Name: (or n/a for anonymous)
Laetitia Ray Moreno a.k.a Tish
Do you wish to grant further testimony to investigators?
YES
Age and year of admittance:
15 jan.25th 2006
How long was your stay at D.A.?
18 months
How long have you been back home?
2 years
Before the program did you have a serious drug problem?
not really i wasn’t “addicted” i just did them sometimes
Did you have a daily habit?
no
Before the program were you admitted to any other residential treatment, for instance a mental hospital?
yes i was sent to RIVERVIEW because i had anger issues suicidal issues some drug use and just didn’t listen so my parent sent me there. also i had to go to a psycologist they checked me to see if i had like bipolar or something.
Before the program did you have a criminal record or spend time in Juvenile Hall? no
Where you court ordered, or did your parents choose to send you to D.A.? my parents choose me to go there
Was there a medical admissions process?
no they just needed my shot records they didn’t even check me just a drug test
Were your medical records considered before you were admitted into D.A.?
i dont think so
Did you sign yourself in (give consent) to receive “treatment” at D.A.? no
How much was your tuition?
my parents said total amount was 60,000 that they spent there
Do you think you were given a “proper” education at D.A.?
NO. learning on the schools and not really being able to get alot of personal help is really hard
In your opinion were the teachers, good teachers? Did they have degrees and certifications? some of the teachers were good other really didn’t care they would either blow you off and not explain acting like they didn’t have enough time and other like ms.lynn and mr. puckett would sit there and explain it with you. but there was always a waiting list so you would be stuck in the same lesson for a long time.
How many school credits did you earn?
like 22
Did you receive a diploma from D.A.?
yes
Was a certified medical professional available to students at their request?
not really. only sometimes depending on the chaperone and the medical person was rude and inconsiderate. she really didn’t care she would just hand you a pill and tell you to go on. the chaperones always thought you were faking if you said something was wrong. i couldn’t eat one morning because i had gotten dropped for wanting to use the bathroom during class which was my third cat 2 and i was naseus and ms.paige the administration on that shit told me i was faking it to go talk to her because i had to eat 80 percent and i ended up throwing up on the floor next to her shoe. even after that they made me pick it up and only let me rest 30 minutes. i was sick the rest of the week. the nurse didn’t do anything
Were proper check ups, dental cleaning, and medication observation appointments held regularly? no you had to wait till you were a level four and sometimes they wouldn’t let you go unless you actually had something visibly wrong with you and the nurse agreed because they had to go out of their way to take you there
If you got sick were you given adequate treatment and rest? no. i.e. when i was nasues
Were you ever refused medical care because staff said that you were “faking it”?
yes
Was a medical service offered for drug detox or drug rehabilitation?
no
Was there any kind of “Drug Education” available for students who had used drugs in the past? no
What is the name of your case manager? What was their role in your program? case manager..i guess the family rep was ms. connie. she was in charge of talking to the parents and relaying messages making sure you were doing what you were supposed to. the main communication within your family.
Was group therapy considered to be of a confrontational nature?
group. when we did feedback. you would have to stand infront of each other and like say whats wrong or right about each other starting with the words..my experience of you is
Do you feel you were forced to confess to things you did not do in order to progress in the program?
yes. especially in the seminars…they were horrible
Were students encouraged to accept that they were alcoholics or drug addicts? yes. in seminars the person that would host them would make them feel like shit “excuse my language” if you did pot once you were and addict..you felt less of yourself so you thought that you were some type of horrible person
Was this required to advance in the program?
yes. in order to get certain levels you needed to pass some type of seminars
Were students encouraged to follow a 12 step program (the AA doctrine) in order to earn levels and graduate D.A?
no. you had to go through seminars and be able to be passed through your chaperones the school administration and mr darrington and paul. paul was like lower than mr. darrington. kinda the middle man in between mr. darrington and the family reps.
Were students encouraged to accept a “higher power” contingent to their recovery?
they kinda said alot about god but they didn’t have church.
In your opinion, How was the food quality? Was it prepared properly? no sometimes it was cold and hard to swallow kin of gave you a naseusness in your throat.
Did you ever go hungry? Were you given proper portions? Was food ever withheld as a punishment? they took sugar away and only gave us toast sometimes because some ppl were fatter where there were ppl like me only weighin like 92 pounds when i got there that didn’t need that diet. sometimes the food was little because there wasn’t enough carbs to fill you up.
Did you gain a lot of weight? were you forced to eat more than you were able to eat? yes i went to 113 when i left. you HAD to eat 80 percent of your food or you would get into trouble they had ppl check your tray before you could dump it and if you didn’t and couldn’t finish it before the other families entered the cafeteria you got a cat 3 and had to sit in worksheets and write the rules for 15 pages.
