Abuse Caught on Camera at ALA (Forced to Close)

In Recent News, Abundant Life Academy has been in the spotlight after child beatings were caught on tape. ALA has relocated to Virginia of all places after ownership was given to Paul Branning. Initially founded by Craig and Wendy Rodgers in Mexico, they relocated to Utah after they were raided by Mexican authorities. Rodgers, who has a past felony conviction marketed ALA as a "Therapeutic Christian Boarding School" in the same way a similar facility Diamond Ranch Academy does. They lied about the fine arts, athletics, and social life going on at the so-called school to trick parents into sending their children there. In Utah, ALA has had one campus in Kanab and another in St. George. All the controversy regarding child abuse at ALA, Rodgers has handed ownership to Branning who has moved the facility to Eastern Virgina in mid-2013. Now since then there have been 4 staff convictions and have since closed it's doors.

The following link below shows both archives of the beatings and the closure.

http://wtvr.com/2014/12/02/christian-academy-owner-breaks-down-about-closing-school-after-abuse-caught-on-camera/

With the system set up the way it is, it's possible that they are going to open up under a new name unless Branning and Rodgers are all convicted. Research shows that Craig Rodgers dirty work is still at large. He runs a referral agency called Zion Education Systems Inc. which promotes programs for troubled youth. Their website is very dangerous as it also deceives parents to chose their abusive treatment facilities they receive bribes from instead of real legitimate education opportunities and psychological help. 

Pay attention to the states your looking at: Vanguard School is not what you think

Some schools could still be abusive and substandard rip-offs even without the 'therapeutic' label. For example, there is a special school in Lake Wales, Florida called the Vanguard School that does just that. According to local reports there has been incidents of students abusing other students and the staff/teachers not responding due to the school being run so cheaply. So when searching for a special boarding or day school, make sure that it's NOT therapeutic (this category has a very punitive approach) and does NOT serve too many categories or a full range of disorders like a 'one size fits all' fashion. Make sure that the schools specialization/services is specific with your child's disability. However special schools may not be the only option available depending on your child's disability, you should check what kind of special ed services that the private school provides.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/guess-which-state-does-th_b_6157780.html

More Coverage on Tiarra Blanca Ranch Abuse

It's been a while since I've done a blog post. This was due to the lack of coverage the past few months, until now that is.
This time the owner of Tiarra Blanca Ranch is fighting back.
Why? Because the parents and the media are destroying his business. So he is suing the victims, parents, and the reporters for defamation.
New Mexico is calling this "one of the biggest child abuse cases" they've ever dealt with. The state is now pressing more criminal charges against the owner this time. Will Scott Chandler be brought to justice?  That all depends on how much corruption is in the New Mexico courts.
There's also a lawsuit that attempts to expose the illegal contract which the parent grants the facility with parental authority. Sometimes, they request to sign away custody rights too!! In this contract it states they are NEVER liable for any wrong doing to the child. Thus, abuse and murder are legal in this case according to the corrupt courts.

Family Foundation School (Allynwood) Confirmed for Closure!

The Family Foundation School (Allynwood Academy) has FINALLY decided to close it's doors! This is primarily due to increasingly small enrollment driven by negative press on the internet. It's a very similar fate that happened to the Elan School back in 2011. In it's final years FFS has renamed itself Allynwood Academy to regain it's business and continue to mislead parents. However this tactic failed big time as FFS survivors caught up in the news and warned parents who were likely to enroll their child for treatment or better education. A big thanks' to the survivor group "The Family School Truth" for getting the word out and sharing their stories. They've also included the investigations by the state of New York plus the suicide that took place back in 2004. Let's make sure the staff from this place never re-open it in another state.

Homicide Charges Involved in Group Home Death

A recent death occurred in an Ohio group home for troubled teens. This should come to no surprise as these places are unregulated with almost no oversight. The program called OhioGuidestone seemed to have an unlicensed staff restrain a child after he was provoked. According to investigators, the child got angry and punched a staff in the face which resulted in the fatal restraint.
As expected, the facility refused to comment further on the situation to cover-up their criminal operating practices. It is very likely that the kid felt threatened and was trying to protect himself from a staff who could very easily take advantage of the children in their care. http://www.cleveland.com/berea/index.ssf/2014/05/death_of_teen_physically_restr.html

Colorado is FINALLY Cracking Down on Abusive Facility Ignored for so Long

This problem is all across the country as many of you know. Even in states with more strict regulations and oversight than other states (such as Utah or Arizona). Unfortunately, this handful of states seem to be the only ones investigating and checking the licensing of staff who work there. The state of Colorado has checked with DHS on licensing of the Adolescent and Family Institute of Colorado with it's owner Alexander Panio under scrutiny. Even more reports come out after a families bipolar daughter committed suicide shortly after being discharged.
It turns out that Panio was not a licensed therapist in the state of Colorado, despite the claim on AFIC's website and the records from DHS. Which means that his Ph.D was illegitimate since it was from an unlicensed and unaccredited school. Even in states that do require accreditation and licensing, there are no regulations regarding accrediting bodies and checking their legitimacy. Which in turn mean that some accrediting bodies can accredit anyone who wishes to be accredited and just let the places regulate themselves. There is a page on this site regarding licensing and oversight in each state.

