Warning Signs of Illegal Marketing of Abusive Programs

When searching for a program or a boarding school that you want to fit the needs of your child, one of the first things you come up with on your search engine is marketing pages for for-profit therapeutic boarding schools and/or wilderness programs and boot camps. The reason for this is that they are owned by major corporations who make big money and use it to open up new facilities and are hungry for some more. Most of them will be up in the face of desperate families and will lie to them about the program structure, length of stay, academics, accreditation, and even encourage the parents to lie to the child or the other parent. Some will even encourage the use of a so-called escort service to come and kidnap their child by surprise in the middle of the night.

Prepare to meet your Doom JRC!

As a horrific video recording from 2002 of a student being tortured after acting out was released. As many of you know, The Judge Rotenberg Center operates just like any other program for troubled teens with the exception of using electric shocks and the wider range of students they serve. People are now jumping on the "Close the JRC" bandwagon. A campaign from the Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) is starting a movement called "Occupy the JRC".

• There is a news article along with a graphic video of that same student strapped to a restraint board and screaming for help as he's being shocked. http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/undercover/video-of-teen-restrained-shocked-for-hours-to-be-played-in-court-20120410

Here is a message from Anonymous about the shock torture at the school.

Hospital and behavior modification centers regarding Rick Santorum

A recent article on Republican candidate Rick Santorum and his views on the health care and troubled teen industry. He decides that people can make their own decisions and not government organizations. Unfortunately in the case of minors, it's the parents that provide placements for them and their often NOT suitable places because the government cannot provide it for them. It shares the stories of abuse of two teenager girls in two different Texas RTC's.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/rick-santorum-uhs-hospitals-patient-rights_n_1276403.html

Proof of what prolonged neglectful punishments can do!

A case of child abuse resulted in the death of a 9-year old girl from Alabama who was forced to run laps non-stop as a form of punishment outside her house. She later collapsed from dehydration and low sodium and blood sugar levels.

These are the exact kinds of punishments being used at private therapeutic programs specifically designed for teens. Their primitive, prolonged torture is used for therapy in many wilderness programs. If you have had no idea about what such punishments can do, this case is a clear example of what exactly happens in remote locations where these is no help from the outside world. Unlike the troubled teen industry there were witnesses, and police later criminalized that young girls care takers. If only there were witnesses of abuse in troubled teen schools and programs, just imagine the amount of media attention they would get  based on the disturbing story of this innocent girl.

Video Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/alabama-family-charged-in-girls-running-death-15774533

Why HR 911 failed in 2009

HR 911 also called the "Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008" looked like it had a lot of hope of getting passed by congress as they heard the issues. But this failed to pass and resulted therapeutic programs to continue the abuse they were doing.

It began with owners of Hephzibah House and Reclamation Ranch knew this bill was a threat to their business so they gathered supporters. One of those supporters was NATSP (National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs) who joined forces to testify to congressmen, most of whom where Republican. Opposing members of congress debated that "The bill is not needed, states are best suited to handle this" saying that the federal level would hurt their businesses, thus denying that teenagers are being abused by their therapies and poorly trained staff; The result of their regulation free paradise.

There is evidence that the economy was going through rough times that caused the Republican House to fear that it would hurt unemployment even more. Thankfully this bill is being re-introduced.

Source: http://www.alternet.org/belief/152024/the_shocking_stories_of_how_christian_homes_treat_troubled_teens_?page=7