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CAICA
COALITION
AGAINST INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD
ABUSE
Compelling film about teen rehabs gone bad – Part 3
Parents desperate for help
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view
May 28, 2007
By Isabelle Zehnder ©
www.caica.org
I am honored
to have been one of the first to see Director Nick Gaglia’s profound
film, Over the GW - a film about a world that existed a few years
ago just over the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey when Nick
was a teen. A world that, sadly, still exists today I. Zehnder
As mentioned in
Compelling film about teen rehabs gone bad, part 1, Over the GW
is a poignant film directed by Nick Gaglia that is based on a real
life experience in a cult-like rehab center that preys on vulnerable
teens and their parents – programs that are still widespread. It is
a frightening look at what went on behind closed doors then -
and sadly - what goes on behind closed doors today.
The actors of the
film did an excellent job at capturing the essence of what youth
endured at KIDS, Inc., New Jersey, a spin-off of Straight, Inc.
Parents
desperate for help
Parents by the thousands are sending
their teens, pre-teens, and children to facilities and programs away
from home. I'm not talking about summer camp. I'm talking about
residential programs for kids that last anywhere from a year to over
five years. Parents sometimes questions if they've made the right
decision.
The Ronald and Nancy Reagan “Just Say
No” anti-drug movement of the 70’s and 80’s may have started out
with good intentions. But, instead of rehabilitating and helping
kids and teens, many were brainwashed, abused, and neglected by the
very people who were supposed to be there to help them. There were
no laws in place to regulate the industry - it was pretty much a
free-for-all. Eventually most of the abusive programs were shut down
on allegations of child abuse and neglect.
This is far from over as
today not much has changed. While there are some good, therapeutic,
and safe programs for children and teens, as there were then, there
still exists a problem that touches the lives of what many believe
to be tens of thousands of families each year.
A new industry evolved in the 90’s
that took the world by storm. Yet most people do not even know it
exists. It has become a multi-billion dollar a year industry
estimated to house hundreds of thousands of children into its
programs each year. While most programs are located in the US, some
US-based companies have opened facilities overseas. Four countries
have shut down American programs housing American children run by
American businessmen.
Some people call
this the "Teen-Help" industry, some call it the "Teen-For-Hire"
industry, while others call it the "Troubled-Teen" industry. It
doesn't really matter much what it's called. What matters is that
most people are not aware it exists. Most people are not aware that
children and teens all over this country are being awoken in the
middle of the night by strangers, often being placed into handcuffs,
then transported to facilities hundreds and thousands of miles from
home. These kids don't know what's happening to them and many have
indicated the experience has left them with Post Traumatic Stress
and with a lack of trust for adults. Many parents have admitted
their children were not in trouble with the law, many were not even
involved in drugs or alcohol, and many really didn't have any
significant issues. Some parents were just not in a position to keep
their kids at home and found what they thought to be an easy answer.
Many learned that they got a whole lot more than they bargained for.
Many of their kids were abused, neglected, and some have died.
The fact that an
industry exists that houses tens of thousands of youth each year
into facilities and programs, that this industry is completely
unregulated, that there are no Federal guidelines, that there is no
outside entity overlooking its operations, and that they often hire
uneducated, untrained, unqualified, and uncertified staff is not
only frightening but it's a recipe for disaster, in my opinion.
Many facilities
do not have any medical staff on board, yet they are taking kids who
have disabilities and special needs. Many do not even have a
psychologist on board and do not even offer therapy. Some allow
social workers to evaluate children and teens and to randomly decide
a child no longer has a diagnosis, and therefore no longer needs his
or her medications. How can a social worker make the determination
that a child who was diagnosed by a qualified licensed medical
professional suddenly no longer has ADHD, Bipolar, or Oppositional
Defiance Disorder? How can this social worker take the child off all
of his or her medications without consulting with a medical doctor?
Buyer Beware
Many of today’s
parents are paralyzed in fear that their children will make all the
wrong choices and will end up on drugs or worse, will end up dead.
Why have so many turned to the Internet for help, and why have they
allowed complete strangers with no expertise or credentials to
evaluate their child via a questionnaire on the Internet?
In an effort to
see how these programs operate, a fellow-advocate contacted one of
the 800 numbers she found on the Internet and asked if they could
help her locate a program that she could then recommend to parents
of children with ADHD. She was told to fill out an online evaluation
questionnaire and that she would be contacted via e-mail. She was a
bit surprised but did as she was told. To her dismay, she received
an e-mail with a full evaluation of her son. She had no son, she
indicated on the form she was inquiring about a group of kids with
ADHD.
Why have parents
allowed themselves to be lulled into believing someone else can turn
their child around, when often their child or teen is doing nothing
more than behaving like a normal child or teen? Why have parents
lost confidence in their own parenting abilities? Why are they so
readily signing their children into programs and facilities hundreds
and thousands of miles from home without even visiting the place
themselves?
Parents have
spent years teaching their children to stay away from strangers. So
why do parents allow themselves to be convinced that it is in their
child’s best interest to hire a child/teen transport company to
remove their child or teen from their home? What could they possibly
have said to these parents to convince them it’s OK to have complete
strangers enter the child’s room in the middle of the night and to
then force the child to get dressed in front of them? How can
parents believe it is in their child’s best interest to sign away
their parental rights and to allow these strangers complete power
over their kids? Parents are signing contracts giving transporters
permission to use handcuffs or pepper-spray on their child, should
they deem it necessary.
Once the children
have been transported to their destination they are placed in the
hands of more strangers. Strangers their parents have never met, and
often never even talked to over the phone. Most oftentimes the
parents have spoken only to the marketing agent they found on the
Internet. When the dust settles parents are left with a 58-page
contract they’ve signed but often never read. It doesn’t settle well
with them when they see they’ve signed a contract that states the
program can transport their child to a facility in another country
at the parent’s expense, should the program deem it necessary. Yet
they are on some level powerless to even bring this up. Usually, all
of this has occurred in a matter of days and the parents’ heads are
spinning. They wonder if they’ve done the right thing.
Just when they
begin to wonder if they’ve done the wrong thing they get a call from
the program telling them their child is doing great. After having
had a night to think things over parents often want to speak to
their child to know the child is OK and has survived the ordeal.
They are abruptly told they will most likely not speak to their
child for another three months or so. Most parents are left
speechless, asking why? Why can’t I talk to my child for three
months? The answer? Because your child is manipulative and will try
to convince you to bring him home. While most parents are not happy
with that answer, most go along with it. We’ve heard of parents who
have not spoken to their child for 18 months or more and we have to
wonder, why?
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 1
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 2
Don’t get stung by WWASPS – it’s easier than you think
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 3
Parents desperate for help
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
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