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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

This just appeared on the New York Times editorial blog. I thought you all might want to post comments. Might be a good opportunity to speak out as survivors.
http://http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/

October 30, 2007,  3:02 pm
The Dark Side of Youth Boot Camps
By The Editorial Board

The Government Accountability Office exposed a national outrage earlier this month in a report that found thousands of allegations of abuse and neglect at treatment programs that sell military-style discipline as a way to set delinquent youngsters straight — sometimes known as boot camps.

The GAO report, unveiled at congressional hearings chaired by Rep. George Miller, Democrat of California, cited case after case in which employees at these largely unregulated camps endangered the lives of teenagers left in their care.

The report focused on the harrowing deaths of ten teenagers, including 15-year-old Roberto Reyes, whose case has now been referred to the FBI for closer investigation.

Roberto’s parents enrolled him at a privately operated camp in a remote area of Missouri after he developed disciplinary problems and eventually ran away from home. Soon after arriving at the camp, he was bitten by what may have been a spider. He lost control of his bodily functions and developed other symptoms that should have signaled the need for immediate medical attention.

As is typical in the boot camp world, the staff accused Roberto of feigning illness and pushed him ever harder. When he was too ill to exercise, the staff tied a 20 pound sandbag around his neck. He died not long after being admitted to the camp’s sick bay.

No criminal charges were filed against the program, its owners or any of its staff. The FBI should take this case seriously. Beyond that, federal and state legislators need to bring these often dangerous programs under closer regulatory control.

AuntieEm

Parents, I urge you to always investigate further the licensing and accreditation claimed by a therapeutic boarding school (TBS), wilderness program, or boot camp for teens.

* "JCAHO accreditation" is often very misleading.  Look specifically at what a facility's accreditiation actually means.  Here is the site for the Joint Commission Accrediting Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO): http://http://www.jointcommission.org/. Look for the "Quality Check" at the right, and search for your school. Also, look at the organization's "Publicity Kit" for its Gold Seal of Approval--very heavy emphasis on branding the Joint Commission. http://http://www.jointcommission.org/AccreditationPrograms/PublicityKit/gold_seal.htm

Now take the example of VisionQuest, a program in PA that a parent recently asked about here on Fornits.

According to what I've read VisionQuest is JACHO approved, and has been studied by the Rand Corp and University of PA and found effective.

JCAHO "accreditation" (not "approval") means things like the staff checks 2 IDs before administering meds, that the staff agrees on acronyms and abbreviations in written records, and that they follow handwashing protocol.

Have a look. Here are the "Safety Goals" that JCAHO accredits for VisionQuest:
http://www.qualitycheck.org/QualityRepo ... lth%20Care

The report further says that the last time JCAHO completed a "full survey" of the VisionQuest facility was 9/23/05--over two years ago--and the last time they  
completed an "on-site survey" was 3/17/06, more than 18 months ago.  

JCAHO accreditation tells you nothing about the facility's ability to handle a teen with mental illness, past traumas or violence, emotional difficulties, or drug use. Yet VisionQuest, like other facilities, is more than happy to let parents think that.

* Licensing can be equally misleading. Dig deeper. I looked into licensing of a facility in Idaho. What "licensing" means there is that they meet the miniumums for a licensed boarding school--such as, they have a fire evacuation plan, their food service is sanitary, they have written educational plans on file for each student, staff in certain positions have a certain level of education, etc. Here are the Idaho regulations: http://http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/rules/idapa16/0602.pdf. I encourage you to look up the regs for other states with TBSs. I found this of little value in knowing the quality of care, therapy or education at the facility. If they are found to be in violation of the licensing code,  a "deficiency" is reported and the facility is asked to fix it (the facility remains open).

Accreditation by the Idaho Department of Education (IDOE) means only that they can issue a high school diploma. As a private school, the accreditation comes not through the ID DOE, but through a private non-profit accrediting body, the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS). I have learned through news reports and posts by others here at fornits that the State of New York has refused to accept diplomas from other boarding schools accredited by NAAS (Ivy Ridge, if I'm not mistaken).

This information is public record. By all means verify any of it for yourself.

Please do not be falsely reassured by licensing and accreditation. You must investigate further.

AuntieEm

Would any of you be kind enough to tell me more about what you experienced in the first days, weeks, months you were home?

Did you go back to your old school? Did your friends know where you'd been and what you'd gone through? What did they say?

Were there things that friends or family could have done or said to help make it easier? Were there things they did or said that made it harder to come home?

AuntieEm