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To: 12and12@yahoogroups.coon

Date: 'Ne~ Nov 03: 35: 51 -0000

Subject: __ bad night

Hi RECENT ACTIVITY

New Members 3Visit Your GroupFFS c~lled me today to tell me that My ~ad"

first tIme at lunch where he was brought to~ beeI&....-.tl eating teachers-and the-other family membe~nothing..h ~anger-and ODfJiS"~ ~Feal!'just imagine how awfu as been.

arrea!lYtookit-hant(tfeel-tha~bi.a.~are..~wone.f~":1!rd_entoMof~hrst'rritel!nd-said •• ante&t9o<-·

•••• thi 2 .1odProldteth~th _eyputll.dildnn~solatiO~~~ out s morning an to ern a rea y t mean It.Idon't know ~aidthatbeeause~owsthaFs-whatth~wat*to hear or if~ally means it. FFSsaid_eerned sincere.Iam supposed to find out more tomorrow how. doing.

Family foundation

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Ihandled it wellwhen th~ told me but tonight, Iam really having ahardtime--worried'~gIit do something to hurt_nd Jro,o,.woukt-r-everforgive myselfif~<f. Feeling so helpless --all I dois cry just thinking about". Nights and weekends are the worst forme. I come home from work (even late doesn't help) and am by myselfand just worry. I am not sleeping UT~ll.I have bepn "••••;na "

~ ~ .l and have ...,:..1' •••••..,...""'" __ but I still find everything so hard. Allof this is sosurreal.

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I know that noone has the answer to make this all better. I just needto "talk". I fear my family and friends are tired of listening to~I get tired of listening to F

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Subject: Re: Aversive Behavioral Interventions [The Family Foundation School]

To: "Tom Hoqan" <THOGANUilMAIL.NYSED.GOV>

Thank you Mr. Hogan for your prompt reply. I am very concemed about tl'<>;rharsh discipline practices having talked to some of thestudents firsthr-'; received e-mails from fanner students and Ic,,(,wino In) !1ha!!lalready been put on black-out for something as nonnal

: 'arinq at a and being told that he could only talk to the )' s. When I visited the school (for the first time upon my; enrollment), one of the kids stood up and told the group tnat ,wed to talk for six months if didn't get a passing grade of

80 or above. I was also informed that the older students ('buddies· or jr. sponsors) are told by the teachers to wnfront other students aboutcertain things like missing assignments, etc. in front of the family (which indudes 3Q-40 students and several adults) during table topics atlunch or dinner. In my view, not only is this humiliating for the student, especially I, but to have other students be responsiblefor this type of teacher Obligation,in my view is an abuse of power in and of itself.

As you may know, the Admissions Director of the school finally advised me on Wednesday, t! UP' • (after Iasked _ at the end of ourconversation) that a handbook on their discipline policy did not exist, and only after a third request, via certified mail was sent.Up until then, Iwas given remarks like "we must have run out of them" and "can't find one, I think they're re-doing it to make it glossier". Imight also note that as a member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP), that this is a violation of oneof the ethical principles which states that they agree to "fully disclose to prospective candidates the nature of services, benef"ltB, risksand costs". As a member of NATSAP, they also agree to be sensitive to the individual needs of their program participants, but when Iasked one a family leaders for an accomodatlon for my .who has a~ ( t' 5 ) I •

- • became very defensive and said that is something ey on'\ do for any of the kids. '"Theyjust have to studyha

When we spoke again late yesterday, I told.1 was concerned that they had mentioned in one of the enrollment documents that we referto sanctions as spelled out in their handbook but they could never produce one. _hen said tha.was sending something in the mail, butdidn't say what it was. To my knowledge and based on e-mails from other parents; these are some of the sanctions they employ.«

comer timetuna sanctiontrotting sanctiondress up sanctionpoverty sanctionblack-outsisolationtime-outcarrying rocks in a bucket

I do know they have two confinement rooms near the gym that they use which they say are used only when a child is in danger of hanninghimself or others. I don't know what types and methods of restraints they use, or if the people administering such restraints have been .trained in the safe and effective use of restraints. I have learned from the executive director of an organization called ASTART (l'he:Aiiancefor the.Safe..Therape~ and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment~ initiated in 2005. which is comprised of a vast array of mentalhealth professionals from around thtt country that they-maint. an anonymous.websitafoLformer students of therapeutic programs to fileWiftpiaililS of abuse, and. mentioned three regarding the Family Foundation School:

Restraints with duct tapeIsolation in small roomsRestrictions on being given access to food (Perhaps this is a typeof food sanction but not actual deprivation. The admissions director told me thatkids have to choose their portions a month in advance, smaU,medium or largeand have to eat everything on their plates. I have also read testimoniesfrom fger students who said they had teeM bPI 17 p' 2s'1

3 [ .• director even told me that they••••z M 5 7 -)..:: .. \l..("'\& ,,Iv . @ h::-u;-..d t·o <01'\ \-r..) t.)J!. (",. \ - ,J_.'<- .11\0,,", vI>. \to (

This is just a snapshot of some of the sad stories I have read about on various teen heIP.webSit.esrE!9cudin!l.!liisschool. One kid sent me atwo page personal story detailing. hardship from th~ time .got there to the time •••• Stook • out • Mlater. The way"describes .story is in many ways, my perception and understanding as to how they run their program. Because I am deeply concernedabout the impact·on other kids in addition to my" I think it's important that I send this e-mail to you as an attachment.

For your information, I have also attached a copy of sonie of the practices that A START urges parents to be aware of when considering aresidential placement for your child. While there are many other warnings, I have chosen to mention those that I believe are attributable toThe Family Foundation.

Thank you for your time, help and consideration. I look forward to your prompt review of the school's practices.

Sincerely,

Yahoo!Mail-" Page 2 of4..

Tom Hogan <THOGAN@MAILNYSED.GOV> wrote:

»> PatGea~11/10J2006 9:33:20 AM »>The Family Foundation School is not an approved school for placement ofstudents with disabilities. Therefore, by way of this email, I amreferring your issue to the·Office of Nonpublic Schools.

Patricia J. GearyCoordinator, Special Education Policy and Professional DevelopmentVESID, Room 1624One Commerce PlazaAlbany, NY 12234(518) 473-2878

--"""10/06 9:30 AM »>~I is The Family Foundation School.

Pat Geary wrote: What is ihe name of theschool?

»~1'09/oa5:13 PM »>Dear Ms. Geary:

My .has been placed C. • P blc -re notable to agree on a placement) in a private therapeutic boarding schoolin Hancock, NY which is registered as an approved :e n%~school. He has been enrolled in this school since a-,_Ihave been apprised by representatives of the New Yorl< State EducationDepartment about regulations promulgated by the department regarding ageneral prohibition on the use of aversive behavioral interventions,except in situations where the school applies for a child-specificexception. I have read these rules and I am concerned about my child'swelfare because the school utilizes a very extreme model to modifybehavior .• is a • a·student and has an., however, theyhaveinformed me that they do not follow many of the recommendations in achild'~ including , which my., as astudentwith ~as relied upon for academic success since second grade.

At the time of enrollment, I asked to see the school's handbook onits discipline policy (especially since I was strongly advised by twoeducational consultants that the program was highly inappropriate formy

I have reviewed your e-mail to Ms. Geary. I have also spoken to Ms. AmyHoffman of the VESID regional office, where you recently left a relatedvoicemail. As you know, you and I have spoken by telephone concerningThe Family Foundation School, your concerns, and what Iknow are veryfrustrating issues involving your _ 3 etc.

By way of update Iwant you to ki\ow that last week, along with ournonpublic high scl;lool.registration'manager, I had a very lengthytelephone c9nference.;::a1l with administrators and members of the Boardof Trrustees of The Family Foundation School, specifiCally dealing withthe Board of Regents regulations concerning aversive behavioralinterventions. [W~mentIoning your n~ cowsetJ. asked pointblank if the methods you expressly voiced concern about (such as sleepdeprivation, food deprivation, limiting toilet privileges, etc.) areused there. Iwas assured that they are not. IwasliJrther assured that>-the scl rool omtfall are continuing to review all of their proceddi 65 ill~.of the.Boardof Regents regulations, and that ther will complywitb; all. requifementa.

Iwill be speaking in person with school officials early next week, andwill specifically ask about the written materials. I will get back toyou concerning them.

