Fornits

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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

Here are some questions that some parents may have before sending their kid off to PV... for anyone else it's a detailed explanation of how certain things are done in PV

Enjoy


1) What was the food like?

The food varied, some days it was good depending if it was breakfast lunch and dinner others bad... but then again when you are hungry after a hard days work anything in your stomach is better then nothing. I only became ill after eating the food a few times but it was not due to the foods content but more the taste, those foods included Kielbasa, Brussel sprouts, Honey buns, beef stroginof (which we called beef stroke me off).

2) Where was it served?

We usually ate in a huge building located on the main campus called the "Y.C." or Youth Center.. this was also where parent events were held and the staff room was in the loft of said building while Boys STU is literally in the basement below. Sometimes we had to eat at the cabin depending on the circumstances. When we were on quarantine due to an illness that was floating about we ate at the cabin and had our food brought to us.. it was kind of nice not to have to walk a mile to eat seeing how the boys campus was on the other side. But the strike rule also comes in to play, the strike rule is basically each month we get three strikes, If any of the males get caught sneaking a peek at the girls... that was a strike for the whole clan, if your clan obtained 3 strikes the clan would have to each day for a week consume every meal on the boys side. That means we had to go to the YC, take the food back to the boys side, eat, and then bring it back to the YC and then go BACK again to the boys side... making us take 4 trips as opposed to the normal 2.

3) Was food ever denied? 
Kind of, they really manipulated this one... Based on what ever it was you did, would make you wait to eat until 15 minutes before said meal was over... that means you have to eat ALL your food and not throw up. Problem was what ever was on the menu you had to get one portion of each type even if you hated it. Also you had to FINISH everything on your plate or you would get DL (Desert limitation) They always made sure you ate... but they made it hard to enjoy whatever it was you were eating

4) What was the school part of the program like?

We only had school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I believe the girls had it on alternate days which makes me wonder if they only received 2 days of school as opposed to 3. The reason we only had three days of school was so on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we could do vocational work... which was the village's cheap ass way of not having to hire anyone to repair anything as they tried to pass it off as a learning skill. We pretty much fixed everything that became broken unless it truly needed to be professionally done. When the cabins needed work, we fixed them, when concrete needed to be laid, we did that, spreading gravel, re shingling the roofs, weeding the front of the admissions office... that was us. This supposedly counted as gym and shop credits but I never saw any of those grades come to fruition when I finally got back to normal public school... thanks to PV I was put in 11th grade when I should have been in my senior year on the sole reason I did not have enough credits.

5) Where were classes conducted, and what was the classroom support like? IE. Teachers, computers, books etc..

The classrooms was a class cabin... thats right just like Tom Sawyer. Each clan had a section of the cabin that was "homeroom" with a specific teacher as the clans "homeroom teacher" The teachers were varied.... although there were only four they each had a unique personality and taught specific subjects... one taught Math, calculus and of the like, Another taught strictly English and literature, another taught Biology and various sciences, and the last taught History, Geography, economics, etc. The books were new and plentiful but they never let you read what you wanted. I remember The English teacher told me to pick out a book as an assignment.. I picked a book called "A confederacy of Dunces" Which I had read before and enjoyed... He said he would not allow me to read it because I was not worthy of such majestic story telling. I agree it was an awesome story, majestic even.. But I am not worthy to read a fucking book? Instead he made me read this piece of shit horribly written 120 page book titled "A light in the forest" Which is just a shitty rip off of the book "The education of little tree"

Just for the record... you could not read anything other then AA/NA material outside of school unless you were a high level and even then the book had to be evaluated and approved by your treatment team.

6) Under what circumstances could school be denied?

If you were sick, or in the burrito (straitjacket) or the time out room.

7) What were the accommodations like for the students not in STU?