CNN Article http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/09/us/colorado-treatment-center-lawsuits/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

The Legality of Paid "Escort Services"

There is an Online Petition to outlaw the use of escorts transporting minors to residential treatment centers!

Many know this is common in the Troubled Teen Industry, there have been testimonies of kids being taken by escort services hired by their parents to legally kidnap them to an prison-like facility. These kidnapping services are for-profit (sometimes they're from the facility the child is being taken to) and are NOT police officers. They are really huge thugs that will beat up or restrain the child in his/her bedroom in the middle of the night. According to survivors, this was often the most traumatic experience they've had. And the worst thing about these is that it's ALL LEGAL in the United States.

These escorts are NOT legally defined as kidnapping, as the US Kidnapping Statute contains a clause that's frequently overlooked. Stating that a minor has no right go resist such a process as defined by this clause, since children are generally viewed as property of the parents. Meaning the parents have the absolute right to send the kid off as they wish across states and even to foreign countries and get through airport security.

More lawsuits on Dr. Phil and Tierra Blanca Ranch

As many of you know, Dr. Phil has been seen sending troubled teens away to Aspen Education Group facilities for sadistic entertainment. He has even supported escort services to legally kidnap teens to these programs. He is now being sued by a family who's daughter was sent to Island View after appearing on his show was abused at the program.
Aspen is notorious for child abuse in it's behavior modification techniques. These facilities are portrayed exactly as the are on their deceptive websites with the support of Aspens spokesperson Kristen Hayes. According to a LinkedIn profile, Hayes is NOT a licensed mental health profession or educator.  It's noted that even psychologist (even with MD's and Ph.D's) receive kickbacks from such places to send children who need help without concerning the child's safety, well being, or even looking into this as a good fit for his/her particular issues. This is also a common practice with the pharmaceutical companies paying doctors to prescribe certain drugs that can easily make money for them.

Tierra Blanca Boys Ranch also seems to be in even more trouble after a death occurred after more abuse allegations were filed on behalf of the victim. However there are still no criminal charges filed for criminal acts at the ranch as well. Could it be the corruption of law enforcement in these remote areas? These documents of the lawsuits leaked should get the attention of the attorney general instead.
Tierra Blanca Ranch Lawsuit

How Parent Manuals are used to keep kids detained in abusive programs

There is another VERY importaint warning sign to look out for too. And that is the "parent manuals" that these programs. These are pamphlets that the program gives out for parents to read if they consider sending their child to such programs. What they REALLY do is throw out a bunch of scare tactics in order to manipulate the parents to keep the child in the program for a long, long time. The parent manuals will prepare the parents for how there child will react when they communicate with them via phone call or letter.

Here is an example of one from the now defunct Paradise Cove leaked by WWASPS Survivors.
http://wwaspsurvivors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IMG-1.pdf
_If you ever see such communication guidelines as depicted in the document link above or something similar, GET YOUR CHILD OUT OF THERE! This is a sign that there is abuse going on and they are trying to cover it up by coercing you not to listen to your child's cries for help and deeming them a manipulator. For one former detainee from Paradise Cove, his parents fell for this tactic and refused to take his complaints seriously. Later turning to crime, he continued this path up until his death from being gunned down by police.

Distinguishing enrollment forms of fraudulent Programs/Schools

In regards to the deceptive marketing and the education consultants, it's seems next to impossible to distinguish the legitimate non-abusive boarding schools from the fraudulent and abusive programs. Many of these programs referred by education consultants appear to be normal college prep schools. Since they are part of the troubled teen industry, they call themselves "therapeutic" boarding schools when they are actually just residential treatment centers. However the abusive programs have content in their enrollment forms that other schools/programs don't have. They have enrollment agreements which states they are not liable for any wrong doing and cannot be sued. This also allows them to re-open under a new name and go unpunished. Read this carefully parents, because this is REALLY A BRIBE!

Below are some examples of waivers that can be seen on the facilities respected websites;