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Messages - FreeOfCC

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31
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu9HUBs5mp0
"Cats in the Cradle" would be a nice accompaniment playing in the background.

Lot of widsom shared in this commentary.
As to his opinion that Loughner’s parents should have taken him for a psych eval… I think he needs to think more about that, because it is contradictory to his whole thesis. We shouldn't give our children and elders to strangers, and we shouldn't give our distressed family members to strangers either.

That aside and IF Psych treatment were useful, What “abusive” parents have the motivation or where-with-all to take their child for a “psych eval”? Their parents didn’t “invest” in them, how could they invest in Loughner? Where will That buck stop?

Wrong thinking isn’t cured with drugs. Only a skilled counselor might have a chance of helping someone reevaluate the misinformation they’re operating with and helping to heal the wounds of old hurts and injustice. Loughner's parents may not be in much better condition than he is.

32
Quote from: "Lacey"
The mindset is still there... Manipulate.. lie.. Run, run, run... Now I just have things to lose. I can't afford to indulge in the behavior anymore. I'm much better at keeping up appearences, but everything suffered. Kicked out of college, working a shitty bank job, married and a mother to a wonderful 2 year old. But its not what I wanted for myself. Expectations were so high, even my own. I don't write anymore, paint, or any of the creative things I used to thrive off of. I should be grateful... At least I survived it. But its always there. HLA taught me nothing, and changed nothing. All I know is to never let anyone know. Its so much easier that way.

Lacey, if you're still around, can you elaborate on your take on what about HLA caused this. You are not the first to report a loss of interest in things that used to bring joy. I have witnessed it. Also the emotional isolation, as if they have been conditioned to be an island unto themselves- never trouble anyone with their wants/needs/fears/even their dreams. A reluctance to engage on an intimate level. As if they are supposed to exist on the periphery in their families.

Appreciating the courage you demonstrate by sharing your story.

33
Quote from: "goose"
Freeofcc
The puzzle is only hard to put together because you start with false assumptions and build from there. Like any puzzle, start with the corner pieces, then work around the edges, then you can build the inside picture.

Can I buy a Corner Piece for a'hunerd? What indicates there was no Therapeutic Abuse? For all I know, a staff coulda lost his noodle and went gansta on one of the patients.

Quote
Keep your eyes open and in the local paper for additional trouble at the school. If the press is doing their job at all it will be written on. I mean it is hard to hide an event that causes not only the Lumpkin county sheriff’s office to respond, but the state police as well. This area is not New York City, it is small town America.

34
Quote from: "Jill Ryan"
Ridge Creek, Inc.  aka Ridge Creek School - Defining an  RBWO -  NSC Specialized Residential Treatment
• The new process, that began on July 1, 2007, offers private
child placing agencies or child caring institutions, who accept
the placement of state children, to be paid a per diem based
only on the level of room, board, and watchful oversight
(RBWO) required.

If much of the per diem is based on the level of "watchful oversight", RC might not be in the black for years to come, if ever.
How many violations of State Regulations and visits by Law Enforcement does the Gub allow before they stop paying?
Do the conservatives of Dahlonega know what's happening out there? Is the media covering this stuff? I know they love the donations and the tax dollars, but security has to be a higher priority at some point.

35
Jesus H Christ. It would be so nice to read a thread sans the shills distractions. Is there a Creative Solutions committee at Fornits? DJ starts a thread and before he can post to it, the Shill highjacks it.  :soapbox:

Why don't you regulars strike a deal with Psy to allow some threads that are Read Only with the Author being the only one with posting privleges.  

I don't care how interested a person is in the topic, the shillin is repulsive. People can only take so much, ya know?

36
Quote from: "Jill Ryan"
Hello?  Are you serious?  Math (Algebra, Geometry, Trig, etc), Science( Biology,chemistry, etc) English, History( American, Modern European, etc.),Spanish/French, Special Education, Electives(Art, Drama)....  They have not and do not have enough teachers certified in said subject areas.  tHEIR ACCREDTATION IS COMING UP, THAT IS THE ONLY REASON THEY ARE HIRING,  The teachers have always been cross-utilized without the permission of SACS.  How?  SACS has always been on the periphery and lied to, period.  SACS needed to cover themselves after Dr. Flatt's debacle with HiddenLake Academy.  So good-bye Dr. Flatt.  Then, when one calls SACS, one is informed that information regarding HLA/RCS has been moved to their main headquarters because of the sensitivity/debacle/mishandling of the accreditation.