Please describe the “Fear Factor” games, including what was in the “Fear Factor” food. How did you feel about this?
fear factor games? i dont think we did that.
Were upper levels or any level students asked to babysit the staff’s children, or taken to the staff’s house for any extended period of time? no one was really taken to the staff house. i know when i was a level 2 the upper levels would talk about going over to mr.darringtons house and watching movies and stuff. he lived right behind the school. and upper levels would watch the lower levels sometimes when the chaperones would be “too” busy on the phone or something.
Where you aware of anyone being restrained and isolated from the group? yes. when ppl come in at first sometimes they would be crazy and they would restrain them and send them into this small room and they would ahve two upper level in there sitting there watching the kid in the room and if there was a a chaperone it would be one upperlevel but the chaperone would only be there if there was someone in worksheets writing the rules.
What reasons were these people restrained? (please describe actual events) uhm. if they went crazy. someone came in their first day and i think they were on something. and when they went into the computer room she threw computers around and was cuzzing so they restrained her. and then when ppl would run. guys especially. you would see alot of male chaperones run after them
Where stress positions utilized? Were there more time in isolation given if the student would move or shift weight?
yes. you always felt like you were doing something wrong. you got a consequence for everything. like when i do school i can’t just stare at the computer so i would be looking out of space to try to think of something you know to memorize and i would get an off task and the chaperones would trip if you looked at them to wrong and if you looked out the window for more than three seconds it was run plans. it was just really crazy you always felt like you were so tiny. like a slave.
(Please describe the rules and structure that would pertain to a level 1 student.)
level one sucked honestly. you didn’t get to do anything. you didn’t get to talk to many ppl at all. they chaperones treated you like shit because you were probrably new or to them level one was like a low person. you didn’t get a candy once a week you didn’t get to be trusted.
Was contact with your parents limited? Where your letters (to and from) intercepted? Were your letters opened, read, crossed out or cut? yes. you had to wait to be a level 3 to talk to your parents and yes i think that the letter were crossed out because there was this one time i was an upper level and i had to do dishes so it cut into class time and i wasn’t able to go to the bathroom because i was washing so when i went to the class room i asked the chaperone if i may go and she said no and i told her i was on my period and she still said no. after thirty minutes i started bleeding through my pants and i asked her again and she said i could wait an hour till we go. that if a lower level can’t go neither can i so i got mad and asked to speak to administration. well the administration and her were like lil buddies and before i could talk to her the chaperone went outside and closed the door and said something to the administrator before i could talk so when i went out there to talk to ask her she said no only if i take a cat 2. disruption to class. so i took it because i wasn’t wanting to sit and bleed on myself. it was horrible. and she said if i felt like i was being mistreated i can write a grievence..this piece of paper you fill out if you get a consequence which hardly gets read
How long before you were able to speak to your parents on the phone? Were your phone calls monitored?
uhm it depended on how quick you got points and levels i think for me it was like 9 months and yes you would have to sit right in front of your family representative. my family rep was actually nice so i didn’t have to fear about really talking to my parents but the other family reps were really strict and alot of students couldn’t really talk to their parents because they made them only talk about on task program things like what they were accomplishing and wanted to accomplish in the program.
If you felt you were being abused, was there anyway you could get to a phone and have a private conversation with your parents, child services or an officer of the law?
no. none at all. they really didn’t care. i dont think they would let you. i mean i tried to write a letter and my parents when they got me and i was telling them stories and everything and i brought up the story with my period they said they never read that in the letter and when i went back and read some of the letters i wrote some things that were writin in there werent from me. because i type and talk a certain way.
If you wanted to leave were you discouraged to tell your parents how you felt? Were you afraid that you would be punished if you were to describe any incidents of abuse to your parents? yes. they would tell your parents over and over again to ignore the students saying they wanted to leave because we were just saying it because we were in denial and that we were just homesick. and parents would believe it because like my parents this was their kinda last hope in a way so parents would stick on it because you would have mr darrington paul and the family reps constantly telling them to ignore the cry for help or the complaining because we would be over exaggerating it.
Were there other students (upper levels) assigned to watch over you? what was their role? did they give you consequences? were they allowed to restrain you or monitor the isolation area. the upper levels were allowed to give consequences actually if you didn’t you would get into trouble. the chaperones when the upper levels were around wouldn’t pay any attention. also in the dorms when the lower levels were taking showers the chaperones would just be sitting down and make the upper levels walk around and make sure no one was talking.
