Fornits

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

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protests- ... 862?ref=ts


So far... Protest pics from protests against Straight Inc, Kids Helping Kids, Pathway Family Center, SAFE, Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC, still in operation), Hephzibah House and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA conference).

Please add more if you have them.

These can be from any protest against any abusive program or any protest associated with these programs.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protests- ... 862?ref=ts

who support abusive teen programs....

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Expel-mem ... 645?v=info

I don't know.... maybe this could be a good facebook page listing those to oppose.

A blog about the protest:

http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/u/Lklou ... onal-to-Me


Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA) Protest

Saturday May 15th 2010 -

Personal statement:

Yesterday in Toronto, there was a protest during the Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA) Conference.  The goal was to raise awareness about the current unregulated practices that these programs are allowed in many parts of the U.S.  These schools and boot camps have very few restrictions about how they're allowed to exist- many of them are essentially self-certified and allowed to practice therapy in any manner they choose. This includes strict behavior modification treatments, levels of isolation that would be illegal if these kids were in the state corrective systems, and a complete lack of licensed schooling.  In the United States and Canada, we've all seen the newspaper stories: Boot Camp Deaths like Omega Leach. It got so bad that last year, a bill  (HR 911) was introduced into the House of Representatives called "End Institutionalized Child Abuse."   The U.S. Government Accountability Office produced a 62 page report on selected cases of death and abuse at public and private Residential Treatment Centers (RTCs). The bill passed the House but has not been acted on by the Senate.
The picture to the left is thanks to an awesome friend of mine, Lee G. I met Lee in 2002, when we both attended the same Residential Treatment Center.  By the time I arrived at Provo, I needed help. After a mid-semester move in 7th grade from London, England to a suburb in Dallas, TX, I failed to thrive in school. I didn't have a lot of friends, I was bullied, and the school work was so below my level I became discouraged. I was picked on by a vice principle for my clothing choices and hair color, despite never actually breaking the school dress code. I had an undiagnosed learning disorder. I graduated middle school a with a perfect behavior record, and took summer school classes to clear away some easy high school electives so I could play a sport (basketball), stay in orchestra (viola) and take a language (pre-AP Spanish). I was on the Talented-And-Gifted track for one of the best high schools in the nation, and sometimes considered the best when Private, Charter and Magnet schools were removed from that list.
Emotionally, I wasn't doing so hot.  While I still had exemplary behavior reports in class, my grades had gone from As to Cs, and an F in geometry pre-AP. I was still depressed I was living in car-dependent Texas rather than the metropolitan world of London which had given me so much walking independence. My relationship with my parents was pretty terrible.  And so they decided that I needed a more therapeutic environment.  So we looked at different programs. I wanted to get out of the house- boarding school, especially if it were some place beautiful, sounded like a great way for me to express my independence and work out some of my issues.   And we saw this great video by a residential treatment program, Provo Canyon School. They had pictures of guys and girls studying together outdoors, a great section on recreational and equine therapy, field trips to Moab and Yosemite. There was talk of dances and proms.  We got a press release about the kids picking apples on campus and donating it to a local food bank. They promised I could work hard academically and get caught up or even ahead.
But that's not what I experienced there.  In the 8 months I spent indoors, I was subject to emotional and verbal abuse. I was forced to watch the physical, sexual, emotional and verbal abuse of others, and encouraged to participate in that dehumanization if I wanted to go home.  I spent a month without a phone call to anybody. I was not allowed to watch news, radio, read newspapers, and there was no internet access. The boy's campus was miles away- in a separate city. We never had classes with them. We were entirely cut off from the outside world and locked inside for months at a time. We also became our numbers, the way the school identified us.
For me, The worst part was waking up in the middle of the night to hear a girl screaming, to hear her dragged to the freezing cement rooms that were called Isolation until they stopped, when you knew they'd been stabbed in the butt with a needle, drugged into a stupor for the next few days. They'd finally emerge pale, dizzy, with deep black circles under their eyes without the right to have a bed or their own clothes. I heard these terrible stories concerning male staff who had unrestrained access to their "emotionally disturbed" youth.  Some girls bragged about the cute staff member they managed to have relations with. It meant safety.  The queer among us were constantly harassed and told they were in some way deficient.
I'm terrified of telling this story because I'm afraid people will judge me as "emotionally disturbed" or as somehow damaged. I am not those things, but I know those words can be used against me to invalidate my experiences.  I am also terrified that people will judge my parents for sending me here. The fact is, my parents were lied to, and were promised that I would be helped when they felt they couldn't help me.  I am a polite, brilliant, contributing member of society. I graduated high school in two years and was still valedictorian. I lived independently as a minor abroad. I graduated college, and was a member the national honor society in my field (classics).  I have healthy, successful relationships. I volunteer my time and work for those who are less fortunate than I.  I am a stronger person for what I have been through. But that does not excuse the abuse I have encountered or witnessed. I have seen others break, and I refuse to be a part of that.  And the youth that are at that school now have no voice currently. But I still have nightmares of those screams. I still am triggered every time I see my number. I still sleep with my door locked in case someone tries to drag me out of my bed in my sleep, as I have seen and I have heard. And it's hard to sleep at night if I'm not protecting someone else from that reality.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/investigat ... es/1079048


