If the child is completely restricted then a child cannot report it.
That's a BINGO!!!! A child who is abused in his program and is further abused by restricted communication cannot report the abuse. Thank you for finally admitting that this policy fosters an unsafe environment and is in fact abusive.
Say if for example the child was placed in isolation.
Happens quite frequently. I myself was thrown out in the woods for almost a month for beating up a staff member. Another favorite tactic is to simply lock the kid up in an isolation room indefinitly. In either situation the child has no means to report or communicate any abuse to their parents.
But if the child has access to other staff then the child can speak with them and report it through their internal reporting process.
What internal reporting process? Do you have some information on this policy? Are children in the programs made aware of it upon arrival? I sure as hell was never told about one, and I've never heard another former inmate mention one. I don't think I've ever even seen a posting on here about one. What I have heard and seen repeatedly is abusive staff either not reprimanded at all, or let go temporarily only to be rehired a short time later.
Given that the normal response given to a child reporting abuse to another staff member is, "Stop manipulating." this would seem to be a fairly useless option.
The child could write a letter or talk about it to their parents.
We're talking about a scenario in which a child is placed in a program where communication is restricted. Writing a letter isn't going to do any good since all letters are screened, and any letter detailing abuse is going to be trashed. If the child is allowed to call their parents for 15 minutes a week a counselor sits right next to the phone with their finger on the button. Any attemps by the child to communicate they are being abused and the call is terminated. So no luck there.
If the program is not too isolated the child could walk to a nearby business and telephone someone.
Assuming the program isnt too isolated, the child can attempt to run away. If they're seen making the attempt a "take down" is performed which involves tackling the child to the ground and placing them in some form of hold until the child can be returned. Upon returning to the program the child is immediately either placed in isolation, or sent away indefinitely. If the child is able to successfully run away without being caught he has to first convince either a business owner to allow the use of his telephone, or make it to the police. At HLA we were actually warned about the first option. We were told by the headmaster that any attempts to get help from the locals would result in a gun being pointed at our face. Does that strike you as using fear tactics or being manipulative? The second option involves convincing the police to believe you and not simply take you right back to the program where you will of course be isolated. If you are able to use the phone at the police department you still have to hope they wont return you to the program, and the only way that will happen is if your injuries are severe. Of course if your injuries are that severe chances are you weren't able to make to the police station to begin with.
So it appears as if the child who is abused and is restricted in his communication really doesnt have any good option in order to report the abuse. Once again proving that this policy fosters an unsafe environment and is abusive.