We lived in cabins in the middle of the peninsula that had been infested with pine beetles so the trees were constantly falling down due to wind factors and even the trees own decay mixed with the weight of the trees. We had some very close calls of trees hitting or cabin and it's a miracle none of us was ever hit by a falling tree. We also had to clear these trees and chop them in to pieces, this task was perfect in the eyes of the program because the forest was constantly falling apart and so it virtually never ends. Chances are to this day kids at PV are still continuing what we did  years ago. The Cabins had no electricity and no plumbing but we did have something called the tubes which was a latrine of sorts that was open and had three giant PVC pipes stuck in to the ground at a slanted angle. This was used to piss in and during the summer it reeked.

 What sort of clothing did the captives wear, and where did it come from?

We were to wear white T shirts, working jeans, shirts tucked in with belt, normal tennis shoes for school days and steel toed boots for work days. Every 2 months or so we would have something called inventory day where we would clean the cabin from top to bottom and go over a list of clothes we needed... There was actually a list with the items required and the amount we should have that we had to have a staff verify and sign. Kids usually received the clothes from their parents... but the kids whose parents could not afford it or simply refused to send them things had to go find the items from what is known as "The eagles Nest" Basically The eagles nest was a storage space for all the clothes that was ever left by a former patient... over 17 years of rehab patients clothes reside in that nest... and woe to the poor sap who had to get his clothes from that place...

9) If you needed a basic necessity where did it come from? Such as tooth paste and things of that nature...

The village provided that but only the cheap knock off brands, also your parents could send you hygienic things if need be but they had to be approved.

10) Was there a stage/level system at PV? 

Yes, both in STU and in the Cabin program but they differ greatly. IN STU you have Levels 1,2, and 3. You come in as an "outcast" and have to earn your way in to the group by writing a 10 page journey paper about why you were sent to PV... once you complete it you are in the group. Depending on a kids writing level this project could take a few hours or for others 2 months. When you are in the group you are a level one. You have to kiss ass and ragg on your fellow captives to show your are able to be a level 2 or they wold just decide that you needed to be a level 2... you then have to send in a request and staff will review it. Level threes have the most privileges and I found out that all you have to do to get level 3 is ask... but most don't because when anyone talked about thinking about going for a level 3 they were manipulated in to not even bothering because they would be rejected and it would be a waste of time.

The cabin system was different and very intricate.... the levels were based off the Native American medicine wheel. The levels were Pre-mouse, Mouse, Senior mouse (this level has been abolished) Bear, Bear Adoha, Eagle, and Buffalo. Each level meant something and it would take waaay to long to explain each meaning and how to obtain each level because each way is different based on what Clan you are put in to. Also when you receive a level there is a ceremony among your Clan members that takes place by a fire in an almost cult like ritual that is supposed to be "mystical" but once again each ceremony was different depending on what clan you were in
 
Basic employee qualifications for entry level staff?

We were never informed of their qualifications and even if we asked wouldn't tell us
Many claimed to be off duty marines... but when 9/11 happened I always noticed how it was strange how they were not asked to ship out. I know one of my staff members was trained to be a geologist but stuck to PV instead.

What sort of training did PV give them?

On the field training... get some stupid intern and place him with a clan.
Thats how morons like Jibby stuck around.

http://www.peninsulavillage.org/pv-staff.cfm

Under "leadership", there is no leader.  Steve Petty, who's held the position of Peninsula Village administrator longer than any of his predecessors,is missing from the masthead.  Most PV admins had a shelf life of less than a year...one of them being the infamous Don Vardell.

What's going on at PV?

These are excerpts, things haven't changed since 1999.  I've pulled out the passages relevant to residential treatment.  This is disgusting, it needs serious work.




JUNE GIBBS BROWN
Inspector General
MARCH 1999 OEI-02-95-00044

However, Some Weaknesses Are Acknowledged... (pg. 7)

MARCH 1999 OEI-02-95-00044[/b]

The Compact Plays a Smaller Role in Residential Placements (pg. 9)

Residential Placements Vary Widely Among States[/i]


Some States have no or few residential facilities and must use residential facilities in other States. As a result, States with facilities may receive very large numbers of residential placements from other States. As reported in our previous inspection, one of the ten States reports receiving in excess of 700 children each in 1997 into residential placements. This is several hundred more than other States.

