The school was founded by Brian Vaifanua who previous ran Paradise Cove in Samoa. Today the closed Samoa camp is mostly known for having housed two children who later moved on to kill relatives as revenge due their placement at Paradise Cove or at least it was what the conclusion the courts came to.
Both Midwest Academy and Paradise Cove was a part of the nationwide WWASP organization. Schools affiliated with this organization were closed by authorities in several states and countries out of welfare concerns towards the minors forced to attend these schools by their parents.
Of the schools who used to work with WWASP there are only two left.
- Red River Academy in Lecompte, Louisiana
- Sunset Bay Academy in Mexico
Beside the WWASP related school also a number of so-called therapeutic boarding schools and treatment centers use the same approach and parents should be aware that they leave their children in huge risk of abuse by using the facilities which use this kind of structure.
It is only a question of time before a child is exposed to abuse or a child find itself so abandoned by family and social network back home that the only option seems to be suicide. Unfortunately a number of suicide attempts have been succeessfully. In a place like Diamond Ranch Academy in Utah a boy was able to hang himself and at the now-closed Spring Creek Lodge in Montana a girl committed suicide.
Should residential treatment be the last option as parent see to that you can visit as often you like and if possible from the very first day.
Of course you cannot expect your child to be happy about the placement but you can show your support for your own decision to show up and to a certain degree support the treatment approach you are paying for. Otherwise the treatment will have no effect. Children will return to their old ways. You would have lost a lot of money for nothing. Maybe you even will see that your child will need additional treatment as result of posttraumatic stress caused by the placement.
Now the parents have to collect their children from Midwest Academy. Some might consider to send their children to other places so they can find time for holidays or whatever activity they paid to get time for by paying for having their child placed at Midwest Academy. Maybe, just maybe they should second-guess their priorities in life.
Being a parent is the most important job in life.
Sources:
- 'Very complex, large area' part of investigation at school (KCCI news)
- Midwest Academy parents notified to pick up their kids (KHQA News)
- Search Warrants Executed at SE Iowa Boarding School (TSPR News)
- UPDATE: at 5 p.m. Friday – DHS gives parents 24 hours to pick their kids up from Midwest Academy according to a parent. (Daily Gate City)