Julian Youth Academy

I think it can go both ways. I graduated a few years ago, and I although I do not hate my parents (anymore) I still do not have a trusting relationship with them because of JYA. They are minimally in my life now. I agree with some of the girls who wrote below. Although I personally didnt get into that much trouble, I still got into some things that I would have never been into if it werent for JYA. I also agree with the girls below on the feelings of anxiety and some problems with adjusting after JYA. I have alotta anxiety to this day. I have bad nightmares too that I will be sent back as an adult and be stuck there. I think the place is to high stress for a kid.
I hated my parents for awhile. I pretended I didnt because I didnt want to get sent back. After time went on and I finally got on my own, I didnt talk to my parents. Then more time passed and now I do talk to them, but I will never trust them.

Dear Current Parent who wrote on 10/11 ... the chances are very very good that your daughter will not hate you when she comes home nor will she be angry for your decision. From my experience with my daughter, they truly do know why the decision was made to send them away. It wasn't easy when my daughter first came home, she did not look at JYA as a wonderfuly experience, but truly ... who would if they were taken from their family and placed somewhere to be away from family for this time period. In the end, most do know and understand that decisions were made because we love them and like my daughter, come to realize that their lives were saved in the end.

My daughter has been home for 2-1/2 years. She now can say that even though she didn't "like" being sent away, she is glad for the experience and the deep true friendships she made thru it. She has actually told me thank you for loving me so much to have sacrificed for me not only financially, but to have made the decision as a Mom to let her daughter go. She tells me often "even though you can be a pain in the butte Mom, I love our relationship and how close we are. I can talk to you about life and you help me now." If not for JYA we wouldn't have the relationship we do, not just on her part and changes but mine too as a parent. My Bree is now 18-1/2 and doing fantastic. There were rough patches and bad decisions but the end result has been worth it. As a parent it is soooooo very important to be involved, if you can, in the monthly parenting classes and use the resources of the staff and fellow parents as much as possible to help you get thru the ups and downs of the emotions you will go thru.

Cathi Reid Reilly
Truly Greatful and Proud Parent

I am a current JYA parent. My daughter has been in the program for about a year. As I read through this site I realized how difficult it is to work with the girls who have made decisions in their lives which led them to have to be sent to JYA. I would describe my home situation as hopeless before my daughter left. I was sure that if she was not sent away she would have gotten pregnant or become an addict of some sort. I had tried everything and no longer was able to have any impact on her behavior. JYA is not perfect, but it has given my family hope. My daughter genuinely wants to change and is looking forward to starting a new life with her family. She might have some memories of JYA that are difficult, but when I look at the alternative I know it was the best decision for her to go there. I am thankful to JYA for having a safe place to send her. I looked into other programs and found that they were abusive and harsh. Will she be angry that I sent her there a few years from now? I really don't know but I wasn't willing to have her live with the consequences if we did not intervene. I guess I am saying that life is not perfect and JYA does their best to help and restore broken kids and families. I will never regret my decision.

Although I was never a student at Julian, I have a high respect for JYA and other programs like it.

I want to start by just saying maybe Christine needs to check herself back into JYA. (I do not mean this as a personal attack. I just fear she did not realize the point of why she was there in the first place.)
You see programs like these are to help young people know that there are different ways of solving the things in life that sometimes seem too HEAVY! It is a program to HEAL and NURTURE healthy existance.

DISCIPLINE is needed in life.
I'm sorry Christine felt that being accountable to anyone or any authority hurt her.
Probably one of the reasons her parents sent her to the school in the first place? Just a Guess.
If she wanted to give a real account of JYA it would need to come from the voices of her parents.

I have a heart for the youth that have to be sent to places like these schools. That is probably the biggest reason that I am writing this. Christine made a comment a long while back about the staff being under 30 years of age and uneducated.

The thing is I'm 24 and no I do not have a college education. I have been working with girls that self mutilate since I was 18. I was a youth coordinator at my church. The thing is most of my girls wouldn't talk to the over 30 workers heck they would barely open up to the over 25 workers that were around. This young women and men in some cases they realize that the younger the worker the more recently they have had to deal with some of the same lifes pressures.

One of my girls in particular is now a healthy 18 year old girl. She has a passion for music and the Lord which were instilled in her when she went to a program that helped her to deal with the HEAVY. She will always have the scars on her arms as a testament to what she went through, but she no longer feels a need to hide behind lies. Nor does she feel a need to distort the realities of the places she's been.

I hope and pray that JYA and other programs alike will continue to open their hearts to these young people. I also hope that people will continue to support them financially through these economic hardships.

All I want to say is tha JYA was great experience and Im grateful I had the chance to attend JYA.

