Full Statement from Leake & Watts School
Thursday, January 17, 2013 9:30AM
The consistent findings of extensive third party independent reviews by the police, the District Attorney's office, the medical examiner and state officials support Leake & Watts' own internal review, which determined that on the night of April 18th staff followed appropriate therapeutic practices designed to support the young people in our care. Corey Foster’s death was a tragedy. In regard to the lawsuit, we look forward to addressing its claims in court.
Meanwhile, we remain focused on serving children, adults and families with a wide range of needs and look towards doing all that we can in the service of others.
By way of background, some media stories have mentioned different types of therapeutic practices, including isolation rooms and electric shock treatment. Leake & Watts does not make use of these techniques.
It is both practice and belief at Leake & Watts that therapeutic restraints are to be used only as a last resort and by staff trained in required approaches, only when a person has become an immediate threat to himself and others, and only after efforts to avoid and deescalate dangerous behaviors have been exhausted. Third party and internal investigations determined that staff initiated the therapeutic hold correctly and in accordance with approved protocol, which mandates that therapeutic holds are only instituted if an individual poses a danger to himself or others.
Each day our staff engages the youth we serve in a positive, constructive manner intended to encourage, support and enable them to address their own personal challenges.
Meanwhile, we remain focused on serving children, adults and families with a wide range of needs and look towards doing all that we can in the service of others.
By way of background, some media stories have mentioned different types of therapeutic practices, including isolation rooms and electric shock treatment. Leake & Watts does not make use of these techniques.
It is both practice and belief at Leake & Watts that therapeutic restraints are to be used only as a last resort and by staff trained in required approaches, only when a person has become an immediate threat to himself and others, and only after efforts to avoid and deescalate dangerous behaviors have been exhausted. Third party and internal investigations determined that staff initiated the therapeutic hold correctly and in accordance with approved protocol, which mandates that therapeutic holds are only instituted if an individual poses a danger to himself or others.
Each day our staff engages the youth we serve in a positive, constructive manner intended to encourage, support and enable them to address their own personal challenges.
Filed Under: As Seen On The Show
Comments
Staff that have undergone "classes" to show them how to handle students who have extreme behavior problems are usually not adequately trained. Two or three days of 8 hrs. a day workshops hardly prepares support staff to do any of the things necessary to deal with this population of students.
Within the last ten years teachers who are trained are usually staffed with assistants who are poorly trained.
When the teacher states that a particular child requires more support than public schools can offer the teacher is not supported.
Good Non Public Schools (NPS) are very expensive because they have the total staff who can work together to help a student in crisis.
Due to budget cuts, far too many students who should either be in behavior intervention classes within the public school or placed in a NPS for the treatment they require are placed with general ed. teachers or special education teachers who do not have the required training.
These students are not throw away students. There are many, many ways to help these student.
Cuts in school resources as well as mental healtal cuts provide fewer and fewer resourced for these special students and their families.
Under No Child Left Behind I was told that my degree in special education with an emphasis on severely emotionally disturbed adolescents and a degree in psychology were inadequate. I had already been teaching students who were severely emotionally disturbed for 20 years.
My reply to the person doing the interview was,"It's been quite useful so far".
Due to budget cuts, public schools do not have nearly enough programs staffed with people who are actually trained to deal with this population of students.
One way public schools deal with this type of student is to simply change their school within the district. They are sent to other teachers who have little or no training in behavioral techniques to really service the student and their family.
I taught in a NPS in Compton (EKO Multipurpose Center) for 5 years and it felt like graduate school. I learned from such talented professionals.
I then worked for the Santa Ana Unified School District in Santa Ana, California.
I saw wonderful programs disappear as funding disappeared.
I did work with many gifted staff members but as time went on the programs were ignored, under staffed with qualified assistants, and definitely underfunded.
I retired in June of 2012 but I feel for the teachers, students, and parents who are still fighting the system.
For due to some issues this Nana from Missouri went on a mission to find answers, for you see my grandson come to live with me he has special needs. On that mission to get answers why the school get by with things, sadly I found a few groups where families have banned together due to children have been abused at school by restraints and seclusion's. I had a women call me right before Christmas break where her 5 year old with CP had been restrained at school she had to take her to the er. I have found over 3,000 stories where children have been abused at school. IT is time we stand up and hear the cries of our children, WE are the Voice for our children. Many of the children are non-verbal or have problems with being able to express what happen at school. I know my grandson can not tell me, for you see when he first come to live with me he was thought of more non-verbal. I home school him now. He has ASD, SPD, mixed receptive and expressive language disorder then add PTSD due to what happen before he come to live with me. Like I said at the school to some staff did not know you had to go to school to learn to show compassion for our children with special needs. I felt that was part of being a caring human being. So what happen to compassion in our society for our children. You can find many on Facebook @ Camera's in Special Needs Classrooms. A group of parents and grandparents and concern human beings that care about children wanting better for our children. We want Camera's in the classroom's in the whole schools. I have to ask, why not, protect our children should be more important. How many more children have to pass due to abuse at school by school staff before a outcry for them are heard. How many more have to be abused then have life long issues from that abuse before we hear the silent cries of our children and do something different to save them. Do you hear the cries?
Dear Anderson, I am writing to say that I realy like your show. I was brought up in forstercare and I lived at Leake and Watts Childrens home longer that anyone. I arrived there Dec.9,1968 and I left on Aug.5 1979. Everything I know about life I learned there, The staff there were like my Mothers and Fathers. They took me to the airport on that August day, I was to attend the University of Louisville. I did ok in college, I didn't finnish. What was tough on me was shcool breaks, 19yrs old and no place to come home for school break. That is only part of the story. I do have a lot more to say Anderson. You have my e-mail address.