How do we all know this?  We LIVED it, research.

I cannot phathom why one would continuously attempt to debate something to which they are not educated about. It stands to reason one would wish to debate something that they are knowledgeable about rather than look ignorant.  I certainly would not debate physics.  It's not my area of expertise.

Why continuously debate? The money's good... or it's more fun than the entertainment in the psych ward.
Of all the people the shill has been accused of being, I think it's most likely that he's a hired PR person. Fornits makes him earn his money. LOL

Has anyone contacted SACs about the inadequate teaching staff? At what point would they revoke accreditation?
Does SAC answer to anyone? Who monitors the monitors? LOL

37
Did you read your post? Which part indicated there was no Therapeutic Abuse?
Hard to put a puzzle together when pieces are missing. Doin the best I can, with HLAs sordid history as my guide.

38
Quote from: "RobertBruce"
Quote
It is called "Ridge Creek School" and is recognized under that name by the state of Georgia. I will need to go with that, if the state makes them drop the school off of their name then I think we can all call it something different, but for now we need to call it what it is. Even DJ calls it "Ridge Creek School" in his thread headers

Keeping in mind that Buchi played this same game with the state for years with HLA. He swore up and down that HLA was a 'traditional boarding school', yet he advertised and told ed cons it was a 'theraputic boarding school'. He did this as a way of avoiding oversite and regulation.

With that having been cleared up, Whooter why don't you share for us the definition of 'unwanted sexual activity'?

The man should be in jail for fraud. Instead, they're letting him die a slow death. He's hobbled along, has resorted to taking juvenile delinquents; just as many predicted would happen when the light finally shown on the dank darkness that was HLA.
You can't erradicate Evil. But you can sure jump up and down and draw attention to it wherever you find it soes others might avoid the inherent dangers.

39
It appears very important to the shills that these therapeutic torture institutions be classified as schools.

Since when does insurance pay for tuition at traditional boarding schools?
To which boarding schools are parents able to deduct their expenses for traveling to visit their "disabled" child?
How many traditional boarding schools deny visits home as punishment and run year round?

The truth, they're Therapeutic (in name only) child caring institutions which are required by law to have an academic component. Do any of the accrediting agencies realize that some children are denied their school time as punishment? That most of the kids return home several credits behind their peers?
Have parents come close to realizing that these accreditation agencies are For-Profit businesses and couldn't care less about their child's education. Their primary interest is maximizing membership dues and running effective PR campaigns to keep their images up.

Ask Buchi how the "Special Needs School" classification came to be.
B: We're unique. Think you might add a new classification for us? Good PR if we could be the first to receive it.
S: Sure, but we might have to raise the dues on that one. Bein "special" and all.
B: No problem BFF. Now, let me remind you that those academic standards for traditional schools don't quiet fit our uniqueness either. I'm sure you can understand. Our first priority is "therapy", but rest assured, no patient who leaves HLA will be too far behind their counterparts in public school. We've already got several traditional schools lined up who'll take ex-HLAers, no matter their GPA, and get them caught up. If they're too far behind we'll just keep em an extra year. Know what I mean?
S: I completely understand and I think we'll be able to meet your needs. Just make the check out to.... and we'll get the ball rollin.

40
@Goose
Was ORS involved in the lastest therapeutic abuse? Might one find a report there soon?

41
Tuition Notes Unfortunately, family problems do not respect economic cycles. They come regardless of our financial ability to deal with them. At Ridge Creek School, we understand this painful reality. This is the reason that we have created a truly unique and effective...

What? Amortized Loan Program? Quick Mortgage Refinancing Program?  :deal:
Two Years of Torture with 30 years to pay.

Surely these people can find some ethical work to do.