-Former JYA Student

Dear Cathi,

Your issue is with me and me alone. Don't throw the rest of the "girls" in with our disagreement. No one else has come up against you in disagreement in the last few posts other than me. By saying you've tried to restore peace to this website but these "girls" don't want it, is just another thinly veiled attempt at attacking all the non-supporting jya girls and parents who disagree with you as a whole. If you are mad at me, then fine, be mad at me. None of the other girls have done anything to you.

Please do not nitpick my choice of words either. I said "somewhat ok" as an afterthought. My main emphasis was on the girls who are "not doing okay." You can have your disagreements and differences of opinion, but please don't tear into mine.

I am happy for you that you have proven what you've had to prove in regards to your life and daughter. Everyone has listened to what you've had to say. Now please let all us girls that disagree with you prove in peace what we have to prove about how it harmed us.

Last but not least, as far as I am concerned, this is not "fun" for me. I do not derive amusement from the fact that there are so many girls out there that this program has hurt. I do not think it is fun that right now there are a bunch of girls locked up and being "modified" by a system that many girls have come on here to testify against. A system that has changed them in unhealthy ways, spit them and their parents out, and left them to pick up the peices.

I just want to make sure we are clear on the fact that I don't post on here to get some good digs in or be immature or have some silly fights. I post on here in hopes to reach other girls that have gone through JYA throughout the years and are looking for girls like them, and for prospective parents who are hurting and trying to find help for their daughters, and who are extremely vulnerable for falling for the JYA sales pitch.

Thank you.

Hi All
I was shockwed to find this posting. My daughter was a student at JYA. I found no abuse at JYA. I do agree that these girls need licensed counselors and more mature staff. I witnessed several times on staff actually discussing her weekend out with the girls. And lots of favortism. The program does keep these girls safe but I see no REAL help for issues. I felt they were programmed to feel and not able to get to their real issues. They were told what they could talk about and what they could not. An issue is an issue. What may seem meaningless to us could be a destryer for a teenager.

If you in fact do not want to fight then quit the posting of lies about my daughter ...

If you want to get along, quit the lies by stating I have mislead any parents from day one, I NEVER have ...

To say ""that just because there are girls that come out of JYA and seem somewhat ok"" is again a falsehood and takes positive parents feel and degrade it to "somewhat okay" ... you need to stop twisting words of others.

My apologize was for the mean spiritness on my part and attacking back but it by all means does not mean I will sit back and not fight back in a positive manner, especially when it comes to my daughter or my parenting.

I truly tried to bring peace to this venue but you girls have shown your true colors and attitudes. I have come to realize that as an adult it would be IMPOSSIBLE to reach out to you children in kindness and truly expect a change. I guess I was expecting too much. I have said what I have to say, proven what I have to proove ... On to better roads. To those that I am sure will continue to have things in a negative manner to say to me ... no matter what you say you cannot change my life or take my satisfaction or happiness in it away so enjoy and have fun.

:-)

Did you not get the fact I said I didnt want to fight? You first posted back in December of 2008. The pictures of your daughter were from the same time. So, yes, at the time you were misleading parents. End of Story. Stop harping on it.

Like I said before, I dont care what your daughter is doing. I dont know her heart, and its none of my business. I wrote my last comment to make sure you knew that there is more than one person posting about her, and that I would not be apart of it anymore. END OF STORY.

Moving on now from your daughter and parenting skills, I will once again say I am grateful that you apologized for your behavior on this website. I again am extending my olive branch too. We need to remember that just because there are girls that come out of JYA and seem somewhat ok, there are still alot of girls that come out and are not.

Come on, cant we get along?

Let me ask you a question ... how would you feel if you made mistakes in the past but eventually evolved into being a young lady that should have made your parents proud but instead that wasn't enough for them and they constantly threw bad decisions in your face even with changes? Where would be your incentive to keep on that path? To be a good parent you have to be able to let go of their mistakes when they realize the errors of their ways and evolve into a wonderful responsible well rounded young lady. It seems to me so many of you wish to concentrate on wrong doings of the past and keep your blinders on as to what a person is today.

Like I stated previously ... When you can show me what she is doing right now that is so wrong, then I will listen. I STAND FIRM ... I AM PROUD OF THE YOUNG LADY MY DAUGHTER HAS TURNED INTO AND GIVE CREDIT NOT ONLY TO THE PARENTING SKILLS TAUGHT TO US BY JYA BUT WHAT THEY TAUGHT MY DAUGHTER. They instilled skills and ideas that in time, took hold and worked. The end result is truly what any parent is after, it just takes hard work.

Thank you ...

Dear Ex JYAer ... are you actually reading my comments? It doesn't appear as though you have because you would notice I stated that at first she pushed boundaries!! Since you apparently didn't read it here it is again:
"""MY DAUGHTER TESTED THE BOUNDARIES AND TRIED US BUT IN TIME WITH HARD WORK ON ALL OUR PARTS SHE EVOLVED INTO A WONDERFUL YOUNG LADY!! My gosh, I don't get it with you. Do you really expect a child to come home and be "stepford child" to proove JYA worked and helped a family. I was damn greatful I didn't have to worry about sneaking out at night, running away, drugs or death anymore ... can't you get that, truly?

