember that you mentioned this SAMA restraint method.


Here is a description of the training: http://http://www.satorilearning.com/index.php/SAMA_Description.html

History of SAMA: http://http://www.satorilearning.com/index.php/Our_History.html


Quote
This program has emerged through a number of transformations. The original program was designed and piloted at Rusk State Hospital in 1980 and was called "Foundations of Verbal and Physical Intervention," or FVPI. Rusk was the ideal site for developing the program because it served literally every client population in Texas, including children and adolescent, geriatric, people with acute and chronic mental illness, chemical dependency, mental retardation, and the criminally insane.

To see whether the program was achieving our goals of safety for our clients and staff members, I checked data on the number and severity of injuries to staff and those we served as well as the number of worker compensation claims filed related to aggressive behavior. The data showed that injury rates went down as more people were trained to use the program. Because of its positive results, on September 29, 1981, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation adopted the program, and it became required training for all service staff as "Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior," or PMAB®.

This trend of fewer and less severe injuries from aggression continued, and in 1985 the Attorney General of Texas presented a special citation to me acknowledging the program's benefit to the citizens of Texas. That citation reads in part:

Mr. Larry Hampton of Rusk State Hospital has earned the Attorney General's Meritorious Safety Award by having met all necessary requirements.

Mr. Hampton was the principal author and training director of the Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior (PMAB®) Program, which was implemented within the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) system in 1980.

The program's primary intent was to minimize both client and employee injuries as well as reduce Worker's Compensation claims. During the last five years, this goal has been realized by achieving significant reductions for client and employee injury rates as well as Worker's Compensation claims.

From 1981 to 1985, while serving as Director of Special Programs at Rusk, I certified all Instructor Trainers for the TXMHMR. I had the responsibility of assuring the competency of these people, who in turn certified instructors at their state hospitals and state schools, but I had no authority to provide oversight or to remove those who did not present the program according to its principles and practices.

In 1985, I assumed the position of Supervisor of Training for the department at Central Office in Austin. Part of my job was to continue certifying Master Trainers formerly called Instructor Trainers. My supervisor and mentor was a person I had taught to be a Master Trainer in the second course I ever taught, and she gave me the assignment to redesign the program and replace the crude original videotapes with up-to-date ones and support them with a comprehensive Instructors Guide. The project was completed and then revised in 1991 as the 2nd edition of PMAB®, which became a registered name that year.

That was also the year I left state employment after 17 years to head Satori Learning Designs, Inc. I had envisioned designing new programs and leaving PMAB® behind. The state held the copyright to the materials I had developed and there was no reason for my further involvement. Then I started getting calls from people who had purchased the program and found that they could not get instruction from the state in how to implement it. Somewhat reluctantly I agreed to instruct people from private and public agencies to use the materials properly and, as important, to understand the meaning of the principles that were its bedrock.

In 1999, the state revised the materials without my official input and took a heavier institutional focus. They also made the materials more instructor intensive and continued to teach elements that I considered outdated. The new materials were understandably focused on the needs of the department and not the needs for risk management of aggressive behavior of the community at large.

Satori Alternatives to Managing Aggression is the response to the needs left unmet. Facilitators and the groups using SAMA are the beneficiaries of the years of development and refinement of what began in 1980 and has been validated by the state of Texas and by facilities throughout the United States and overseas.

When I designed the original PMAB® program it was something I couldn't not do. I saw well-intentioned staff members who were miserable. They were afraid of the people they were supposed to serve. They did not have the tools necessary to keep themselves or their charges safe from the effects of aggression. Now, after all these years, I find I can't not provide the SAMA program to a broader audience, for the same reasons. My hope is that the program's benefits of peace and safety will reach even farther than its predecessor.

2
Here is the PDF from PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appelle v. KIMEON TYRONE BOLDEN, Defendant-Appellant, STATE OF MICHIGAN, COURT OF APPEAL No. 298770, Kalamazoo Circuit Court, LC No. 2009-000702-F

http://http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/michigan/court-of-appeals-unpublished/298770.pdf?ts=1323898416

3
From http://http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/06/lakeside_academy_counselor_kim.html

Quote
Lakeside Academy counselor Kimeon Bolden gets 9-30 years for sex assault on teen

Published: Tuesday, June 01, 2010, 9:06 PM     Updated: Wednesday, June 02, 2010, 7:18 AM

 By Lynn Turner | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

KALAMAZOO — A former counselor convicted of sexually assaulting a resident at a Kalamazoo facility for troubled teens was sentenced Monday to nine to 30 years in prison.