42
There are nearly 6 million children in the United States between the ages of 6 and 18 taking mind-altering drugs.
Let Them Pick Their Own Labels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP8wneiV ... r_embedded

43
Texas shuts down treatment center for kids
Daystar loses license after teen's death is ruled a homicide
By TERRI LANGFORD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Jan. 8, 2011, 9:09AM
.
Nick de la Torre Chronicle
No new children had been placed at Daystar Residential Inc. since July, when officials began investigating the facility.

State child welfare officials on Friday shut down Daystar Residential Inc., a home for troubled youth, one day after a foster child's recent restraint death was ruled a homicide.

"Today, we have revoked Daystar's license to operate, effective immediately. The DFPS investigation found that this facility is just not safe for children," said Anne Heiligenstein, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

The closure, which can be appealed, was precipitated by the death of Michael Keith Owens, 16, whose death in November was ruled a homicide on Thursday.

All Texas foster care children had been removed from Daystar, a facility once licensed to care for as many as 141 children, by Thursday. Five other children placed at Daystar by California authorities were moved elsewhere Friday.

The Manvel-based Daystar, in operation since 1995, has made millions of dollars over the years caring for some of the most troubled and mentally disabled foster care children in the state, many of whom were housed in trailers about 25 miles south of Houston.

It was one of 80 residential treatment centers, known as RTCs, across the state licensed to care for such children, who number about 1,600. Since 2006, RTCs have received more than $300 million to care for these emotionally disturbed or disabled foster care children.

History of problems
But Daystar's 15-year history has been problematic, particularly over the last year. In June, the agency confirmed that a 16-year-old mentally ill girl had been sexually abused by a Daystar staffer the previous January.

That same month, the Houston Chronicle and the Texas Tribune reported that Daystar staffers had urged developmentally disabled foster care girls to fight one another for a snack in 2008. It was one of 250 confirmed abuse incidents that occurred at Daystar and the other 79 residential treatment centers.

As a result, no new children had been placed at Daystar since July while DFPS investigated the home. The agency quickly hired Jeffrey Enzinna as a state monitor to report on Daystar practices. Once there, Enzinna found lax record-keeping and a one-size-fits-all type of treatment for children.

"From reviewing incoming documentation, my impression is that there was a frequent use of emergency personal restraint and emergency medications," Enzinna wrote last fall. "There also appeared to be no program-wide systems of analyzing the use of restraints or emergency medications."

On Nov. 1, after Enzinna left Daystar, the agency decided to place the facility on probation because of the confirmed sexual abuse allegation from the previous June.

Boy was holding pen cap
Four days later, the 16-year-old Owens, who had been diagnosed with a mood disorder, died after a Daystar staffer physically restrained him in a bedroom closet. Owens had refused to show the staffer what he was holding in his hand, which turned out to be the cap of a pen.

Ruled a homicide by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the case has been sent to a Brazoria County grand jury.

In December, the Chronicle reported that information on restraints used on children at RTCs was paltry at best. At least 54 of the 79 RTCs provided DFPS with only partial information, and 17 of those had failed to submit any documentation at all.

This potentially dangerous technique has been used at least 44,720 times on Texas children living at RTCs from January 2008 through August 2010.

DFPS' letter to Daystar, which notified the home it was to close, cited the restraint issue as one of the key reasons, saying Daystar officials failed to monitor and apply physical restraints that "minimized the risk of harm to the child."

Phone messages left for Daystar administrator Cal Salls and the company's attorney, John Carsey, were not immediately returned. There was no answer at the home of Daystar owner Clay Hill.

3 other restraint deaths
Owens' death was the fourth restraint fatality to occur at Daystar or its sister agencies in Manvel and owned by Hill, of Sugar Land.

In 1993, 16-year-old Dawn Perry died of an apparent restraint applied at Behavior Training Research, a facility that voluntarily relinquished its residential license to DFPS in 1998.

In 2001, Stephanie Duffield, also 16, died at Shiloh Residential Treatment Center after restraints were applied. Today, that facility is still open in Manvel, owned by Daystar's owner, but does not house Texas foster care children.