Our children will always test us ... it is not about becoming perfect. It is about family values, respect, communication and them listening to us when we point out to them that what they are doing can be harmful or wrong. We pointed out to her that she was making herself seem like a person that she was NOT and she listed and changed. Because of this, because of her evolving, changing ... for this, yes, I AM DAMN PROUD OF HER."""

Thank goodness for her stupidity of posting those pics on myspace. How the heck do you think we knew what she was up to! Trust me, she had her consequences to deal with in her actions. We used the tools we were taught and didn't deal with it emotionally, but as strong loving parents with logic and she didn't react back to us like she did prior to JYA. She had getting her license postponed for 6 mos until we saw changes. The first year out was alot of pushing of boundaries but do you know how JYA helped ... we were the parents who were in charge and she realized in time that she needed to knock it off if she wanted a life with some freedoms in it and to earn things back. Since last November things changed drastically. Like I said, look at her myspace now and you can see for yourself. There are no more drinking, smoking, party pics. The modeling pics she has I LOVE and am proud of. When was the last time you went thru her myspace page? I couldn't have been recently, that is for damn sure!

I have NEVER mislead any child or parent ... I have said from day one what I say now.

I was the one who originally commented on your daughter, Cathi. After you wrote what you wrote a few posts back, when you were calm and apologizing for your behavior and asked that no one comment on your daughter, another person decided to comment - not me. So please dont think this is just one attack coming from a person out to get you. I have nothing else to say about your daugter. The only reason I said something in the first place was because I think its misleading what you say about your daughter being a "young lady," and the maturity she has. I personally disagree. Her pictures (aside from her modeling shots - Im talking about her pictures of underage drinking, smoking, and kissing girls) show me something that makes me want to disagree with your assessment of her. I am not her parent though, you are. You are completely right that it is none of my busineess. I don't know where her heart is at so I am not saying anything else at all. I was just thinking it was misleading to other parents. That was all.

I think it is good actually that you are turning over a new leaf on this posting site. I hate when everything is all about fighting. I want to apologize for my part in it to. Any posts not coming from "ex jyaer" about your daughter are not from me. I have nothing to do with them.
Thank you.

i went to jya at the same time as Breeana and am a good friend of hers. The reader seems to be talkign about modeling she did over a year. do you think it is fair and right to put her down for past? sure glad you are not my mom!! if you had axces to her myspace you woujld see that those old picturs arent there anymore and she has changed alot. Her mom has done good with breeana in helping her change and be the best friend i ever had.

Now dear "reader" ... can we get on with "truth" or is the only battle you have on your hands is to try to destroy a young lady who is innocent in this format? A good kid is one who has learned to listen to right and wrong, think about it and realize "maybe my parents are right", one who can go to her Mom later on and say "I can't believe I thought those pics were good, were sexy, you were right Mom". A lesson you can learn from me ... a good Mom is one who listens and doesn't say "I told you so" but instead says "I am so proud of you and how you are growing". Maybe you should try it with your daughter ... then you won't find yourself so angry with me because of what I have with my daughter. :-)

I apologized before for how I handled myself in previous conversations BUT I will not tolerate wrongful attacks to mine.

When you can show me what she is doing right now that is so wrong, then I will listen. Until then ... toodles!

Dear "reader"

I told you that my daughter tested boundaries and there was a time that we had to work to keep things on the right track. Yes, she was modeling for clothes companies. We didn't like some of the pics but she NEVER EVER was nude or risque. She pushed the boundaries but we let her test the waters and at the same time monitered her. We worked with her to show her that she could model with much more taste and class and if you truly saw ALL her pics thru time you would see for yourself that she evolved away from the trashy truck and bike style cheesecake style to a classy version of modeling. In time she just wasn't interested in it at all and grew up to want other things in life. How many times must I state this ... MY DAUGHTER TESTED THE BOUNDARIES AND TRIED US BUT IN TIME WITH HARD WORK ON ALL OUR PARTS SHE EVOLVED INTO A WONDERFUL YOUNG LADY!! My gosh, I don't get it with you. Do you really expect a child to come home and be "stepford child" to proove JYA worked and helped a family. I was damn greatful I didn't have to worry about sneaking out at night, running away, drugs or death anymore ... can't you get that, truly?

Our children will always test us ... it is not about becoming perfect. It is about family values, respect, communication and them listening to us when we point out to them that what they are doing can be harmful or wrong. We pointed out to her that she was making herself seem like a person that she was NOT and she listed and changed. Because of this, because of her evolving, changing ... for this, yes, I AM DAMN PROUD OF HER.

