Fornits

Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora
An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

I just wanted to put up a little reminder that Allison Pinto of ASTART has sent the wiki-site with survivor stories to congress to read. If anyone wants to add a story here, it might make a difference. Apparently all congressmen/congresswomen have been sent this link to peruse at their convenience. A short story of an occurence would probably be better than what I wrote seeing as how congress don't like to read too much.

Here is the website in case some of you don't have it:

http://endinstitutionalabuse.wikispaces ... /list/home

pass it on,
-T

Thanks for posting this wbtony

Hey would it be good to have a forum dedicated to posting information about upcoming protest, letter writing campaigns, participation in investigations, or any up coming event that needs participation from survivors, concerned strangers , or whomever?

I know that we've had folks post in various sections on fornits that participation is need for things like this, the Mel Ridder protest, PBMoms appeal to write letters to officials deciding the licensing issues of various programs, the GAO investigation, etc.. I just think it would be neat to have it all posted in one place so those looking to get involved would be able to find something that suits their time, abilities, location, whatever.

Just an idea...

California Youth Claims Abuse in Montana Treatment Center
A 14-year old child reports being secluded and restrained in his own blood at Montana Residential Treatment Center, but they won't give his parents or attorneys access.

Salem-News.com

October 23, 2007

(BILLINGS, Mt.) - Jeremy Ellis, a 14 year old Laguna Beach special education student who is currently placed at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, a therapeutic treatment center located in Billings, Montana, claims the facility abused him.

In a letter to his attorney, Leejanice Toback, Jeremy described how doors were slammed into his face and he has been put in seclusion or restraints, lying in a puddle of his own blood.

In the letter, Jeremy described how a staff member slammed doors in his face twice, causing his face to bleed and how he has regularly been put in seclusion and/or restraints for over one hour, denied medical attention and given nothing to stop the bleeding. In addition Jeremy reports how he has been punched and kicked by a particular male staff member. He has told his mother that his therapist regularly refers to him and other children as "morons."

Jeremy was referred to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch by Orange County Mental Health Services. Jeremy's attorney, Leejanice Toback, originally requested a placement at Villa Santa Maria in New Mexico, but Orange County Mental Health Services refused, stating that the facility was not on their agency's approved list.

After receiving Jeremy's letter, Ms. Toback phoned Yellowstone's C.E.O. Glenn McFarlane. He is alleged to have refused Ms. Toback's demand to report the incident to the Montana Child Protective Services Agency. Mr. McFarlane told Ms. Toback that Yellowstone would do its own investigation.

Ms. Tobak says McFarlane stated that, "if we reported all these complaints, we would spend all our time reporting incidents to Child Protective Services." Dave Schwarm, the Quality Improvement Specialist from Yellowstone confirmed to Ms. Toback she says, that in the last month there were at least three child abuse allegations made. She says he stated that according to his records, Jeremy is self abusing. When asked about evidence to support that claim, he hung up.

Written requests to the facility to cease abuse of the child have gone unheeded, attorneys and family members say. As of October 8th, Yellowstone reported to Jeremy's mother that he was again put in restraints, this time for touching his nose.

Jeremy's parents and his attorney are trying to relocate him to a safe and secure treatment center, but they have been unsuccessful due to the records generated by Yellowstone painting Jeremy as uncontrollable and self injurious and the lack of cooperation by Orange County Heath Care Agency, who are insisting that Jeremy be transferred to a particular approved facility which has ten locked seclusion rooms for their one hundred twelve residents.

"Parents place their special education children in these facilities for the purpose of treatment and structure, not so that they can be brutalized. We treat prisoners better than this", Ms. Toback stated.

"The full color brochures and videos that these places prepare don't have pictures of kids secluded in stark rooms with no pictures, toys, books or music or restrained by adults three times their size."

A recent Cornell University study found that over a ten year period there were forty-five deaths of children and adolescents in residential facilities due to the use of restraints.

