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Remember this editorial from the Palm Beach Post?
The points discussed here are still valid and still need to be addressed by Victory Forge. It is because of some of these loopholes, Weierman and his minions can get way with abuse. Yes, it is abuse when kids are beaten, food is withheld, and cover-ups happen. Yes, someone of the kids may be bad, but they should not be treated like animals, even though parents may have signed away the kid's rights.
Still waiting from the State legislator to act to regulate these prisons for teens.
Recap:
1. In April, a 16-year-old boy ran away from Victory Forge Academy, a private, boot camp-style military school in Port St. Lucie. The teen had been shackled for several days, and even had been confined overnight.
And what will the system wind up doing about that? Nothing.
2. A DCF spokesman said the agency has serious concerns about student safety at Victory Forge, but because the school is private, the agency has no authority to regulate it.
3. Parents, who pay more than $28,000 a year for a child to attend the school, sign agreements that they accept the various forms of discipline the school uses, including the shackling of runaways.
4. So, who protects students from the abuse at unregulated schools? Apparently, no one.
Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abuse. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Dr. Phil and teen issues
Love him or hate him but Dr. Phil McGraw is a psychologist. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, a master's degree in experimental psychology and a Ph.D in clinical psychology. He is also a TV personality who says it like he sees it.
One of our parents happen to sit on a flight next to a producer of the Dr. Phil show. While talking, the parent happened to mention the unregulated boot camps for teens that are prevalent in the US and brought up the one in St. Lucie which claims to be blessed by the military. The producer stated that they had done shows on troubled teens (links of the shows were provided to the parent and we will refer to them in other posts) and that what he heard from the parent, sounded very disturbing to him. He was intrigued by the idea to talk to children who have gone through these programs to see how they did once they left and if these unregulated boot camps had any lasting psychological damage on them. Empirically speaking, he stated that he would believe the answer was yes these boot camps cause more damage than they do good.
If this becomes an idea for a show, parents who sent their children to Victory Forge, please let us know if you and your children would like to talk to the Dr. Phil show. The way it works is that once a show idea is approved, the show will interview parents and students. A selected few would then appear on the show. The parent is in contact with the producer and will offer up names once the show is a go.
As an aside, some of you may have known that a parent had contacted the O'Reilly Factor last year, to inform them about the abuse taking place at Victory Forge. The hope was to get the Factor to investigate. Unfortunately, with the election being such a big story, our story was drowned out. The parent had asked if he should try again. We think, YES. If you think otherwise, let us hear your comments.
One of our parents happen to sit on a flight next to a producer of the Dr. Phil show. While talking, the parent happened to mention the unregulated boot camps for teens that are prevalent in the US and brought up the one in St. Lucie which claims to be blessed by the military. The producer stated that they had done shows on troubled teens (links of the shows were provided to the parent and we will refer to them in other posts) and that what he heard from the parent, sounded very disturbing to him. He was intrigued by the idea to talk to children who have gone through these programs to see how they did once they left and if these unregulated boot camps had any lasting psychological damage on them. Empirically speaking, he stated that he would believe the answer was yes these boot camps cause more damage than they do good.
If this becomes an idea for a show, parents who sent their children to Victory Forge, please let us know if you and your children would like to talk to the Dr. Phil show. The way it works is that once a show idea is approved, the show will interview parents and students. A selected few would then appear on the show. The parent is in contact with the producer and will offer up names once the show is a go.
As an aside, some of you may have known that a parent had contacted the O'Reilly Factor last year, to inform them about the abuse taking place at Victory Forge. The hope was to get the Factor to investigate. Unfortunately, with the election being such a big story, our story was drowned out. The parent had asked if he should try again. We think, YES. If you think otherwise, let us hear your comments.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Another Option for Troubled Teens
We continue with providing parents with alternatives to the hellish place known as Victory Forge. We received another letter from a former student who was there in 2002 - he repeats the same allegations that all others have about this place. We cannot caution parents enough about VF.
From official statements: Teen Challenge is one of the oldest, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world. Established in 1958 by David Wilkerson, Teen Challenge has grown to more than 170 centers in the United States. Teen Challenge is structured to allow flexibility in meeting the needs of those whose lives have been shattered by addictions. Where residential care is needed, Teen Challenge offers a well-developed, multi-phased discipleship training program. Teen Challenge also provides extensive non-residential assistance through personal and group sessions. Prevention programs are provided to thousands each year through public school assemblies and church meetings.
It is our guess that the Weierman's have tried to copy the religious aspects of Teen Challenge to offer legitimacy to their prison for teens. Teen Challenge, according to our research and interviews is more cost effective and promotes confidence in teens rather than destroying them. Moreover, there are Teen Challenges' in just about every state, and there may be one right by you. Click here for locations.
From official statements: Teen Challenge is one of the oldest, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world. Established in 1958 by David Wilkerson, Teen Challenge has grown to more than 170 centers in the United States. Teen Challenge is structured to allow flexibility in meeting the needs of those whose lives have been shattered by addictions. Where residential care is needed, Teen Challenge offers a well-developed, multi-phased discipleship training program. Teen Challenge also provides extensive non-residential assistance through personal and group sessions. Prevention programs are provided to thousands each year through public school assemblies and church meetings.