I followed cathi's advise and did do a little research since as she previously stated "she had nothing to hide" and how proud she was of her "well rounded daughter." What can I say to the information I found... I was shocked! Her daughter is in fact a "model" for clothing and has some very "well-rounded" pictures for you to see... What can I say? Thanks for showing your idea of a "success story!" Although my personal opinion is quite different for what I want for my daughter. One can only hope not all the girls turn out this way. Atleast YOU are proud of her.

Yes, after JYA she tested the boundaries, tried to revert back but I changed as a Mom and she saw it and realized she was no longer running the show, in a positive way. We are truly close and she really does see that JYA saved her from having a different life than what she has now. Honestly, she does thank me for JYA and she is a great kid ... no, a great young lady. Sometimes she pisses me off with her attitude and sometimes I make her angry with the rules but in the end, we love and appreciate each other. She appreciates me for loving her so much that I was willing to do whatever it was to save her and as a single Mom with no child support, spend whatever it took ... these are her words, not mine.

Sometimes we have to wait until our kids are much older and have started their own family to have them come to us and thank us for things we have done for them in life. That is what most parents look forward to, their kids to realize how much you gave and why you did it. That you weren't the enemy, you weren't the mean one who was the only parent with rules, etc. I get to have that from my 18 year old and when she talks to me about life, problems, happiness or times of the past that she is greatful for it makes me feel like "ahhhh, I did okay". Being a Mommy was what I always wanted, I love my kids higher than the heavens and bigger than the world.

I only wanted the best for Breeana and in the end, I am able to see that I was able to do so ... even with a not so good beginning.

For the girl who thinks she may have offended me with her words when I talked about my knowing what real abuse what ... I was not. What bothered me was that you were trying to make me into a victim and I am not. A victim is one who spends their life feeling sorry for themselves because of the wrong that others have done to them and you get no where in life with that mentality. I learned long ago to take the bad and find good in it and THAT is what made me a stronger woman, a determined Mom, and a protector like a lioness. I refuse to be anyone's victim, so please don't make me one ...k? :-)

That is all I have to say except for one more thing ... I will only respond in kind but still defend Phil, JYA, staff. Please no more attacks to my daugher ... especially to the girl who is trying to make her out to be a slutty model ... she did nothing to you and is not involved in this. I love her and will find it hard to not fight back on that note.

Thank you ...

I haven't been responding because I had to take some time to think. I was becoming so very angry with you girls and I had to figure out how it got to this point on this website. To be honest, I know I haven't behaved like I should have. I've been doing some thinking and I do owe apologies for some of the things I have said. Trust me, this is not easy to do because I do have pride BUT it doesn't mean I agree with you in what you say. I still disagree 100% but I also know I could have reacted in a much more positive way. I started on here to defend JYA because they saved my daughter, myself and made a brighter future for my family. I do not apologize for my greatfullness to them. What started out in defense of JYA ended up in a war because some found it important to them to slam me as a parent, say mean things about my daughter and try to take away from us the good that came out of it and that was not fair either. I became defensive not only with JYA but with myself personally. I broke what I was taught as a parent thru the program and I let this get personal and attacked back. For this I am truly sorry and was wrong.

I am sure that you girls believe what you do but at the same time, so do us parents who did what we felt was best for our daughters. Have you once tried to put yourself in your parents shoes ... and I mean that with sincerity, not in meanness! You have a young girl that you love more than life itself, you have tried it all to get them help ... counceling, rules, tough love, anything and everything out there and still, the only thing happening was more danger in whatever their decisions were. You get to a point where you are afraid for the knock on the door ... is she dead, did she get attacked, was she raped, did she od, etc. For me I was truly truly afraid that I would be visiting my daughter at her grave and I wasn't willing to take that chance anymore. I took the risk of thinking she would hate me for life but at least she would be alive. My risk came out so very positive but I know alot of it had to do with the changes we BOTH made. It took 2 to get us in trouble and it took 2 to make things better.

I graduated in 2003 and i cant say the entire experience was horrible but i have a few theories behind why. i do believe you are brainwashed and i do believe the parents are brainwashed. You are STRONGLY advised to not share your oppion is you are 100% not on board. My parents were always treated wonderfully by Phill why? they agreed with everything he said but i know other parents who had concerns were pushed aside!!!! All the things the girls are stating are true (rules Wise) personal experiences i can not defend. I do think the program delays the inevitable. I personaly blew through the program one because i learned early on that the more you just suck it up and do waht they want the sooner you will be let go. What happened later in life? I to this day (i am 23 and i graduated when i was 16) have anxiety issues. I moved out when i was 17 because i myself and my parents started to slowly revert back to old habbits and living together was like a volcano errupting. I started to drink heavily,smoke weed and do cocaine on a consistant basis.(i have overcome these on my own but still went through it) My parents and i stopped talking for awhile and iwas truely alone in the world (partly my fault). I do not have friends my boyfriend is my best and only friend.
Socialy i am very awkward.