Jeremy's family is considering all options, including legal actionagainst Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

Faculty member at Oprah's school charged with sexual assault

LONDON (NBC) - There are allegations of abuse at the African school built by Oprah Winfrey. A member of the faculty is being charged with physical assault of one student and sexual assault of another student.

Oprah Winfrey has spent tens of millions of dollars to open up a leadership academy for girls outside of Johannesburg in January. But since then, she's taken some hits for it, taken some criticism for it - criticism from parents who say the school may be too strict, alleging that they didn't get access to their children as they wanted to.

But this allegation is the most serious by far.

According to reports in South Africa, it involves a girl who had run away from the school recently. She made claims against one of the dorm mothers, saying things like this woman had been abusing the girls physically and verbally - that she was using profanity and most seriously, that she had sexually abused at least one of the children there.

Oprah Winfrey flew down over the weekend to meet with people associated with the school and she did release a statement saying "nothing is more devastating to me than an allegation of misconduct by an adult against any girl at the academy."

The school also said that this woman had been removed from the environment and that they are offering counseling to the other children there at the school.

Posted by Chantelle Janelle

Oprah has promoted the LGAT Challenge Day Program, Straight inc in the 80s, has sent at least on person on her show to a program, and of course spawned Dr.High Horse

The GAO investigation is ongoing and we need more survivors to contact them. I don't know how to get in touch with the GAO investigators but I'm sure some of our members do. Lets get that information out folks, also please post suggestion on what to include in your statement. Things like if the program was licensed and by who, if it was a Natsap or JCAHO accredited program, if an escort was used and the specifics of that escort, etc...

Come on folks lets keep kicking ass

Thayer Academy Responds to Possible Justice Department Investigation

An important member of Congress has called for a Justice Department investigation into the death of a 15-year old boy at the Thayer Learning Center, a boot camp school in northwest Missouri. The founder of the school, in her first media interview, has told the Missourinet the investigation will show no wrongdoing.

Thayer founder Willa Bundy and husband John proudly show photographs of some of the 750 teenagers who have gone through the program in the last seven years as they agree to their first media interview The student who died in 2004 is the only fatality in school history.

Congressman George Miller, the House Education chairman, says a Government Accountability Office

report raises questions about abuse and lack of proper medical care. The GAO report says the boy had 30 scrapes and bruises on his body when he died. He says the committee "might very well be on solid ground asking for oversight from the Justice Department" on the death of student Roberto Reyes. The boy died about a week after going to Thayer. An autopsy said a spider bit might have been a contributing factor to the boy's death. The GAO report suggests the boy was mistreated by school staff who did not realize he was ill and thought he was lazy and rebellious. The report says the boy had 30 cuts and bruises on his body by the time he died.

Bundy says she's not an expert and cannot comment on the boy's appearance after his death. She says the GAO relied on statements from websites that are the equivalent of a supermarket sensational tabloid. She says she is shocked by the lack of fact-finding in the GAO report and the investigator's reliance on some statements that are completely inaccurate.

No criminal charges were filed after the boy's death. The school and the boy's parents settled a lawsuit the parents filed, reportedly for one million dollars

Bundy says Thayer has never been found to have abused any child including the boy' who died. The school does not come under state regulation although Bundy says she would not object to regulation as long as it does not interfere with parental rights.

[The entire interview with Willa Bundy (belowoo) is her first response to the GAO report, which was given to the House Education Committee on October 9, and to the committee chairman's comnment that the Justice Department should investigate].

[Note, they have a 60min audio interview at the end of the article on the page the article is pulled from(follow the link to get there)]

Controversy Surrounds Tranquility Bay

Billed to have a positive effect on troubled young people aged 13 to 18 going through problems associated with the difficult teen years, the Tranquility Bay website states it is a “specialty boarding school and therapeutic behavioural modification facility, with an excellent academic program and therapy for kids who have been very defiant and hard to manage . . .â€