From Amy's article:
Meanwhile, Utah licensing officials say there is little they can do about complaints that come in for programs like WWASPS, which remain unlicensed because they are "boarding schools."
and
"Our concern is that there is currently very little, if any oversight," Stettler said.
While licensed facilities have to meet minimum requirements for health and safety purposes, programs termed as "boarding schools" such as Majestic Ranch are outside the state's purview.
This is total BS and a frustrating issue industry wide, as they all want to claim to be traditional boarding schools but operate as pseudo mental hospitals heavy on the BM. Stettler's been around the block and absolutely knows what's going on in WWASP and other facilities- knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that they aren't "boarding schools".
The burning question is WHY aren't licensing officials requiring the facilities to define their scope of services and then making their OWN determination as to what classification the facilty falls under.
Licensing is charged with monitoring residential facilities. It should be incumbent on every facility that hangs out a shingle to contact the state and file paperwork defining the full scope of services in detail. If licensing suspects a facility is not what they profess to be, it should be incumbent on them to go in and access what the actual classification should be.
Stettler and other officials like to spin the illusion that their hands are tied because the facility is claiming to be a boarding school. So, tell the public what you need to hear in order to initiate an investigation. In my case, a complaint stating that the facility was other than what they claimed. (well documented) It is beyond me that licensing doesn't have the authority to walk into any facility and inquire about their operation. A major oversight in the laws governing such a powerful state entity. Corporations have too much power and licensing does not want to risk lawsuits, etc.
If the folks at licensing can't distinguish the difference between a traditional boarding school and a residential treatment facilty or therapeutic boarding school, I suggest they adopt the definition of boarding school, "primarily educational institution" used by ICPC:
http://icpc.aphsa.org/documents/Regulations.htm ICPC Regulation 4-1-(a): "Primarily educational institution" means an institution which operates one or more programs that can be offered in satisfaction of compulsory school attendance laws, in which the primary purpose of accepting children is to meet their educational needs; and which DOES NOT DO ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) accept responsibility for children during the entire year; (2) provide or hold itself out as providing child care constituting nurture sufficient to substitute for parental supervision and control or foster care; (3) provide any other services to children, except for those customarily regarded as extracurricular or cocurricular school activities, pupil support services, and those services necessary to make it possible for the
children to be maintained on a residential basis in the aforementioned school program or programs.
ICPC Regulation 4-5 : The type of license, if any, held by an institution is evidence of its character, but does not determine the need for compliance with ICPC. Whether an institution is either generally exempt from the need to comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children or exempt in a particular instance is to be determined by the SERVICES IT ACTUALLY PROVIDES or offers to provide. In making any such determinations, the criteria set forth in this regulation shall be applied.
http://www.hhs.gov/progorg/oei/reports/a318.pdf The Office of Evaluation reported to the Office of Inspector General that (excerpted)
the Compact has jurisdiction over the following types of interstate placements: placement into foster care; child care institutions, and residential treatment facilities. The Compact does not have jurisdiction over the following placements:
placements into schools, made by a child?s parent, stepparent, grandparent, adult sister or brother, adult aunt or uncle, or non-agency guardian with any such relative or non-agency guardian. (Non agency- any person or entity
which has court appointed parental rights)
http://www.hhs.gov/oig/oei/reports/a453.pdfThe Office of Evaluation in a May 2000 report for the Office of Inspector General, states:
For the purpose of this study, we define residential care as 24-hour group care of children provided by paid staff unrelated to the children. Children who are placed in residential care often need services that other settings do not provide, such as specialized counseling.
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And fine hell out of facilities that are found to be in violation. I would bet money that there's not one program owner/director perpetrating this fraud that doesn't know what they are doing. There maybe some ignorant licensing directors out there who are clueless. Stettler's not one of them.
Come on Stettler, what boarding school restricts contact with parents, provides care ("treatment") 24/7/365, doesn't allow access to public phones, monitors phone calls and mail, doesn't allow students off campus, denies home visits and contact with parents for "therapeutic" reasons... just to name a few. And one more, how many calls does licensing receive regarding abuse at bonafide boarding schools? This ought to send up red flags. All one has to do is take a look at the facility's website and/or Google their name. If you don't have the time, I'll offer that service free of charge if you'll go after the bastards and insure they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