As to abuse in the program i did witness things that were unacceptable. To this day i dotn know why but a girl had to transfer a pile of logs one by one 50 yards away all day (Took her away from school, and interacting with students) for i would say a solid week only given a break to eat on her own and sleep. I personaly had to watch a girl in the dorms when i was on leadership who was new and refused to eat. She went down to probaly 80 to 75 lbs. this sounds extreem but very true they took her every once and awhile to the hospital for an IV untill they sent her else where (out of the country). These are jsut two examples.

If you were not a student in the program you will never know the feeling or ever be able to explain fully to an outsider what it feels like. And to the parents who are having a wonderful experience...... i am sure you are. And we are not saying everyone comes out broken again (but most do) Look at like this you marriage everyone thinks things are fine but only you know the truth as to your problems or lack there of. US girls only know the truth.

please contact me if you are truely interested in sending your child away i will give you honest feedback not all is good and not all is bad

kennyc_02@hotmail.com

jya ruined my life. Mental and psychological abuse is the means of there existance. Save your children. DO NOT enroll your child in this program!!! It wont kill them physically, just in every other way. Someone needs to stop this place. Shut them down! Shut them down! Shut them down!

If you are a parent with a child in there right now go ahead and try and tell Phil anything you think about your child and what is best for them...HE WILL TURN ON YOU!!! He takes broken parents and broken children and tries to break them more so that he can build them up and they can conform to his way of thinking. He is an ex cop and a CONTROL FREAK!!! He is taking all these girls college funds(if they have one) or cleans out their parents bank account as much as he can from broken families. THIS IS WRONG!!! They offer no help or hope for anything when you are in there. Instead they break you, strip you of your identity and everything you know GOOD and bad! They use scare tactics that you will be sent to a school that does physically abuse you if you don't comply even the slightest bit! This is wrong and so much of what they do is wrong on sooo many levels. I agree there needs to be places of healing for troubled teens BUT not this one. Not one that claims to be a place of healing but offers NO psychological help! By not offering that you are playing russian roulette with these girls heads! Parents, is this worth it??? Find a different program that's all I'm saying, and DON"T BELIEVE THEIR LIES!

The first meal that I was FORCED to eat I remember quite vividly. A staff member stood at the edge of my table and everyone was staring at me. All the other girls were done and it was very quiet, except for my uncontrollable crying. I could hardly think or breath let alone eat. I was on no talk,was NOT allowed to ask for help(could not even ask to go to the bathroom,or look at anyone). The staff started counting down from ten for me to finish. I had an orange left on my plate...i didn't have anything to peel it with. I bit my nails too. They could CLEARLY see I needed help but paid NO attention to that. I just kept thinking I have to do what they say or they will make it impossible to get out of here... That was my first morning there and a kick when I was down...I NEEDED A COUNSELOR! NOT TO SEE SATISFACTION ON THEIR FACES WHILE THEY DID STUFF LIKE THAT TO US!

Cathi,

By "no comment" do you mean that you are no longer going to comment on the thesis? I still would like to know if you could provide me with additional information on the person who did the thesis. I hope you didn't take offense to my post about your past abuse. I know you can't tell if I was being sarcastic, since its impossible to tell over the computer how someone sounds, but I assure you I was not.

I dont post my name because of Phil and JYA. Not because I am ashamed of anything I say. I dont trust them in not retaliating in some way because they don't agree with what I say. They have access to all my personal records from JYA. How could I be sure that they wouldn't start publishing the reasons I was there, or my family issues? I am an adult now and I have no problem admitting to being a troubled teen. It doesn't mean that I wish to have all the details of my past broadcasted in today's world. I have no assurances that they wouldnt do that. Like I said, I have learned that I absolutely cannot trust them.

If I were Cathi, Id want to use a fake name. Cathi don't you know that there are a lot of parents who are embarrassed by how you represent JYA? My parents are still affiliated with the program, (JYA loves to pester them all the time for donations) so I get to hear pieces of whats being said here and there. It seems as though you are doing all us girls a big favor. By all means, keep talking!

Sure Cathi, I bet the adults at your daughters job are extremely pleased at how well rounded she is. What is it she does again? She is a model for a few interesting clothing lines right? Why dont you post a link to her modeling site so we can all see how great she's doing.

To " Jordan a.k.a. courtney JYA survivor" ... first of all I don't know of any parent who would spend that kind of money simply because they don't want to raise their child themselves and have given up on their child.

Secondly ... I use my real name because I am not ashamed as to what I have to say, unlike others on this network.