In 2002, 15-year-old Latasha Bush died at Daystar after restraints were applied.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 71020.html

44
The Fun Never Ends

Students charged with assault, robbery of teacher
By Matt Aiken
Published:
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 9:29 AM EST
A pair of Ridge Creek Academy students will face charges of aggravated assault and armed robbery after they allegedly attacked a counselor, stole her car and fled from deputies in an early morning escape attempt from the Camp Wahsega Road therapeutic boarding school last week.

Officials from the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office said Sydney Vaughn and Lucrezia Albegiani, both 17 years old, developed a detailed plan to overpower their night-time counselor Debra Page and then flee to Atlanta early Friday morning.

“They were conspiring to leave campus and steal one of the staff member's vehicles after assaulting her,” said Investigator Ellis Childress. “They did so.”

It was a few hours after midnight when the two girls reportedly rose from bed and began to strike up a conversation with their counselor. When Page turned her back, Vaughn reportedly grabbed a nearby lamp and struck her on the head with it, said officials.

Albegiani then allegedly put her counselor in a choke hold.

Page, who was still conscious, reportedly told the students to take what they wanted from her.

“They took her keys, her radio and her purse and left,” Childress said.

The pair then reportedly jumped into Page's Toyota 4-Runner and drove away with Vaughn at the wheel.

Page then alerted a nighttime counselor at the boys' dorm who called 911 and reported the incident as a runaway juvenile and stolen vehicle.

By the time the suspects had traveled the eight miles to the Highway 19 Bypass two LCSO patrol cars were turning onto Camp Wahsega Road.

When the deputies signaled from them to pull over Vaughn reportedly sped up to about 70 miles per hour, ran right through the intersection and drove the vehicle into the side of Dahlonega Automotive.

“They hit a propane tank damaging the tank and the well cap,” Childress said.

The volatile liquid leaked into the parking lot but did not ignite. The students were then taken to Chestatee Regional Hospital for precautionary purposes.

Since the incident was not reported as an attack it was only after talking to the suspects that investigators discovered what had taken place at the boarding school, said Childress.

“They said they weren't going to kill her. They were just going to hurt her real bad and they were going to take her car and go down to Atlanta,” he said.

Instead Vaughn and Albegiani were taken to Lumpkin County Detention Center.

Albegiani, of Lemont, Ill., has since been charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery, second degree criminal damage to property and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and armed robbery.

Vaughn, of State College, Pa., faces the same charges as well as a slew of traffic related offenses.

On Monday, Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said the LCSO is occasionally called to the boarding school, formerly known as Hidden Lake Academy, to assist with runaway juveniles but the incidents usually aren't of this level of violence.

“I don't know of anything since I've been sheriff that has been this bad,” he said. “ ... I'm just glad the the officers that were responding made contact with the victim's vehicle and got them stopped, not only for the welfare of the victim but also for the welfare of the two girls.”

Ridge Creek Academy founder Len Buccellato said he had no comment on the incident.

http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/artic ... ssault.txt

45
The Troubled Teen Industry / Daystar Restraint Death 5 Nov 2010
« on: November 16, 2010, 03:25:40 PM »
Brazoria County has not sent children to Daystar since '04
DA noted home's deadly history of restraints, decided risk too great
By TERRI LANGFORD
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 9, 2010, 10:53PM
DAYSTAR DEATHS: Four restraint-related deaths have occurred at Daystar Residential Inc. since 1993.

• 1993: Dawn Perry, 16, dies of an apparent restraint applied at what was then called Behavior Training Research.

• 2001: Stephanie Duffield, 16, dies at Shiloh Residential Treatment Center after restraints are applied.

• 2002: Latasha Bush, 15, dies at Daystar after restraints are applied.

• June 2002: Daystar placed on probation.

• June 2010: Houston Chronicle/The Texas Tribune report that Daystar staffers encouraged girls to fight one another for a snack.

• Nov. 1, 2010: State notifies Daystar officials they again will be placed on probation.

• Nov. 5, 2010: Michael Keith Owens, 16, dies after restraint is applied at Daystar.