Investigation into child abuse at Marianna reform school brings no charges


By Ben Montgomery, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, March 12, 2010

They have thought about revenge, daydreamed about swinging a leather strap at a feeble old man. Some have even driven back to Marianna, as grown men, with murderous intent.

One way or another, the former wards of the Florida School for Boys want the guard who beat them to pay.

But a 15-month investigation into decades-old abuse won't result in criminal charges against Troy Tidwell or any other former staffers at the state's oldest reform school, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Thursday.

"With the passage of over 50 years," the 13-page FDLE report states, "no tangible physical evidence was found to either support or refute the allegations of physical or sexual abuse."

The FDLE interviewed more than 100 men, relatives and former staffers about allegations of brutal beatings in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Most of the statements were consistent, they found. Boys were given up to 100 licks with a heavy leather paddle in a putrid cinder block building called the White House. Many said their backsides bled, that they needed stitches, that they had to pick underwear from their lacerations. Eight said they had scars or suffered injuries.

Three former employees told investigators they either witnessed abuse or saw the effects, such as welts or bloody pajamas. The daughter of one deceased employee told the FDLE that her father came home one night and said, "That damn drunk son of a b---- beat another boy," in reference to Arthur G. Dozier, after whom the school is now named. Her father later quit in disgust.

One former superintendent, Lenox Williams, told investigators he administered 10 to 12 licks. "That's the number," he said. "We didn't go over that."

He did recall hearing from a school physician that a boy had "gotten too many licks across his buttocks with that paddle."

"He said there . . . were some, some lacerations," Williams continued. "And it's possible to do that with it if you choose to."

The few men who claimed to have witnessed deaths at the school could provide few specifics and no names. Some former students said they were sexually abused, but they could not identify their abusers.

The investigators did not interview Tidwell; his attorneys declined their requests.

Forensic investigators did examine the inside of the White House and tested the walls for blood. "All areas tested had negative results."

The FDLE gave its report to Glenn Hess, state attorney for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Hess declined to prosecute, citing the statute of limitations and the vague nature of some of the allegations.

The investigation was ordered by Gov. Charlie Crist after a number of men went public in 2008 with stories of abuse. The men, who call themselves the White House Boys, found each other online a few years ago. The school is the subject of a Times investigation, "For Their Own Good."

Crist also asked the FDLE to investigate a small cemetery on the property. That investigation, concluded last year, found no evidence of foul play in the deaths of 31 boys believed to be buried on school property.

The White House Boys are critical of both reports, saying the FDLE has a conflict in investigating allegations against state employees and state agencies.

Robert Straley, 63, of Clearwater says he was beaten and sexually assaulted by Tidwell, a memory that he repressed for decades. "It seems like such an absolute travesty of justice that a person could do that and get away with it," Straley said after reading the report.

Straley and more than 300 others are pursuing a claims bill in the Legislature seeking unspecified compensation.

"This isn't over," Straley said. "We're not in it for the money."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 52,00.html


Therapists get 16 years

Women plan to appeal convictions in death of 10-year-old Candace in rebirthing therapy

Peggy Lowe, News Staff Writer
Published June 19, 2001 at midnight

GOLDEN -- One therapist told of "the dark night of my soul" and another wished she could rewrite history as each woman was sentenced Monday to 16 years in prison for the rebirthing death of a 10-year-old girl.

Connell Watkins, 54, and Julie Ponder, 40, who both said Candace Newmaker's death was a tragic accident, will serve at least six years before becoming eligible for parole. Both plan to appeal their April 20 convictions for child abuse resulting in death.

Jefferson County District Court Judge Jane Tidball said she believed neither woman intended to hurt Candace.

While saying she didn't have much discretion on the 16-to-48 year mandatory sentence, Tidball said it will send "a powerful message" to other mental health practitioners who might consider the controversial therapy.

Still, Tidball called the crime "horrific," and mentioned the "unrelenting intensity" of the three-week trial where the videotaped procedure was played several times.

"As the mother of a 10-year-old, I can't fathom the loss of a child at that age or any age," said Tidball, who added that she also couldn't bear the "heavy weight that a child died while under my care."

Candace died April 19, 1999, a day after the rebirthing session in Watkins' Evergreen home. Candace was wrapped in a sheet and placed under several large pillows. Watkins, Ponder and two other adults then pushed against the child to simulate contractions, urging Candace to be "reborn" to her adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker of Durham, N.C.