States Do Not Conduct Home Studies for Residential Placements[/i]

Although the Compact covers foster care, adoption, and residential placements, it plays a smaller role in residential than in the other interstate placements. States do not conduct home studies to assess placement suitability for children placed through the Compact into a residential facility. It appears that States place children only in licensed facilities, and State compact administrators report they recognize the licensing so home studies are not conducted. One State, however, reports it sends its own licensing staff into potential receiving States to verify the licensing and standards of residential facilities.

Receiving States Do Not Supervise Residential Placements[/i]

Receiving States do not supervise interstate residential placements. As noted earlier, in a typical interstate foster care placement, supervision reports are generally completed quarterly by a local worker in the receiving State. This is not the case for placements into residential facilities. Over half of the State compact administrators say that they receive supervision reports on children placed in residential facilities. However, these reports are not completed by the receiving State. The staff from the residential facilities completes the reports. A few States express concern with supervision reports that are completed by facility staff. As one State stresses, it may be hard for employees to be objective.

It is reported that children placed in-State have more supervision than those placed out of State. For instance, when a facility is in a child’s home State, his own local worker would check on the child. This would involve visiting and calling the facility to ask how the child is doing. In contrast, no local workers, either from the sending or receiving State, visit out of State children in facilities.

Documents for these Placements Sometimes Bypass Compact Offices[/i]

Usually documents for interstate placements flow from the local worker in one State to the local worker in the other State through the two State offices. Documents for residential placements, however, sometimes does not follow the same path. Four of the ten State compact administrators report they do not receive residential supervision reports regularly from their own State facilities. Instead, the reports are sent directly to the local sending agencies.

Most States Do Not have Written Policies for Residential Placements[/i]

Although in practice residential placements are treated differently, State Compact policies make no distinction between residential and other placements. In a review of policies from 43 of the 52 Compact States we found the majority of State policies do not have a section dedicated to residential placements describing how these types of placements should be handled. In fact, many State policies fail to note any difference in procedures for residential placements. Six of the 52 States, however, have detailed instructions for residential placements into and out of their State. These detailed policies include instructions for approving residential placements, verifying the facility acceptance of a child, and establishing that no appropriate in-State placement is available. Some State policies indicate that it is the responsibility of the sending agent to monitor the placement via quarterly supervision reports prepared by the facility staff.

States Define Residential Care Facilities Differently[/i]

The Compact does not cover “any institution caring for the mentally ill, mentally defective or epileptic or any institution primarily educational in character, and any hospital or other medical facility.â€

Jesus!

http://wbztv.com/local/shock.treatments ... 14971.html

Staff Fired After Prank Call Shock Treatments
BOSTON (WBZ) ―

Staff members at a group home made multiple mistakes when they followed a prank caller's direction to give dozens of electrical shocks to two emotionally disturbed teenagers, according to a report by a state agency that investigated the incident.

The report by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care said six staffers at a Stoughton residence run by the Canton-based Judge Rotenberg Education Center had ample reason to doubt the orders to administer the shocks, but did nothing to stop it.

The six staff members and video surveillance worker on duty that night have been fired, Ernest Corrigan, the school's spokesman, said Thursday.

Initial investigations showed that a former student at the Judge Rotenberg Education Center allegedly called in orders for electric shock treatments on Aug. 26 and officials at the school self-reported the prank call and unnecessary treatments the day after they occurred, Cindy Campbell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Early Education and Care, said Monday.

After the call, the teens, ages 16 and 19, were awakened in the middle of the night and given the shock treatments, at times while their legs and arms were bound. One teen received 77 shocks and the other received 29. One boy was treated for two first-degree burns.