Thirdly ... my daughter graduated from JYA 2 years and 2 months ago. She has done nothing but grow thru time and I could NEVER be more proud of the young woman she has become than I am with her today. She was not perfect along the way nor did I expect her to be. She is not the only one who went thru the emotions of JYA, I as the Mom (parent) did also but you girls out there just refuse to give that any truth or credence. As a matter of fact her best friend was at JYA with her and the 3 of us were talking about these posts last w/e ... you know what they had to say? The same as I, they think it is ridiculous that these claims are being labeled as "abuse". Yes, it was hard, they didn't like it but both my daughter and her friend state they would not be the strong determined girls they are today and have their heads on straight if it weren't for JYA. They also both know WHY they were there and say it saved their lives LITERALLY! Do I think my daughter will have problems due to JYA in further years to come? HELL NO! Let's see, she is 18, graduated from school with a 3.2 gpa, works full time right now to save money to start school in January, the adults at her job are amazed at how well rounded, mature and responsible she is an LOVE her happy go lucky personality ... hmmmmm ... yeah, sounds like a girl in trouble to me!!!

Finally ... no comment on the rest of the crap that was written about me. Just don't care.

Cathi... Do us all favor and put yourself on no-talk!! We are NO longer interested in your opinions or your disregard for people who are actually affected by JYA. No one cares about what you have to say now that you have proven yourself to be the one who wants attention... THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU!!!! You have made your numorous points... This is NOT "Cathi's post site" nor will it EVER be and no one wants to hear your rediculous, selfish and ignorant thoughts..... Do us all a favor and move on with your perfect little life. You are only proving yourself to be a liability. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!

Jordan/Courtney - I didn't see your email address in your post, and I checked my email and i didn't see a message from you. In case you didn't see my email address in the comments above here it is:

chrissychrissy83@yahoo.com

I am really sorry to hear what you are going through. Please contact me at anytime. I'd love to talk to you.

Christine

CONT...
. . . I think it’s around 5:15 pm getting ready to have to shove more food down my throat. I don’t want to be done with this letter because it’s the only way I can talk to you and beg you to take me back. I’m starting to cry a lot now because I have to finish this letter. Make sure you tell everybody I love them and I miss them and hopefully I’ll be seeing them as soon as you get this letter. Also tell them I’m only allowed to call or write to you but I only get to call you when I move up I don’t know how many levels and it takes a long time each level. but hopefully I won’t have to worry about that. Mom if you love me you’ll come and get me I know you think your loving me more now by leaving me here but your not your hurting me by being wrong about that. Please take me home! You gotta believe me! Take me seriously. Please I will do anything.

Love ya,

p.s. HELP!I HATE IT HERE! I need you
p.s.s. I hope you can feel my pain and come and get me. I’m going downhill fast here. Call as soon as you get this if they’ll let you and tell me your coming please. I’m begging you! PLEASE HURRY!!!
p.s.s.s. don’t let anyone tell you this is the best thing for me Trust Me please and know I gotta get out of here.
This is hurting so bad. Don’t do this to me I feel like I’m gonna break down right now please mom and dad please stop my hurting this is the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. "

I wrote that letter to my parents 11 years ago, I am through with the destruction that has plagued my life throughout my adolescence and early adulthood. I am a mature responsible adult, and I can tell you that I was not just a dramatic troubled teen, I meant every word of that letter! I did infact have a mental breakdown in JYA two months into my sentence there and there was nobody there that would or even could help me. But I will save that for another time. . . . .

CONT...

I can’t even have pictures of anybody not even you guys because that’s a “privelage” I was doing fine at home a lot better than I used to be and a lot better than here. I will do anything please. How could you do this just leave me here why don’t you just shoot me at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of all this. I can’t even have the door shut when I go to the bathroom what if I’m feeling sick you know I get embarassed easy. And don’t be thinking I’m going to get used to all this because I will not be able to stay here much longer without having a mental or nervous breakdown or whatever you call it. HELP ME PLEASE! This isn’t and never will help me. My life is being ruined and all I need is to come home. If you knew how I am feeling and what this is like if you could feel it for yourself you would take me home in a second. You’ve gotten your point across okay please before I freak out of my mind. This is not the right thing for me this is the worst thing for me. You want to help me and save me than come and get me. I keep waiting for you to come and get me if I see any car drive by it hurts when it’s not yours. I do love you guys and I know you know I do and it wasn’t you why I didn’t ever want to be home it was me. I just felt out of place but if you take me back right now not in a year than I’ll know you want me there. I need you to take care of me, you know me, you know how I am, you should know what this is doing to me. You think it’s hard on you I’m the one who has to be here dying inside wishing I could go home. Wishing I could see everybody and hug everybody and talk to everybody. I also hope they let me send this to you because you need to know how I feel inside and how much your hurting me by doing this to me. . . this place feels like pure torture I have nothing, nothing but memories and as much as it hurts to remember them and how it makes me cry so much. That’s all I’ve got and it’s so hard I want to think about all you guys, but it hurts so much because I can’t be with any of you it hurts to know I’m alive without anybody. I know this sounds like somebody died or something but I feel like somebody has. I feel like I have. I feel like a zombie I’m getting weaker and weaker. I feel no longer a part of anything, I can’t think straight and I need you please you know I wasn’t that bad. Think about it. Think about all I just said and think is it worth it? If this is worth it to you your crazy. I am going crazy here. I’ve never opened up to you like this or said anything meaningful. Well all this is true and more, take me home and we can have our talk that we were supposed to have. Give me an early birthday present that’s all I want is to be home that’s pretty cheap huh you don’t have to buy me another thing just come get me and tell me it will be ok and take me home what I would give to be walking in our front door right now. I get to go take a shower now with the door open. . .
cont...