Candace screamed and begged for air, telling them she would die, to which the therapists replied: "Go ahead and die." The therapy was supposed to help cure Candace's attachment disorder, characterized by violent behavior towards her adopted mother.

Both Watkins and Ponder made tearful appeals Monday to Tidball, pleading for the more lenient sentence. Watkins, in a 10-minute dramatic statement, told Tidball that she had experienced "the dark night of my soul" since Candace's death.

Watkins said she has "profound sorrow and regret and remorse" over the child's death.

"I failed Candace and I failed her mother and I failed to keep Candace out of harm's way," Watkins said.

Watkins has hired former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky for her appeal.

Ponder said she retraces the rebirthing in her head every day, wondering where she went wrong.

"If I had only stopped five minutes sooner or checked on her one more time," Ponder said. "I was trying to help her and something unexpected happened."

Four of the jurors who convicted Ponder and Watkins, who said they fell in love with the little brown-haired girl while watching the videotapes of her therapy, cried again Monday during the sentencing.

"I think 16 years was perfect," said juror Marcia Hagan. "(Watkin is) not a hard criminal, but she needs to pay for what she's done."

Prosecutors urged Tidball to give Watkins and Ponder the maximum sentence, calling the rebirthing "torturous cruelty of a sickening and depraved nature." Watkins ridiculed, belittled, physically abused and finally smothered the child, said Steve Jensen of the Jefferson County District Attorney's office.

"The defendant literally tortured Candace Newmaker before killing her," Jensen said.

Laura Dunbar, another Jefferson County prosecutor, said Ponder was the lead therapist for Candace's rebirthing and is the most culpable for her death.

"She was the one who could have stopped this procedure at any time," Dunbar said. "It was her call."

Tidball also sentenced Watkins to another year and four months in jail for three lesser charges, including criminal impersonation, unlawful practice of psychotherapy and using another's signature for deception. Those sentences will run concurrently with the longer time.

Three other people are scheduled to stand trial in Candace's death: her adopted mother, Jeane Newmaker, who witnessed the rebirthing session and is charged with criminally negligent child abuse resulting in death; and Brita St. Clair and her husband, Jack McDaniel, who participated in the therapy and who are charged with child abuse resulting in death.

Video about West Ridge Academy / Utah Boys Ranch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTdzGPx4 ... r_embedded

Just in case it hasn't been posted on here yet.

Don't forget detainees at home

By Josephine Cardamone • September 21, 2009


Torture is wrong. Our nation believes this, and we are concerned about torture tactics used on detainees, as we should be. Shouldn't we also be concerned about abusive tactics used on our own population, particularly our children?

The Aug. 25 Ithaca Journal article headlined, "Staff severely injured youths," describes a U.S. Justice Department report that found staff at two juvenile-detention facilities in Tompkins County used excessive force in controlling some of their residents. Some might argue that the staff behavior is not torture, but if the results are injuries and even death, what name should we give it? We put them in detention centers in the hopes that they will reform themselves and become positive, productive citizens. How can they learn to behave in a peaceful manner when they are treated with violence?

Get-tough, boot-camp programs purport to help troubled teens, but they don't work. A review of the scientific evidence by the National Institutes of Health found that programs using fear and tough treatment are ineffective and may make teen criminal behavior even worse.

"Compared with other kids with a similar history of bad behavior, those who entered the juvenile justice system were seven times more likely to be arrested for crimes as adults. Further, those who ended up being sentenced to juvenile prison were 37 times more likely to be arrested again as adults compared with similarly misbehaved kids who were either not caught or not put into the system," according to an Aug. 7 Time Magazine article.

We spend millions of dollars to incarcerate young people, but we don't evaluate the success of the programs. In fact, many studies demonstrate that our punitive programs do not reform the kids or decrease criminal behavior. If we honestly want to get tough on crime, not just get tough on kids, we should use programs that actually work.

Effective crime prevention programs begin when children are babies and provide information and assistance to young families. They continue to support, counsel and advocate for the children as they grow up. Even if the teenager does need to go to a facility, the states that have adopted a positive, therapeutic, non-coercive approach have less recidivism than states that use negative and violent measures to curb teen crime.

The therapeutic model adopted in Missouri has a 7.3 percent recidivism rate. The harsh discipline approach in Texas results in 50 percent recidivism. Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, praises Missouri's approach and says states with troubled juvenile corrections systems could learn from its philosophy.

Perhaps it's easier to raise our voices about abuse of prisoners in faraway places, but we need to also pay heed to the children in our own state who are being harmed. It is in our own best interest to care about these kids when we consider the impact of their detention time and treatment once they return to our communities.

Source: http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs. ... /909210301