It is our guess that the Weierman's have tried to copy the religious aspects of Teen Challenge to offer legitimacy to their prison for teens. Teen Challenge, according to our research and interviews is more cost effective and promotes confidence in teens rather than destroying them. Moreover, there are Teen Challenges' in just about every state, and there may be one right by you. Click here for locations.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Spin Master Weirman (no not the machine you use in the gym!)
Happy New Year to all our readers.
A while ago, a parent contacted us and stated that he had hired some private investigators to perform a background check on VF and those running the program. The parent did not want to share that information with us on advice of his attorney. Now, the parent has been permitted to share some information on the findings of the PI with us. This story has been corroborated by prior employees.
Recall that Alan Weierman is married to Molly whose father, Rev. William Brink, was a convicted child molester who went to prison. Also recall, that Alan Weierman himself had many run-ins with the law and has known violent tendencies. Details can be found in older posts and elsewhere on the web.
Alan and Molly’s son, Jonathan was also a troubled child who had issues with drug and drug abuse. Alan and Molly had tried to cover this up and even went so far as to lie to their staff that their son was in drug rehab when in reality he was at his child molesting grandfather’s house. At this time, we do not have additional details as that information was not sent to us by the parent.
Knowing that a child is in custody of a violent man who is known for his bad temperament should cause a parent to pause. Add that to the fact that the institution was started by a convicted child molester who had a shady history and the fact that the Weierman’s could not discipline their own children, let alone someone else’s. How could someone of good conscience place their children in such a place run by such people? I guess forgiveness is divine, but if someone has 3 or more strikes against them, caution is needed not forgiveness.
We will try and get more information on the Weierman’s for you. They are, and let us quote a former employee “spin masters” so facts are what will matter. The facts are in front of you – the Weirman’s are a messed up family who are trying to teach kids the straight and narrow. Hypocrisy, is one of the words that comes to mind.
A while ago, a parent contacted us and stated that he had hired some private investigators to perform a background check on VF and those running the program. The parent did not want to share that information with us on advice of his attorney. Now, the parent has been permitted to share some information on the findings of the PI with us. This story has been corroborated by prior employees.
Recall that Alan Weierman is married to Molly whose father, Rev. William Brink, was a convicted child molester who went to prison. Also recall, that Alan Weierman himself had many run-ins with the law and has known violent tendencies. Details can be found in older posts and elsewhere on the web.
Alan and Molly’s son, Jonathan was also a troubled child who had issues with drug and drug abuse. Alan and Molly had tried to cover this up and even went so far as to lie to their staff that their son was in drug rehab when in reality he was at his child molesting grandfather’s house. At this time, we do not have additional details as that information was not sent to us by the parent.
Knowing that a child is in custody of a violent man who is known for his bad temperament should cause a parent to pause. Add that to the fact that the institution was started by a convicted child molester who had a shady history and the fact that the Weierman’s could not discipline their own children, let alone someone else’s. How could someone of good conscience place their children in such a place run by such people? I guess forgiveness is divine, but if someone has 3 or more strikes against them, caution is needed not forgiveness.
We will try and get more information on the Weierman’s for you. They are, and let us quote a former employee “spin masters” so facts are what will matter. The facts are in front of you – the Weirman’s are a messed up family who are trying to teach kids the straight and narrow. Hypocrisy, is one of the words that comes to mind.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Another alternative, which is very cost effective is to use a parent support group in your area. There are a lot of support groups which provide classes, tips and other suggestions to help out your teen. This is a great place to start and will also help provide you with ideas.
Counselors sent us a list of some of the support groups they were familiar with. We wanted to compile a list, but we noted that such a list has already been compiled by Parenting Teens. In some cases, a few states are still missing and we will try and complete the list on that site.
To find a support group in your area, click here.
If you have additional questions, please forward them to us and we will send it out to our counselors.
Counselors sent us a list of some of the support groups they were familiar with. We wanted to compile a list, but we noted that such a list has already been compiled by Parenting Teens. In some cases, a few states are still missing and we will try and complete the list on that site.
To find a support group in your area, click here.
If you have additional questions, please forward them to us and we will send it out to our counselors.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Weierman was not in the Military?
According to Military Personnel Records - this the repository of all military records - Alan Weierman (the self professed COL of Victory Forge) is not really a Colonel. He never achieved that rank, which did not surprise us. What was surprising though was that the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) was "unsuccessful in identifying a military service for" Alan Weierman.
The NPRC needed some specific information to be sure, but their preliminary search did not show that Weierman was in the military.
Alan, want to prove us wrong? Want to prove to us that you indeed are a Colonel and that you indeed were in the Military?
We are not holding our breath as Weierman has what is known as a compulsive lying disorder. Beware.
The NPRC needed some specific information to be sure, but their preliminary search did not show that Weierman was in the military.
Alan, want to prove us wrong? Want to prove to us that you indeed are a Colonel and that you indeed were in the Military?
We are not holding our breath as Weierman has what is known as a compulsive lying disorder. Beware.
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