I am still curious on this woman who did the thesis. How did she hear about JYA? What was her method of reviewing students/former students? What affiliation did she have with JYA or does she have now? What school was she studying at? I would like proof that the study wasn't bias. Because if this woman already had a relationship with JYA, it would be pretty misleading on JYA's part to post this "study" on their website. Does anyone know where I could find more information on this?

Thanks!

CONT...

Mom and Dad,
Come and get me out of here please! I can’t stop crying, and I’m crying right now too and I feel so stupid. I can hardly sleep I already can’t take it anymore. You are braking my heart into pieces leaving me here like this. You don’t understand what this is doing to me I can’t even talk for 4 days. I feel sick, tired, hopeless, desperate, every other kind of emotion too running through my mind. I’ll be good if you take me home I wasn’t even doing that bad. I was getting help too. Why does it have to be here and be like this. You always say if you were the parent what would you do well put yourself in my place this time. Take me away from everything I trust, rely on, believe in, and my home added to how you already knew I felt. How could you do this to me. This is the worst thing you have ever done or could do. I would have more priveledges in jail. . . . We just had P.E. and I feel so dumb you know how I am especially because I can’t talk. I feel like I have nothing. My mind and body feel like their ready to shut down. Nobody here likes me like that would make a difference. Please just let me come home. I feel like I’m drowning
and there’s no way out I’m trapped here. They aren’t going to help me here all they do is P.E., school, and eat pretty much. I don’t see anybody getting counseled or anything it’s just a place to make people feel worse and in a lot of different ways. While we were running in P.E. I just started crying and I can hardly ever stop every time somebody looks at me, or talks to me or anytime I think about being here for a year or my friends or you too I guess but it’s hard because your making me feel like this. Mom and Dad I am begging you from the bottom of my heart do not make me stay here. As soon as you are done reading this go in the car and come and get me please. They make me eat everything on the plate even stuff I don’t like and I’m not usually that picky but I have no appetite and it makes me want to puke when I eat. I just gotta come home I’ll hang out with you guys more since that was one thing you wanted. Come on this isn’t the way to help me to brake my heart and leave me here no friends, no parents, no one to talk to, no clothes that they will let me wear (I was lucky they let me wear my own shoes and bra) I have nothing and will never ever be happy here.

CONT...

Cathi,

How come the girl who did the thesis was at a JYA Meeting then for you to "meet." Obviously she is affiliated with the place.

Lets put that aside for a minute though. I think in your last message something finally became really clear to me about the problem you have with us who do not support JYA. You mentioned you have been abused in your life. I want to tell you that I am so so sorry. I understand how you feel. I see your reasoning now on why you might not understand where us girls are coming from. What you've been through has been traumatic and no one should have to suffer physical abuse. The fact it was at the hands of someone you loved makes it all the more horrifying. I am so sorry for your pain. Really and truly. I do understand that the issues us girls are writing about might sound pale in comparison to outright violence. I want to assure you though, that although none of us claim to have been physically abused, it doesnt mean we weren't harmed in other ways. I am in no way trying to compare that to the abuse you suffered through. My hope is that we can separate the two issues. My hope is that we can be grateful that none of the girls have gone through physical or domestic abuse at JYA, yet at the same time stay aware of the fact that they are being harmed in other ways. I hope you can see that we arent tring to claim physical abuse. We would never make light of a situation like that. We are just trying to express the things we did go through and shine some light on the matter.
I appreciate your testimony in this forum. I hope that from this point on we can understand a little better where we are both coming from.
Sincerely,
Non-Supporter

Let me introduce myself, I am yet another sad statistic in this debate that calls herself a "JYA Survivor". For years I have suppressed the trauma I endured at JYA, it is very recently that I have come to a point in my life where I am whole enough and healed enough to even have the courage to face the mental breakdown I experienced while at JYA. I suffer from "boarderline personality disorder" or "BPD". Yes, I was having depression problems before I went there, but I strongly believe that I developed this disorder as well as PTSD from the abandonment I experienced at this camp. Being placed in that camp is the worst thing that could have happened to me as I was fragile and could not endure the cruelty and lack of human decency that I suffered by their "UNGODLY" hands!!!

