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Youth ranch details policies after
boy's allegation October
26, 2007
By Susan Olp
Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch
officials outlined Thursday their policies and practices, after an
allegation of abuse at YBGR was published on an Oregon Web site.
"We have kids with a wide range of
emotional problems, and we generally have youths who have been
through multiple treatment programs," said Dale Orth, chief
operating officer for YBGR's Residential Division. "Our goal totally
is to help come up with an appropriate diagnosis for that youth, the
right medications, if needed, and as soon as possible, return them
to the community."
The article, published Tuesday on
Salem-News.com, was headlined "California Youth Claims Abuse in
Montana Treatment Center." The piece was taken from a news release
written by the Southern California law firm that represents the
youth in question.
The article claimed a 14-year-old
boy had a door slammed in his face twice, once causing his nose to
bleed. It stated he'd been "regularly put in seclusion and/or
restraints for over one hour, denied medical attention and given
nothing to stop the bleeding." According to the article, the boy
also said he had been kicked by a staffer. The information came from
a letter handwritten by the boy.
The youth, in his letter, asked his
mother to type up his account of the events and send it to the
family's attorney, Leejanice Toback. Toback practices in Long Beach,
Calif. The boy's family lives in Laguna Beach, Calif.
In a telephone interview Thursday,
Toback said the youth, a special education student, had been placed
at YBGR in June by Orange County Mental Health Services and the
Laguna Beach School District.
Toback joined the boy's parents,
the mental health agency and school district officials at least
twice in telephone conference calls with YBGR therapists to discuss
the boy's progress.
Therapists at YBGR said the youth
was not doing well in the lodge where he was placed, according to
Toback.
At the end of July, Toback said,
the boy was moved to a more restrictive setting. He also was at
times put into seclusion, she said.
Unhappy with how things were going,
Toback said, she and the boy's parents began to look at different
options. She wanted the teen placed in a treatment facility in New
Mexico, but it was not on Orange County Mental Health Services'
approved agency list, Toback said.
After receiving the letter on Oct.
1, she said she contacted YBGR CEO Glenn McFarlane.
Toback said McFarlane told her he
would look into the incident. But, according to Toback, McFarlane
said, "If we reported all these complaints, we would spend all our
time reporting incidents to child protective services."
Toback then contacted Montana's
Child Abuse Hotline, relaying her phone conversation with McFarlane
and sending a copy of the boy's letter.
McFarlane, contacted Thursday, said
he could not directly respond to Toback's version of the phone call
because of possible future legal action. He said he could not talk
specifically about any of the youths at YBGR.
"We're not allowed to do that," he
said. "That is part of the HIPAA regulations that, without specific
authorization from the legal guardian, we can't disclose specific
information."
But McFarlane said he and the staff
of the ranch were willing to talk about the ranch practices,
policies and procedures.
Orth said when an allegation of
abuse has been raised, YBGR contacts several state agencies. That
includes Child and Family Services, as well as YBGR's licensing
person from the state, and possibly the Montana Advocacy Program.
If the allegation involves a staff
member, Orth said, YBGR contacts the Montana Board of Visitors,
which reviews public mental-health programs. If a crime is alleged,
the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Department also is informed.
"Given the level of disturbance of
our kids, a lot of these situations come up, particularly around
self-harm or aggression toward others, where they cross a boundary,"
Orth said. "It happens often, but it doesn't often happen that
someone is seriously hurt."
Even if what happens doesn't seem
significant, he said, he will report it to authorities "so it
doesn't seem there's anything we're trying to keep from them."
When it comes to the use of
restraints, Medical Director Dr. Joe Rich said YBGR has a policy
against the use of mechanical restraints. Rich, a psychiatrist, said
staff members are trained in personal physical restraint.
YBGR uses crisis intervention
practices developed by Cornell University to safely restrain
out-of-control youths. First, staff try to de-escalate the
situation.
"If it gets to the point where they
have to be held by a staff person, the staff are trained how to do
that so they don't harm the youth, or to minimize the chance of
accidental injury to any youth or the staff," Rich said.
Rich said every lodge has a
seclusion room with windows. State laws and administrative
procedures dictate how long a youth can be placed in seclusion. "A
staff member maintains constant observation of a youth," Rich said.
The purpose, Rich said, is to help
the youth regain control. Once that happens, the child returns to
activities in the lodge.
"The entire goal here is to teach a
youth to maintain appropriate controls on himself or herself," Rich
said. "And that's one of the main goals of therapy, to help a youth
in controlling themselves, not self-harming or harming others, so,
eventually, they don't need a place like this."
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