The caller posed as a supervisor and said he was ordering the punishments because the teens had misbehaved earlier in the evening. But none of the staffers had witnessed any problems, and other boys said the two teens had done nothing wrong. One boy suggested the call was a hoax.

The report says the caller was a former resident of the center with intimate knowledge of the staff, residents and layout of the Stoughton home. No motive was given and the caller's identity wasn't disclosed. Police are looking into filing criminal charges.

Five of the six staffers had worked a double or triple shift and most had been on the job less than three months. The staffers were described as concerned and reluctant about the orders, but failed to verify them with the central office or check treatment plans to make sure the teens could receive that level of shock therapy, the report said. Staffers also didn't know who the shift supervisor was that night.

Staff members realized their mistake after someone finally called the central office.

One reason staffers might not have been suspicious of the phone call is that the Rotenberg Center uses surveillance cameras in its group homes to monitor residents and staff, and a central office employee is allowed to initiate discipline by phone.

"We found that there were breaches of internal control procedures that happened in this particular case," Campbell said. "We take this very seriously."

Corrigan said an incident like the faulty shock treatments after a phone call has never happened before.

"We have modified procedures to assure that an incident of this type cannot occur ever again," Corrigan said.

 

As a result of the investigation, the center has expanded staff training, implemented new telephone verification procedures, added oversight at group homes and eliminated delayed punishment.

Nancy Alterio, executive director of the state's Disabled Persons Protection Committee, confirmed that her agency is investigating a complaint that a third victim -- an adult -- at the a residential facility in Stoughton run by the Rotenberg center also received unnecessary shock treatments after the phone call.

"It was a perfect storm of things that went wrong that night," he said.

The complaints have also been referred to the state police and the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, Alterio said.

The school treats people with a wide variety of behavior problems, including autistic-like students who have aggressive, self-injurious or destructive behaviors and high-functioning students with psychiatric or emotional problems, according to a description posted on its web site.

"The so-called prank call ... was an isolated, unprecedented incident that occurred more than three months ago," Corrigan said in a statement released Monday. "We immediately reported it to the appropriate state agencies and the local police."

The state Department of Early Education and Care said it investigated a complaint about two youths -- ages 16 and 19 -- who were given unnecessary shock treatments on Aug. 26 after someone claiming to be on the staff of Dr. Matthew Israel -- the psychologist who founded the school -- called facility and ordered the treatments.

Two state legislators called on Gov. Deval Patrick to take quick action to put strict regulations in place for the use of shock therapy.

"In a word, this incident is horrifying and it would be immoral for the Legislature and the executive branch not to react strongly and swiftly," said Sen. Brian A. Joyce, who has previously sponsored legislation to ban electric shock therapy.

Kenneth Mollins, a New York attorney who has filed several lawsuits against the Rotenberg center alleging the mistreatment of children at the Canton-based school, sent a letter Monday to Patrick and various state agencies, calling on the state to investigate the complaints, which were first reported by The Examiner newspaper, of Washington.

"The governor needs to take a look and see what's happening here. There is nobody overseeing the store. If somebody can just call and ask that somebody be shocked, there is a significant problem," Mollins said.

The center, believed to be the only school in the nation that uses a two-second skin-shock punishment to change destructive behavior, is no stranger to controversy. It has survived two attempts by the state to close it amid allegations that its unorthodox methods amount to abuse.

Massachusetts was required to pay the center $580,000 after it unsuccessfully sought to close the school following the 1985 death of a 22-year-old student who suffered a seizure while restrained and forced to listen to static noise.

More recently an investigation was ordered to determine if a shock device malfunctioned, causing burns to one student. The center also agreed to stop referring to staff members as psychologists if they have not been licensed with the state.

On Monday, the center defended its use of the intensive treatment methods, saying they are used in a minority of cases as part of overall therapy for "very deeply emotionally disturbed young adults."

The procedures are applied "only after obtaining prior parental, medical, psychiatric, human rights, peer review and individual approval from a Massachusetts Probate Court," Corrigan said.