Kimeon Tyrone Bolden, 28, faced up to life in prison after a Kalamazoo County Circuit Court jury convicted him in April of five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. At his sentencing Monday, Bolden apologized to his victim, who was 14 at the time of the March 2009 assaults.

“I was the adult and I knew better,” Bolden said before being sentenced by Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Gary C. Giguere Jr.

In tears, Bolden also turned to a group of friends and family sitting in the courtroom and said, “I love you and thank you for your support.”

Giguere noted before sentencing that Bolden had an exemplary record and letters written in his support that read like a “who’s who” of clergy in Southwest Michigan. “If you were going for a job with these kinds of recommendations, you’d be a shoo-in,” the judge told Bolden.

But there was another side of Bolden that presented itself the night of the assaults, Giguere said. “The acts for which you stand convicted are depraved,” he said.

Bolden told an investigator he was groggy from working an overnight shift as a youth counselor at Lakeside Academy, 3921 Oakland Drive, and drifted to sleep but awoke to find the teen committing a sex act on him, according to testimony at the trial.

The victim, now 16, testified that he was initially afraid to tell anyone what happened for fear he would be blamed. There were five sex acts committed within a 24-hour period, he said.
DNA matching Bolden’s was found on the teen’s clothing, according to trial testimony.

A lawsuit filed by the victim’s mother on his behalf is ongoing in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court. It names Bolden, Lakeside and Sequel Youth & Family Services, which provided staffing for Lakeside. A case evaluation is scheduled for August.


4
Some copying and pasting here:

from http://http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/04/trial_underway_for_lakeside_ac.html

Quote
Trial under way for Lakeside Academy counselor Kimeon Bolden accused of sex assault on teen

Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 8:28 AM     Updated: Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 9:49 AM

 By Lynn Turner | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

KALAMAZOO – A teen who says he was sexually assaulted while he a resident at a Kalamazoo facility for troubled youths testified Tuesday that he didn’t call out for help because he feared repercussions.

“I was afraid … he would try to blame it on me, that I was doing something wrong,” said the teen, who was 14 at the time of the alleged assault on March 14, 2009.

Kimeon Tyrone Bolden, 28, of Kalamazoo, is standing trial in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court on five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for alleged encounters with the teen. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Bolden was a youth counselor at Lakeside Academy, 3921 Oakland Drive, where the teen was a resident.

During the opening day of testimony Tuesday, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety detective Christina Ellis testified that Bolden told her there was no inappropriate action between him and the teen.

“He said he wasn’t necessarily surprised because of the way (the teen) was … but at the same time he was surprised the allegation was made,” Ellis testified. “At one point he said maybe (the teen) had dreamed it.”

A Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office detective testified during Bolden’s preliminary examination in June that Bolden told him a month after the incident that he had sex with the boy. Bolden said he had fallen asleep at work and awoke to find the boy had unbuckled his pants and was performing a sex act with him, according to that testimony.

Ellis testified on Tuesday that Bolden said the only way his DNA would be found in connection with sexual contact with the teen was if something had happened when he was asleep. But Bolden said he was “100 percent sure” nothing had happened, Ellis said.

Testimony, expected to include discussion of DNA evidence, was to continue this morning.


5
Also, I haven't had time to highlight specific parts to take note of from this, but here is a PDF file from the end of 2011 from the State of Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice Bureau of Quality Assurance Program Report for Sequel Youth and Family Services' Kissimmee, FL Juvenile Correctional Facility.

It's on "New Beginnings Road." *sigh*

http://http://www.djj.state.fl.us/docs/quality-improvement---residential/kissimmeesop1112.pdf?sfvrsn=2


I've been at this too long today, and I need to go to bed, but I'm still haunted by this quote from the Sequel website, in reference to the Three Springs Madison program:

"In our safe environment, our students learn to verbalize needs, feelings, and goals without fear of abuse, and learn to function effectively in a cooperative society with other teens. "

Overcompensating much?

Source: http://http://www.sequelyouthservices.com/html/secure-madison.html

6
Sure seems that way.

Some more Google searching about the specific Three Springs facility where I was abused came up with:


Quote
Information on SEQUEL TSI OF ALABAMA, LLC OWENS

NPI Number:  1114295326

State Identifier(s)

Group Name

SEQUEL TSI OF ALABAMA, LLC OWENS
Doing business as SEQUEL OF OWENS CROSS ROADS

Credentials

 - Lic #: ()

Mailing Address

Confidential

Business Address

 318 HAMER RD
OWENS CROSS ROADS, AL 35763-9612

Phone (256) 725-7170

Name
KENNY ROBERTS - (VP OF AL OPERATIONS)
Primary Specialty
Residential Treatment Facilities / Substance Abuse Treatment, Children

Additional Specialties


Last Modified
12/02/2011


View the Data Dissemination Notice from the CMS regarding the information that is being displayed on this site.