Sincerely,

Thomas E. HoganSupervisorOffice for Nonpublic School Services

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• and that r ~'" accepted there wlout as much as aninterview from' 1 ). The assistantadmissions dirl:.v,vl It," tne room an , .~'UIII.,.jabout ten minutes laterw/out the handbook and said they must have run out of copies. Two dayslater, Iwent back to the school to drop some things off for my_andinterviewed wi the admissions director for about three hours regardingtheir behavioral and academic programs and procedures. At the end ofour discussion, Iasked him again for their handbook, and he gave me ageneral information packet which did not contain the handbook on theschool's discipline policy. He said that "~ was being re-printed tomake it look more glossy, etc", '.

On Monday, 2 _ the admissions director received a certifiedletter from me requesting a copy of the handbook again. At the end ofmy conversation with him yesterday ' ••• TE he finally admittedthat they did not have a handbook on their discipline policy afterall).

I am aware that the regulations require that this school submit inwriting its proposed policies and procedures for approval by the NewYork State Dept. of Education and that there is a process forchild-specifIC exceptions. I believe that the school is subject toclosure if the rules for compliance are not followed.

As you might discern, the school has become VArv ti••fon"iv •• abouttheir program and has warned that un~ss. can worktogether and acceQ! their program, they will aSK mat we hnO anotherplacement for my _by Monday. My maj2,r concern is that they are incompliance with your rules and that my _will not be emotionallydamaged by their strict policies This is a school that uses anAlcoholics Anonymous behavior model and many of the kids there havesubstance or drug abuse, have been in trouble with the law or havepromiscuity issues. My "has none of these issues, neither does.have a diagnosis of oppositional defiance disorder <_had a difficultyear adjusting to a large public high school and• .»and demonstrated some' . _..... . • 711', butnotin an extreme way). By way of example,. was placed on black-out(meaning limited conversation with other students, blc a teacherreported ving blatant ••••

. room (The sCfiOOrdoes not allow the. F'o a ermze or flirt wi each other. They are supposed to act

Ii e they are brothers and sisters.)

Could you respond to my e-mail~oreachmea

Thank you for your courtesies.

as this is veryor home

e ••• '''' .••••

Sincerely,

\

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: j Thinos_to_Consider __ ResictentJal_Programs.cIoc (45k) [Preview]

7 3

From:

fo: Mr. Tom Hogan RECEIVED

vRe: Family Foundation Schoor'

Date: 11120/06

Mr. Hogan, I hope my now you have been able to review the information which I e-mailed you concerning the Family Foundation School and its discipline practices. I amforwarding some additional background material for you to review, includingcorrespondence which I received from the school stating that it did not have writtenguidelines regarding its discipline policy although they stated on page 8 of the enrollmentdocuments that they employ sanctions "as spelled out in the handbook". I am includingan e-mail from a parent which specifically states that 'child was just placed inisolation last week.

I do not believe they are following the new policy on aversive behavioral interventionsand I greatly urge you and your staff to review this matter in person so that the cycle ofemotional abuse of these children can be stopped.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you verysoon.

Building Character, Changing Lives,

November_

De~

I am responding to your letter dated November_ I have previously forwarded to youthe parent information handbook, and another i~sed here for your reference. Although we 'do. not.bavC!r&writtenolistof sanctions, you and I have discussed at lengtlrthe-nature and type ofsanctions that are used at the school,-such-asrestricted contact between students called black out(as a new student,'" is on black out with and new students), yes/thank you sanctionthat helps teach students not to argue or talk back and the use of the comer for other behavioralissues that may arise. You may continue.the dialogue about.sanctions with , the'identified contact person for f~ as ' can discuss arrr-sanctions that are beingimplemented specifically with~ reference to the "behavior management techniques"referenced on the Parental Authorization for Physical Restraint Form, thisis referencing Tel(Therapeutic Crisis Intervention} techniques More information on these can be found athttp://rccp.comell.edurrClpagel.htm.

Iam unable to address any of the medical questions and have forwarded your letter to _. our Director of Nursing. You may be in touch with to discuss the concerns you

have about any medical or dental concerns or appointments.

Thank you.

nO+e.-.: fucc. ~S 11 D

(hiM-'fl\}Y\ Vf ~>J loa tlv'ho: ~ ~d S~f-.-f,'~/i y Brain, MA

P for External Relations andActing Director of Admissions

431 Chapel Hill Road. Hancock. NY 13783· Phone: 845-887-5213· Fax:845-887-4939· www tbebmilvc:ch,.,,.,L-----~------,c.. .•.