Mormon Gulag Advice

[_Eric]

MDB friends,

I need some help. Perhaps even a priesthood blessing. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

As many of you know, I have facilitated several lawsuits against the West Ridge "Academy" (fka the Utah Boys Ranch). While I feel good about my ability to do that, it has recently come to my attention that two of the families have already replaced their children in privately owned residential treatment facilities.

One of those parents is about to receive a hefty settlement, and their child is actually in another questionably humane facility in Utah. Now, wearing my Mormon Gulag hat, I'm happy to see West Ridge suffer. Wearing my CAFETY hat, I can't stomach the idea of a 15 year old spending his/her teenage life in a facility in the most dangerous state for youth in treatment. I've tried to reason with this parent, I gave referrals to wraparound and shared my contacts at ASTART, yet this parent sent their child to Utah (again) because the state of California will pay for it, and is now extremely defensive at my mere mention of what the industry considers "best practices".

It is an absolute fact that without me, this parent would have no legal representation. I can't help but feel like I've enabled this parent in continuing to ruin their child's life.

So I am mulling over a few potential efforts to right this wrong. But as I trust the intellect of the posters here more than what might be my emotions getting the best of me, I'd like to ask for your honest, blunt feedback. Please.

[_Runtu]

I don't think you've "enabled" anyone. People are going to make stupid, poor decisions, whether you agree with them or not. I'm sure it's frustrating seeing that all the effort you've put into this one case has resulted in more of the same from the parents.

But that's the issue: they're the parents, not you. If you hadn't done anything, that child would probably still be in West Ridge, I would assume, so you at least gave the family the opportunity to make things right. They didn't, and there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do about it.

[_bcspace]

I need some help. Perhaps even a priesthood blessing. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I will pray that you will see the utter worthlessness and fultility of your cause and quickly find something more worthwhile to spend your time on.

[_Eric]

I need some help. Perhaps even a priesthood blessing. I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I will pray that you will see the utter worthlessness and fultility of your cause and quickly find something more worthwhile to spend your time on.

I know you're just trolling, but my futile cause owns any accomplishment you could take credit for. Owns. And you've been alive quite a bit longer than me.

[_Runtu]

I will pray that you will see the utter worthlessness and fultility of your cause and quickly find something more worthwhile to spend your time on.

I dunno. Preventing child abuse doesn't seem worthless or futile, but that's just me.

[_ttribe]

I will pray that you will see the utter worthlessness and fultility of your cause and quickly find something more worthwhile to spend your time on.

I don't know about that. If there really are bad acts going on at West Ridge, then there ought to be consequences.

[_MrStakhanovite]

Eric, there is only so much one guy can accomplish in these sorts of things. The worst thing you could do to yourself is to set some unrealistic expectation and then punish yourself for not getting there.

The mission is Westridge, not reforming stupid parents.

[_MCB]

The worst thing you could do to yourself is to set some unrealistic expectation and then punish yourself for not getting there.

Sometimes it is best to turn around and not look back. I should have vacated hell-town long before I finally did. But like Lot's wife--- I wanted to change things, but only ended up losing nearly everything I had.

[_Yahoo Bot]

As many of you know, I have facilitated several lawsuits against the West Ridge "Academy" (fka the Utah Boys Ranch).

Court records reveal only one lawsuit that has been pending for the past several years. Willis v. Children & Youth Services; West Ridge, No. 090909752 (3d Dist Court, complaint filed 6/11/2009). Since Willis has filed in his own name, that means he isn't a minor, I think, but I'll have to pull the file to verify Eric's claim.

Keep in mind what West Ridge really is. It is a state-licensed facility for troubled teenagers. It is licensed by the State of California. It has had and does have mental health workers on site continually.

West Ridge has also been in the past, although it is getting away from that, a Mormon-themed facility. Parents pay huge fees -- maybe $30K-$50K a year to send their boys there and get a forced dose of Mormonism. But, that is what they want; they wanted the family nights, the seminary, the missionaries, the pastoral visits. Parents don't send their kids there and receive a surprise about Mormon influence. For every West Ridge there are 50 Catholic or Evangelical-based institutions with similar business models -- religious-themed and state licensed. (Keep in mind that ordinary parochial schools are state-licensed.)

West Ridge takes all types of troubled kids -- drug addled to the violent, although their website has said they don't take violent kids. In reality, their case workers have to deal with kids who violently don't want to be there.

None of Eric's claims nor claims of friends have, as far as I can tell from court records, led to any lawsuits. Exceptions to this comment appear to be a lawsuit filed by Tyler Elsey, but it appears this case was dismissed in 2009. And, the Williis case, I can't tell just yet.

Are these facilities worthwhile? I really have no comment on that. When parents have asked my advice about sending their sons there, I have always urged them to gut it out at home, put up with the violence and the drugs, and do whatever is necessary to keep the kid in the home rather than put them in hands of people who don't love them. There has been a mountain of studies debating whether these types of facilities are worth it. Experts on both sides.

Are these facilities wrong? I can't comment on that, either, one way or the other. But, when parents decide to use a third party to forcibly restrain and detain their children (abduction is not the right word where the parents sign the commitment papers) and put them incommunicado into a strange place with teenagers with similar problems, I just don't see it.

[_MCB]

Bot, I might just take you off my ignore list for that post. ;)