Ranch for Kids children residents removed

[DarkAnts]

27 residents of Ranch for Kids have been removed from the facility and placed into state care. For those that don't know, Ranch for Kids is a dumping ground for adopted kids that don't fit perfectly in with their "forever home". I hope these kids finally get placed in homes that will help them become successful adults and get the help they need. 

The facility uses "Christian" principles.

The abuse allegations includes:

Excessive physical punishment including being hit, kicked, and body slammed.

Persistent psychological abuse including prolonged isolation.

Harsh punishments like 15 to 20 mile disciplinary walks along rough forest trails,  and food being withheld.

At least one incident of a nail gun being shot at a child. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1034281

Edited July 25, 2019 by DarkAnts

[PennySycamore]

Those poor kids!!   Shit like this breaks my heart.

[apandaaries]

How the fuck is a nail gun going to help a child who is already suffering?!?!

[DarkAnts]

These troubled teen Christian facilities need to be shut down. Most do not actually have clinical mental health staff. They are unregulated, and usually just serve as a warehouse for the teens until they are 18. 

 

I highly recommend watching Kidnapped for Christ. It follows a teen who was sent to a facility because he was gay.  There was a girl there who clearly needed real mental health treatment but was not receiving it.  

[hoipolloi]

These people -- the Ranch for Kids crowd & the parents who send their kids there -- are fucking monsters.

Here's one of the "parents" talking about his adoptive daughter:

Quote

They rescued her from a slippery slope....The Ranch broke her of all of that. And I think initially it was like a wild bronco. It was real tough for her and real tough for them and they were very patient, very firm and as I said, it saved her life. We saved her life by adopting her and the Ranch saved her life in that the Ranch has given her new hope in life and it has given us new hope in her.

 

[DarkAnts]

2 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

These people -- the Ranch for Kids crowd & the parents who send their kids there -- are fucking monsters.

Here's one of the "parents" talking about his adoptive daughter:

 

We are going to see more of this defense from the director. He has already said that people don't understand how hard it is to work with these kids. I hope CPS follows up on the kids. I know some parents will just find another facility/ or rehome the kids. 

[mango_fandango]

How utterly heartbreaking. Particularly when you read that the first value they listed was “caring.” Caring my arse.

[fraurosena]

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

How utterly heartbreaking. Particularly when you read that the first value they listed was “caring.” Caring my arse.

Oh, I don't doubt they cared at all. For their financial fees. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by fraurosena

[Terrie]

It "works" because they are traumtizing these (already traumatized) kids into submission, not helping them growing into healthy adults.

[anachronistic]

These people have absolutely no right caring for any children, but abused children and children with fetal alcohol syndrome in particular.

If you look on their website, their rules and goals are totally unrealistic. Someone with FASD is in many cases not going to be able to meet their expectations, and not for lack of trying, but because their brains were damaged before they were born. All that will happen is the kid will get more traumatized as they try their best to please and still fail. 

Their handbook is a few years old but is heartbreaking. Hours of work and school each day, no free time, absurd rules and expectations - it’s like a really twisted version of the army. And hours upon hours of isolation if you break the rules, which is the worst thing for kids with attachment disorders. Oh, and of course, dating and relationships are not allowed and are listed as forbidden along with masturbation. Wtf? They’re teenagers. 

I hope those poor kids get real help now. Double, triple trauma for some of them. Poor, poor kids......

[Howl]

16 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

Most do not actually have clinical mental health staff.

Yup, if you read the description for staff applications, there are few requirements and pay is $10/hour. 

[DarkAnts]

The removal of the kids came after a state law came into effect July 1st. There were at least 12 other attempts made to change the laws regarding these kinds of facilities that had failed. Meanwhile, real kids were being hurt. 

 

The facilities were overseen by the Labor Department and religious facilities were not regulated. The rules are still being written for the facility's moving forward. I hope that they are now overseen by the department of human services and that religious organizations are no longer exempt from the regulations. 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1034696

 

[ViolaSebastian]

19 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

He has already said that people don't understand how hard it is to work with these kids. 

Kids with behavioral issues can be super frustrating to work with. That said, the answer is most definitely not body slamming them, hitting them, or shooting nail guns at them. WTF, dude. That is not an excuse. At. All.

[hoipolloi]

The local NBC affiliate has a video in which Sutley denies that there was any problem at the Ranch.

Quote

 

Ranch for Kids didn't respond to email and telephone requests for comment. In an interview with NBC affiliate KECI of Missoula, William Sutley, the organization's executive director, denied the state's allegations.

"If I'm guilty, I should be in jail. If these things are true, you should put me in jail," Sutley said. "Here's the thing: Our passion is to help these kids heal from trauma, and now the state is saying that we are traumatizing these kids? Well, it's just not true."

 

There's more information at that link. Scroll down for more reports & supporting documents like the IRS 990s for RfK.

Edited July 26, 2019 by hoipolloi

[DarkAnts]

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1835675001

"Sutley said he is not a licensed clinician, but added, "I have more experience with this population of kids than any other clinician on the planet."

Clinicians don't abuse children. They treat them with a mixture of different therapy's. This may also include medication. The kids were not getting treated for their mental health problems. They were being abused there.

 

[ViolaSebastian]

1 hour ago, DarkAnts said:

"Sutley said he is not a licensed clinician, but added, "I have more experience with this population of kids than any other clinician on the planet."

This is just straight-up bullshit. Absolutely no one looks to this Sutley character for his stellar knowledge of FASD and RAD. Absolutely no one.

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

"Sutley said he is not a licensed clinician, but added, "I have more experience with this population of kids than any other clinician on the planet."

If he believes this, then he won't have any problem with a construction worker doing his next tooth extraction or knee replacement.

[Marmion]

On 7/25/2019 at 2:04 PM, anachronistic said:

These people have absolutely no right caring for any children, but abused children and children with fetal alcohol syndrome in particular.

If you look on their website, their rules and goals are totally unrealistic. Someone with FASD is in many cases not going to be able to meet their expectations, and not for lack of trying, but because their brains were damaged before they were born. All that will happen is the kid will get more traumatized as they try their best to please and still fail. 

Their handbook is a few years old but is heartbreaking. Hours of work and school each day, no free time, absurd rules and expectations - it’s like a really twisted version of the army. And hours upon hours of isolation if you break the rules, which is the worst thing for kids with attachment disorders. Oh, and of course, dating and relationships are not allowed and are listed as forbidden along with masturbation. Wtf? They’re teenagers. 

I hope those poor kids get real help now. Double, triple trauma for some of them. Poor, poor kids......

By that discription , it sounds like a juvenile equivalent to Colonia Dignidad  .  I fear that this sort of thing  may become ever more commonplace , given Vice President Pence's connection to such a place as this . https://deirdresugiuchi.com/suffer-little-children-mike-pences-disturbing-connections-teen-treatment-industry/  

[Antipatriarch]

11 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

"If I'm guilty, I should be in jail. If these things are true, you should put me in jail," Sutley said.

Maybe that can be arranged too.