Source: Houston Chronicle research and news reports
The history of restraint deaths at Daystar Residential Inc. so troubled Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne that she would not allow troubled children to be placed at the Manvel home — and hasn't since at least 2004.

"I won't take the risk," Yenne told the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, a day after law enforcement revealed that Michael Keith Owens, 16, died Friday while a restraint was applied by a Daystar staffer.

Owens' death on Nov. 5, inside a closet of a bedroom he shared with an autistic teen, is the fourth restraint death to occur at Daystar or its sister facilities at the same address in Manvel since 16-year-old Dawn Perry died in 1993.

Stephanie Duffield, 16, died in 2001. Her family settled with Daystar for an undisclosed amount.

Latasha Bush, 15, died in 2002. Her death, which was ruled a homicide, resulted in a court settlement with Daystar.

Owens' death came four days after the facility was notified it was to be placed on probation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, following a state-appointed monitor's report and the agency's own recent findings.

A preliminary investigation reveals Owens died of asphyxiation, although an autopsy has not been completed.

But it was the last two girls' deaths, nearly a decade ago, that forced Yenne to take a stand, she said.

"We have a great concern about restraint holds as they have occurred in the past," Yenne wrote in a July 7, 2004, notice to Brazoria, Harris and Galveston counties' court personnel. "This has fallen on deaf ears but we are not going to be a party to a future disaster. Any orders of transfer to our county, we will not handle in this regard because this situation is that severe."

Her office, which handles both criminal juvenile matters and placements of abused children who may need the intense supervision Daystar offers, put the state on notice years ago, she said.

Staff training a concern
DFPS had no comment on Yenne's policy regarding Daystar, one of 80 residential treatment facilities that house some of the most troubled children in state foster care, outside of a psychiatric hospital.

Since September 2006, Daystar has received about $15.3 million in taxpayer funds, including $321,000 since Sept. 1.

This summer, the Chronicle and Texas Tribune revealed that Daystar staffers forced developmentally disabled girls to fight one another for a snack in 2008. It was one of 250 confirmed abuse incidents that occurred at residential treatment centers.

A state monitor, assigned to live at the facility for 90 days, left in September but not before reporting to the state that the reliance on restraints at Daystar was problematic.

Yenne concedes that the children placed at Daystar are difficult, but she is concerned about how well the home's staff is trained to handle the most difficult situations.

"I really worry about how they're being trained," the district attorney said.

Sheriff wants to see video
Brazoria County Sheriff's Investigator Ronnie Falks said his office has asked for video taken from cameras inside Owens' living quarters to be subpoenaed. There are no cameras inside children's bedrooms, but there are cameras in the hallways or common areas, he said.

Falks said Owens, a large teen at 5-foot-6 and 230 pounds, was diagnosed with a mood disorder and lived in a room with an autistic teen. His bedroom was located in a double-wide trailer, where he lived with six other children, some with mental deficiencies, and two adults.

On Tuesday, the Chronicle reached Daystar Executive Director Call Salls, who referred questions to the facility's attorney, John Carsey.

"I don't have any comment for you," Salls said before taking a message for Carsey, who was in Manvel at the facility .

Salls, who did not fully hang up the phone, then told Carsey, who was in the same room, that the news organization had called and wanted him to call back. They did not appear to realize the Chronicle was still waiting on the phone.

Crisis response defended
The conversation between Salls and Carsey then switched to a discussion of the videotape of Owens' final and fatal struggle with a Daystar employee.

"I think we've determined what the video shows. It is now a good video. It shows things happening as they should be," Carsey told Salls.

But Carsey acknowledges the limitation of the video camera, which, according to Brazoria County investigators, is in the hallway of the double-wide trailer Owens and six other Daystar residents called home.

"We're never, ever going to see what happened in the room," Carsey told Salls.

Late Wednesday, Carsey elaborated in an e-mail about what he meant.

"My statement about the video is based on the fact that it shows very professional and responsible actions by the Daystar staffers in a crisis situation," he wrote. "The incident was reported as soon as it happened and emergency personnel were on the scene within 10 minutes. The hallway camera just shows the staff and emergency workers entering and exiting the room at varying times."

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