It’s an easy stereotype to fall back on, but it’s not really accurate. Sure, there are some who just want their kid shaped into something else and can’t be bothered to do it themselves, but I think the majority of these kids probably really do need help that their parents can’t provide. The problem is that their…

I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s actually still run by the same people.  A change in ownership can be just a reorganization to conceal misdeeds.  It happens in other industries; no reason it wouldn’t happen here.

The biggest problem, as I see it, is these private, unregulated “schools” promote themselves like mental health facilities, and they’re really not. Parents know that residential treatment programs exist, and they are led to believe that this program is such a thing. Some of the abusive ones think they are doing good,…

I didn’t know those places took kids as young as eight. That’s a baby. I would hesitate before sending a kid to summer camp that young, and a whole bunch of adults agreed a troubled teen center was the best place for Kayla Smith? I’m sure it was an extreme situation, but wow.

I’m not a fan of hers, but god damn that shit is messed up. I’m glad that she’s using her clout to help shut these horrible schools down.

A “change in ownership” means precisely jack-fucking-shit in terms of the attitude, behavior, or even basic makeup of staff. These aren’t exactly the kinds of jobs that most people aspire to, so I’m guessing the staff was unchanged. People with a great deal of empathy don’t tend to last very long in these settings.

These types of schools are so prevalent in Utah, and such a big business, that I’m shocked there was enough support to get any oversight.

I had several friends who worked at schools like this, because it was a job you could get with little education and training. They had several stories of children stuck in…

Whether it’s this place, or that Jesus nightmare down in the DR or the place in Cummington, MA where I worked, these places are not good places for kids. None of them are places to send hurting kids. The kids hate every minute they are there and each moment makes them more resentful of their parents.  Expensive and…

I researched on these stories to figure out the parents’ reasonings, and they all come down to: drugs, promiscuity (whatever they define as), psychological effects of the parents’ unstable marriage, and the kids not liking their parents enough (This one is real. Parents can be true narcissists). In each of these…

He probably makes money either directly from shilling or from part ownership of some sort. Dude is a total charlatan. 

“Dr" Phil is on promoting these types of places all. the. fucking. time. I hate that guy.

It’s not shitting on you or people like you to admit that there’s a huge potential for abuse in treating children like property without rights, and to consider whether there are better options - like a formal commitment process - that would allow residential treatment programs to help very troubled children.

I appreciate the fact that this experience helped you. However, when people say something “saved their life” I’m always a bit dubious.
There’s no way of knowing what would have happened to you had you not gone to this school. You may have had some other profound experience that changed your life for the better. You…

This is just awful, I can’t imagine what living like that sort of fear is like.

Good for her for using her spotlight and money to try and get these places shut down. This is such a disgusting cycle - the news highlights stories about abusive, creepy ‘treatment’ centers for teens (who have few if any rights if they’re being warehoused by awful parents), there’s an outcry, there’s some shuffling of…

Thanks for that. The comments giving him a pass for being off his meds just show how eager people are to excuse men and downplay violence to women. The mentally ill person who harassed me for years did so whether he was actively in treatment or not and whether sober or drunk. He physically assaulted other people…

His mental illness is moot because he knows about it and has treatment options.

So, even if once off the meds, he couldn’t make choices about beating his girlfriend because of his disability, he is still responsible for the choice to go off the meds.

Same as drunk driving. We prosecute drunk driving. Even if you are too…

he reportedly told officers on the scene that he thought he’d killed his girlfriend and apologized during his arrest, saying, “I don’t beat women.”

I think this is the problem with a punitive based criminal system: you get into a lot of pointless arguments about things like metal health and fault. As far as I’m concerned these are academic arguments: the purpose of the criminal justice system should not be to punish, as that would require moral judgment and…

I’ve read several articles now that list details from the police report. According to the report, she refused to bow to him, which triggered the attack. He beat and choked her into unconsciousness and, thinking she was dead, he went back to eating his dinner. When she regained consciousness and ran to lock herself in…