Is there something more you would like us to know about this story? Do you have a news tip to share with WBZ?

Email Us and be part of our news gathering team.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Anyone familiar with these places, and what about this "Right to Know" law?  

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03001/572973.stm

Does the name Eldon Hatch ring a bell with any survivors from a program in Utah?  That's pretty broad, I don't know the name of the program, but a best guess is this person was at Pine Ridge or Youth Care.  Don't want to go into any reasons, in case it's mistaken identity.

We've touched on the issue of ethics a bit recently, and I've been reading the NAP Ethical Guidelines.  The preamble is an eye opener, and it gets even more interesting if you take the time to read the whole thing.  http://www.nap.vcu.edu/ethics.htm



The rationale for these positions derives from a patient or consumer-focused value, that has remained constant in the historical evolution of Western ethics, is reiterated in contemporary health professional codes of ethics and can be found in current regulatory statements such as the Patient Rights Standards of the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Health professionals must refrain from subordinating the patient's welfare to economic mandates thereby potentially creating an incursion on the patient's rights. The fiduciary role of the provider must be balanced with the patient's needs.[/i]



...Which is why I've always had a problem with adolescent mental health care being referred to as an "industry".  Industries expect to grow, so in order for the troubled teen industry to expand they have to acquire more raw material to process and churn out, like a Chinese production line.  The raw material is our kids, and to increase the industry's growth more kids will be labeled with hoodoo, pop psychology-quack diagnoses, turning adolescence itself into a mental illness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7054605.stm


Review of child inmate batons ban

The government is to consider allowing staff at young offenders institutions in England and Wales to use batons to control children as young as 15.

Staff are currently allowed to use them only against those aged 18 and over, but that policy is to be reviewed.

The Prison Officers Association says its members need more protection from a rising number of assaults and to help bring situations quickly under control.

But critics fear the move could be counter-productive and fuel violence.

'No deterrent'

Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), told BBC Radio Five Live that officers often got hurt.
   
"The injuries vary from broken noses, compressed fractures of cheekbones, fractured eye sockets, ears being bitten off, pens being shoved through people's faces, slashes," Mr Travis said.

"There is a serious violent problem within the criminal justice system and we believe it's out of control."

Colin Moses, national chairman of the POA, added that the deterrent was needed to defend officers and those in their charge.

The POA said some of his members had suffered long-term psychological problems after being assaulted by children.

But Martin Narey, chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's and former chief executive of the Prison Service, said the use of batons to control children was not necessary, and that its use would "promote a sense of deep mistrust and suspicion".

"Not for the first time, the POA underestimate the success of their own members in defusing unrest without the use of force," he said.

He added that custody should be an opportunity to redeem the child.

"You do that by treating child prisoners firmly but with dignity, by educating them and making them employable, not beating them with truncheons," he said.

Recent figures, compiled by the Howard League for Penal Reform, show there were more than 18,000 assaults in young offenders institutions (YOIs) between 2003 and 2006 - 2,500 of which were attacks on staff.

'Wrong answer'

Frances Crook, director of the league, said a recent parliamentary answer had revealed that nine out of the 10 most violent places of detention in the UK were YOIs, where the majority of those held are aged between 18 and 21.

"The National Offender Management Service estimates that 11% of prisoners involved in serious assaults are children, despite being only 3% of the population," she said.

Ms Crook said batons were "always the wrong answer" and would make YOIs even more violent for staff and inmates.

"There are huge numbers of young men in prison with very serious mental health problems and threatening them with batons is completely inappropriate."

Ms Crook said prisons had created their own problems by keeping young people cooped up indoors without exercise.

At the start of October, the league says 3,006 children were in custody in England and Wales. Of these, 2,512 were in YOIs.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "It has been prison policy for a number of years that batons are not routinely used in the juvenile estates."

But the government said it would start a review in the autumn of the ban on baton use to control younger children, although there was no timetable for a final decision.