Were you allowed to speak, stand, eat, go to the bathroom and do other normal activities of your free will? no. you had to raise your hand and wait to be called on and you couldn’t look at the chaperone when you raised your hand sometimes if you looked out the corner of your eye you could see the chaperone look at you but ignore you and you couldn’t speak until spoken to the only thing you could say if your hand has been up for more the 5 minutes was excuse me. you had to ask to sit. to stand. to use the restroom. to talk. everything.
How often were you allowed to speak freely? and to whom? were you not allowed to speak with others in your group? you were allowed to speak 30 minutes during free time to an hour. during p.e. and group when you were giving feedback. and your levels had to add up to four. so if you were a upper level it didn’t matter level 1s had to speak to 3 and up. 2 had to speak to 3 and up. and you had to make sure you had a third person. but two upper levels can speak between themselves
Did you have to walk in line? How often? Were there consequences if you did not line up properly? every where you went you had to walk in a line and stare at the persons head in front of you. you couldn’t move your eyes turn your head scratch twitch move your foot if the line stopped. you had to pivot on corners. if you didn’t you would get consequences. you also had to count. turn your head and say a number. the number that you were in line.
Would you be given a consequence if you forgot something? (for instance, your water bottle, a pen or a book) all the time if you forgot anything and you were always rushed so you eventually forgot something. especially upperlevels and it would suck more because you woudl get dropped easily. they would give you a disrespect to property
Were your personal items inspected by other students? (upper levels?) with or without your presence? yes. when you walked in upper levels would go through your stuff also when you were in class the chaperones would send the upper levels in the dorms and the trailers to make sure that what you had was legal and if it wasn’t you would get a consequence. like scented lotion or certain markers or a journal.
(Please describe the rules and structure that would pertain to a level 4 student.)
level four you had to wash dishes stay with the family. you had free time alot but you still were always blamed for things. they took you out more outside the fence and you could go see your parents off ground you could also go to the dentist and talk more on the phone with your parents.
What were the requirements in order to progress in the level system? Was approval from the other upper levels required?
you had to pass seminars you had to get a paper signed by the chaperones mr darrington the school administration and by your family rep. also they would stand you in front of the family you were in and you would ask who supports me for this level and who stands up does and who doesn’t then stands up and tells you why and if there is alot and the family rep agress with them you can’t go. if you get one deny you can’t get the level and alot of chaperones played favorites
What kind of staff responsibilities were upper levels given?
watch for consequences.
Did upper levels have to “baby sit” the lower levels? How often? sometimes mainly in the dorms
Were you expected to dole out punishments (consequences)?
all the time for even the small things
Were the rules upper levels enforced specific to the rule book or were the definitions of those rules assumed? (or sort of passed down as a tradition, basically could you give a consequence for “neglect” for any number of things)
yes.
Did an upper level have to power to influence a child being taken to the isolation room? Were upper levels required to watch or participate in restraint? upper levels wouldn’t restrain but they would be there to look after the student and if they thought someone had to got they would bring it up with mr darrington the chaperones or the family representative
Were upper levels required to give visiting parents a glowing testimonial of their experience in the program, or make testimonial videos or letters? yes. you had to smile and pretend like this was the greatest place. show them around and tell them how much you like the place. paul or an administrator would be there staring at you expecting you to say the wrong thing. you had to over exaggerate your life story and how bad you were and how awesome you are now because of darrington to get them to send thier child there
What would happen if a student mentioned anything bad about the program in front of a parent? Were students afraid of punishment if they told the truth? they would get into alot of trouble and actually they knew when parents were coming so the chaperones would make this big speech saying that if anyone said anything it would be an automatic consequence to stay on task and not even look at the parents.
How easily could an upper level get dropped (start the program over)? What infractions would make an upper level drop and what level did they usually go back to? to easy and it was so eashy to get cat 2s as an upper level and 3 got you dropped for 2 weeks
What is your opinion on the effectiveness of the method of Behavior Modification that was used at D.A.?
it made me actually hate my parents alot. i felt like i was forced to talk and it made me want to retaliate more. actually when i got out i pretended i was fine for a month then ran away from home got into more drugs and drinking and then got it out of my system and now im perfect.
Considering long term effects, do you think the program has an effect on your life today? Positive or negative?
negative. i waisted alot of time. i met alot of good ppl who i still talk to to this day but i have alot of remorse to my parents because of it
Do you believe that the program acting within the means of “Tough Love” was appropriate treatment for you in your adolescence? no
Do you believe that the staff and junior staff usually acted within the US standards for health, safety and well being of the students? no. they were rude and inconsiderate and disrespectful but demanded respect
