Warning Signs of Abusive Residential ProgramsFrom ASTART, the Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Approriate use of Residential Treatment, housed at the University of South Florida Department of Child and Family Studies. See their fact sheet at
http://http://astart.fmhi.usf.edu/AStartDocs/factsheet.pdf Auntie Em
ASTART recommends that you beware of residential programs that:1. Are not state-licensed and accredited with regard to all 3 aspects of the program: the (1) educational, (2) mental/behavioral health and (3) residential components.
2. Claim to be able to assess your child and make program recommendations by internet or by phone and then urge you to “act now” to prevent serious harm to your child and family.
3. Recommend or support the use of private “escort” or “transport” services to take your child to the program.
4. Do not respect the wisdom and expertise of parents and youth:
• Do not allow your family and child to visit the program, see all the facilities and meet all the staff before deciding to admit your child.
• Tell you to expect that your child will lie to you while in the program, and encourage you not to believe reports of abuse because these will be “attempts at manipulation.”
• Do not encourage you as parents to be active participants throughout all stages of the program.
• Do not welcome feedback (praise or criticism) from your child regarding the program.
5. Restrict youth & family rights in terms of:
• Contact with family by phone, mail and in person (for example, no phone contact or visits for first month; censored mail; monitored visits with no opportunities for parent/child discussion in private).
• Dress code (for example: require youth to wear jumpsuits or flip-flops).
• Typical age-appropriate behavior (for example: forbid eye contact with youth of the opposite sex; forbid speaking, smiling, or moving without permission).
• Parental rights (for example: do not contact parents immediately in the case of illness, injury, emergency or treatment/medication changes).
• Do not provide hotlines for youth and families to call at any time if they feel that their rights are being violated or they are being mistreated.
6. Use harsh and excessive discipline practices that include: seclusion, restraint, corporal punishment, punitive “behavioral modification,” fear tactics, humiliation, peer-on-peer discipline / peer pressure, forced labor, heightened physiological stress (for example, excessive exercise, sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, forced retention of bodily waste or nutritional deprivation) or sedation by medication.