This information is from http://npidb.org/organizations/resident ... 95326.aspx



This is Kenny Roberts's information from the Sequel, TSI website:

Quote
Kenny Roberts
Vice President of Alabama Operations
Mr. Roberts, MA, Vice President of Alabama Operations, is responsible for supervision of the Executive Directors, program oversight, and advocating of program needs to the Vice President and COO. Mr. Roberts has more than 17 years working in the field in multiple capacities and in an array of program settings to include sex offender population, residential, outdoor wilderness and group home. He has spent 11 of this 17 years supervising intensive juvenile justice programming. Mr. Roberts serves as the contact for all state-level communications regarding contracting and operations of programming.

Contact Information
Phone: 256-426-4434
 Email: http://www.sequelyouthservices.com/html ... berts.html


I wonder who Kenny Roberts is. Anybody recognize this name? Eleven years of "juvenile justice programming" means he must have had some experience in some of these other places.

7
http://http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/wyoming-facility-restrained-youth-at-high-rate/article_c8dbe11b-9f9c-5309-aa4b-126a75b334ef.html

Wyoming facility restrained youth at high rate

Posted: Thursday, June 25, 2009

CHEYENNE - Youth at a Sheridan juvenile facility were physically restrained far more often than youth at similar institutions before the facility lost its state contract in March, according to documents from the Wyoming Department of Family Services.
 
The documents, obtained by The Associated Press through Wyoming's open records laws, show department concern that youth were being restrained 10 times as often at Normative Services, Inc., than they were at other facilities.
 
Department Director Tony Lewis said the problem has been corrected, and the department plans to reinstate Normative Services' contract as a state youth placement option in a week or so.
 
"To their credit, they've agreed to all these monitoring steps that we've taken, or we intend to take," Lewis said Wednesday.
 
Department officials haven't given a reason for pulling the contract. The previous contract with Normative Services allowed the department to withdraw from the agreement without offering a reason, and department officials have said giving a reason would violate those terms.
 
But the high number of restraints might be an answer to the question.
 
Normative Services is a non-confinement, residential facility for boys and girls ages 14 to 18. Judges place children there because of behavior problems or because of abuse or neglect. The facility had about 150 youth before losing its state contract, but has only about 50 now.
 
The private facility is one of five nationwide owned by Sequel Youth and Family Services.
 
Documents requested by AP included all reports of incidents at Normative Services over the year before the Department of Family Services withdrew from its contract with the facility March 18. The department provided 247 incident reports, including 216 that involved confrontations ending in staff pinning youths belly-down, face-up, standing, or in sitting positions.
 
Of the reports that involved physical restraint, 122 happened from March 18 through Oct. 20, when a department official raised concern about the high number of restraints in a letter to Normative Services Director Bud Patterson.
 
"Normative Services has had approximately 200 physical restraints so far this year. In comparison, the next two largest facilities in Wyoming have had less than 20 restraints combined," wrote John Kiedrowski, the state youth licensing program manager.
 
Kiedrowski wrote that he was concerned about a procedure called "touch for attention" - placing a hand on disobedient youth as a pre-restraint warning. The touch for attention, he wrote, "may trigger aggression instead of de-escalating it."
 
Normative Services staff wrote the incident reports on a Department of Family Services form. The reports documented much fewer pre-restraint warnings after the letter.
 
They also documented fewer cases of girls being restrained: 74 cases in the seven months before the letter and just five in the five months between the letter and the contract termination. Reports of boys being restrained increased significantly, however, from 53 to 89.
 
It's difficult to gauge how frequently youth were hurt by being restrained. Six reports documented minor injuries, including one youth with bleeding in his ear. Most reports were heavily redacted, however, and department spokeswoman Juliette Rule said the redacted information included follow-up medical treatment.
 
The 31 reports that didn't mention restraint documented a variety of incidents including youths running away and minor injuries. Rule said only a handful of reports - no more than five - were withheld because they documented abuse or neglect, and Wyoming law does not allow the release of such information.
 
Rule said it was possible the abuse or neglect didn't happen at Normative Services and the reports documented what children told staff had happened to them elsewhere.
 
Adam Shapiro, chief executive officer of Sequel Youth and Family Services, said Normative Services has made a number of improvements.
 
"We have made a lot of management changes, we have made some changes in our training, we have tremendously increased the amount of training, we've brought in some staff from our other programs from throughout the country to help stabilize the culture," he said.
 
