One point which is hight-lighted is the level sysem.
Food at Midwest Academy was used as punishment according to the prosecutor.
“Level 1 had certain restrictions,” said Timmins. “Food was a privilege there. So as a Level 1, you could not eat catsup and mustard and you could not have the salad dressing at the salad bar. You had to earn condiments.”
It is basically the same at Turn-about Ranch used in Dr. Phil Shows. When a teenager enters Turn-about Ranch, they are housed in a modern heated cabin enjoying the same food as teenagers on higher level. Their food is also basic.
A testimony from a former Turn-about Ranch residents tells us that:
They eat breakfast (oatmeal, cooked over their personal camp fire in an old coffee can), lunch ("trail mix," which is shredded coconut, Cheerios, and raisins), and dinner (which can vary from beans & lentils to Ramen noodles, depending on availability and behavior).
Then the Level one teenagers are also met with restrictions on who they are allowed to communicate with. This is what is writen about Midwest Academy:
“As a Level 1, you couldn’t talk to people. There were certain people you could talk to… but Level 1's were not able to talk to each other. They weren’t allowed to talk to staff. It was part of the discipline.”
What are said about Turn-about Ranch?
During this time they are not allowed to talk (except to ask for water or food) and are forbidden to sleep except when the staff tells them to.
It is basically the same. Again at Turn-about Ranch we see the attempt of isolating the newcomer from the rest of the teenage population at the facility. It is a gruesome mental method used to break down the teenager so they can force the teenager into making kind of confessions making the stay at these private teenage prisons justified.
There is a reason that isolation in any form is considered close to torture. Most humans are social creatures. They do not have the mindset so they can bare isolation for longer periods. In justice systems they learned this the hard way when they designed early prisons. In the start they believed that isolating prisoners from each other forcing them to wear hoods which covered their faces while they were out would make them repent and become good people. These methods were abolished as the prisoners became insane. Keeping in mind that a counselor was murdered at Turn-about ranch and another hurt when a teenager could not bear the isolation any more, why are such methods then still allowed in Utah?
Communication with the outside world was also restricted. Why limit the communication with the parents, the people who are paying for the stay. Parents could not drive by any weekend and talk to their child. Communication were limited to letters, letters which were screened so the employees could ask for a new version of a letter if it was too complaining.
It is basically what allowed the alleged abuse Ben Trane is on trial for. In 2012, Denmark introduced "the law of a child". In Denmark teenagers in group homes are allowed the use of cell phones from day one. It serves two purposes. The child can call the state hotline preventing abuse. The child can be tracked using the cellphone if the child runs away from a group home. The child and the parents can maintain and repair their relationship.
The background for "the law of a child" was tragic. On the island of Laesoe a male employee has sex with a girl who was isolated due to some rules at a group home. The confession of the male employee was secretly taped by the girl and she also keep part of her clothes with his semen on.
The Danish court system handed down the most severe sentence the system allowed them. 60 days in prison suspended. It demands an explanation. In Denmark social standards are very much enherited. People from low-income families, immigrants and people who were placed in the social system are at the bottom in the court system. When they are charged, their names are made public unlike people with money who can afford lawyers where their names are secret until the courts have ruled. So the victim in the sex-case was from a low-income family and the employee a local respected man. 60 days was a severe sentence given the circumstances.
It left the Danish politicians with only one option. To abolish use of isolation for children when possible. Only when we are talking crimes like terrorism and use of guns, the court can rule for isolation.
I believe that the state governments of both Utah and Iowa should rule against any use of level systems where food and social isolation are used.
Use of isolation does not result in positive change. The most smart of the teenagers learn that they just have to play along and wait until they are 18 so they can continue their lives as they did before the stay.
The other kids leave such places damaged and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The suicide rates among people who suffered time during their teenage years are alarming high. The number of former inmates in these places who dies of medical overdoses also.
They are basically good for none but of course good for drama in television shows like Dr. Phil when the teenagers are dragged out to a car by handpicked thugs while the teenagers are screaming about not forgiving their parents. It is a sick culture.
It needs to be stopped and it is up to the politicians to save teenagers from ending up at such places. The real question is whether they are prepared to do that when jobs are brought to an area. Ask your local polician this question over and over again until you get an answer.
Sources:
- Prosecution Lays Out Criminal Case Against Former Boarding School Owner (WIUM Tristates Public Radio)
- Turn About Ranch (A Rough Guide) (Tales from the black school testimonial blog)