"It's ongoing, it's a constant monitoring that we have to do of ourselves and that they have to do."
 
Lewis said the state will monitor who is admitted at Normative Services. A big problem, he said, was that Normative Services was accepting tough kids - gang members from large California cities -and putting them in with youngsters who weren't serious troublemakers.
 
"The reason that you can end up restraining a lot of kids in an institution is because you have an inappropriate mix of high and low risk kids," Lewis said. "When you have that kind of a mix, you have more management problems."
 
Lewis said Normative Services also has agreed to rely less on youth policing each other.
 
Sequel Youth and Family Services also owns four other similar residential facilities in Woodward, Iowa; Clarinda, Iowa; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Prescott Valley, Ariz.


Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... z1p1lKEbSs

8
I attended the convention, and it was a really great experience.

I have a thousand things to say about it, but for the time being I'll just say:

Next year, we're marching on Washington.

9
Is anyone going to this convention?

 :jamin:

10
The Melting Pot / Re: Get Fit Fornits thread
« on: June 17, 2011, 03:42:05 PM »
Glad you're getting back at it, Che!

I've gone +/- a few lbs since my last post. 64 lbs lost so far.

I bought a bike recently, and took it out for its first real ride yesterday. 3 miles!

So, it went great! I could barely move this morning, but my the afternoon I was limber enough to walk two miles.

 :rocker:

11
The Melting Pot / Re: Get Fit Fornits thread
« on: May 16, 2011, 05:33:28 PM »
Yeah, it is!

I went for a walk during my lunch break, and used a website food tracker.

I've lost 56 lbs so far!

 :trophy:

12
Three Springs / Dead ends...
« on: February 25, 2011, 08:26:16 PM »
I'm frustrated tonight.

I found out recently that the lawyer who had the pictures of the bruises I got at Three Springs passed away. I made an inquiry to the Alabama Bar Association to see who got his case files. I was hoping to get my hands on them - not to do anything legally, the statute of limitations is up, but I felt awkward about something so personal being out there in the ether. Would have been nice to put them in my filebox of crazy, or at least destroy them myself. Or, in my fantasies, put it on the internet: "Here's what your kids can expect to get out of their stay at Three Springs."

I haven't heard back from them, so who knows where they are.

Bummer.

I wish I'd known to keep everything. Not to trust my parents or even my mom's lawyer to have the only copy of things. But, hell. I was a kid, and there was no Fornits.

 :-

13
The Troubled Teen Industry / Boxes of Crazy
« on: January 04, 2011, 09:45:39 PM »
Hey folks,

I was just reading in another thread - http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31368&start=15 - where someone referred to their program stuff as a box of crazy.

I have a box of crazy too - a filebox, specifically, which is full of my diary sheets, notes other girls passed to me, magazine cutouts and song lyrics I used to look at when I was depressed, and worksheets, all grouped by facility or time period. I keep it in my closet, or under a side table if I've been going through it recently.

I've been thinking about my box of crazy lately. What is my plan for it? Will I destroy it eventually? Put it in my will for someone else to destroy it?

I haven't figured that stuff out yet for myself. So I wanted to ask you - do you have a box of crazy? What do you do with it now, and what do you plan to do with it in the future?

Hedge

14
The Melting Pot / Re: The No Soft Drink Challenge
« on: November 03, 2010, 01:30:38 AM »
I had a couple of slip ups along the way, but I have been rocking hardcore at the non-soda thing lately.

I actually started to follow a diet that is for a particular set of health issues, which encourages drinking lots of green tea.

Che, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about green tea giving you enough caffiene -- but now, I totally believe you. I haven't had an urge for coffee or soda since I started guzzling the stuff.

Right on!    :rocker:

 :cheers:    << green tea mugs  (OK, I know it's a stretch...)

Hedge

15
The Troubled Teen Industry / Re: Questions.. questions..
« on: October 29, 2010, 12:03:51 AM »
The opportunity to infiltrate a program, which I know I have fantasized about, will be available to you in the future, whether or not you decide to take this particular job with this particular corporation.

Although, the idea of being a part of a startup -- and maybe influencing program development so that it doesn't encourage systemic abuse -- man, that's an incredible opportunity.

But hey, if they do get off the ground, maybe they'd still be "young" by the time you get back to the States.


I have to admit, though, I will never have the ovaries to do something like this myself. Because of my PTSD symptoms, I can't even consider working in hospitals without losing my effectiveness as a counselor, much less an environment that would be similar to the one where I was abused.

So, all that is to say: fantasies, realities, or something in between -- I'm not going to judge you whichever path you choose.

Hedge

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