I am prompted to join this "discussion" by Cathi's latest remarks that are just too hateful for me to ignore. "When I read the things you claim to be "abuse" my jaw drops and my mind says "you have got to be freakin kidding me!!" When you girls can come on here and give some truly valid abuse complaints I will give them respect ..." Before I unvail my pain, I would just like to say that Cathi reveals to me even more, as a JYA advocate, that she and this institution are not one of LOVE, COMPASSION, AND HEALING, and therefore should be ashamed to attach God's name to it. To say that another person's pain is invalid and to mock their suffering, I can't imagine what fuels this hatred. I'm just glad you're not representing me Cathi!

I have 12 original letters that I sent home to my parents while I was a prisoner at jya. I would like to share with you excerpts from the first letter I sent home. The first letter we were allowed to say whatever we wanted because the parents were told to expect this response at first so as not be be alarmed. The blow was "cushioned" so to speak. So I cried out with every once of my being to rescue me from this place,

CONT...

To "non-supporter" regarding your email of July 24, 2009 at 12:13 p.m. - No, the woman who did the thesis was NOT an employee of JYA so your assumption is wrong. It was done by a teacher who was working on her PhD and had to do a thesis.

The word "abuse" is so very misused with the liberal left and the "PC" groups of our country. Being a woman who was physically abused by an ex-husband many years ago along with various other events in my life, these girls truly don't know what real abuse is. When I read the things you claim to be "abuse" my jaw drops and my mind says "you have got to be freakin kidding me!!" When you girls can come on here and give some truly valid abuse complaints I will give them respect ... until then I just don't care what names you call me. When will you get that?

....All I can say is that logic and reason very rarely wins when the discussion is dealing fanatics of any sort. There are many people that have posted their comments here that have facts of the situation at hand, and these are the facts as they know them. There is no reason to make the sad attempt at telling someone that they did or did not see what they saw happen there, to do so is illogical and slightly insane. The facts remain the same, JYA has harmed some, and that in of itself is enough to question the existance of this place. When a poilicy is instituted that does harm, it would be wise to re-think that mode of operation.

MRS.LIGHT TOLD ME IF I TRIED TO RUN SATANISTS WOULD GET ME!!!

I WAS HURT BY JYA!!! TO THE PARENTS IF U WEREN'T THERE U DONT HAVE A CLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WAS HURT BY JYA!!!

This is for all the parents out there with kids who they sent to JYA and now are complaining. Are you kidding me? What is wrong with your heads? If this program is so horrible or there is something so wrong with it, why did you keep the most precious thing in your life there? Don't even tell me it's peer pressure or pressure from the staff there. You expect your children not to give into peer pressure yet you give in and keep your child in a place you feel is not a safe or good place? This is completely stupid. Students with issues make sense, they didn't have a choice in the issue but you parents did. I would never let any of my children go somewhere I didn't feel completely comfortable with or trust with all my heart. Where is the logic in this? Yes there are some issues with JYA, I will not deny that. Plenty of parents withdrew their girls, I watched it lots of times. So for all parents on here complaining about the program, take responsibility for your own actions. Kids learn from their parents and if their parents can't do what they must feel is the best for their child, why should the kid do any better for themselves? Children learn from their parents so we need to show our kids good example instead of expecting other people to raise them how we want them to be. Stop expecting JYA to be exactly how you want. You gave up on your job of teaching your child so don't complain if someone else doesn't do it like you want them to.

I am not suprised in anyway to see all these "parents" (if thats what you want to call them) being SO supportive of JYA... It was of course YOUR decision NOT your childs... I am a JYA survivor and I cannot in ANY way disagree with anything Christine James has stated nor do I want to. Everything she has touched base on IS if fact the TRUTH! Its so funny that these "parents" that write the novel remarks to the actual victims of the school think that they themselves are the ones to listen to... HAHAHA i cant do anything but laugh because just the sheer thought of the "parents" knowing what really happens in that place only makes me angry... I was sent this email link via my sister and the second I started reading it I began to tremble and my tears came out like a volcano... I could never express my emotions of sorrow and anguish and failure. Much to my relief I have finally seen my life replayed through someone elses words and as much as it hurts to take myself back there it is time.. I am SO against JYA and the brainwashing they do there it is not even funny. This lady that calls herself "Cathi Reid Reilly" only falls short of "optomistic." Her attack on fellow survivors and my sisters is only a fuel to feed my fire. Her words mean nothing since she herself has NEVER gone through what we have and lived to talk about it. I couldnt even continue to read her toxic lies that she thinks are validating her matter-of-fact opinion like its the Bible..... Good for you! Your daughter is great, and doing great, feeling great and great, great, great.... Give a year... Then come back to this link and read all these wonderful things you have said... I can seriously only hope that you are ready for what lies ahead.. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I will leave that up to you to go through and hopefully you will still be saying that IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. I assure you IT WILL NOT BE. But good luck now and I do honestly wish you the best for your daughter. She deserves everything. We ALL did.

Christine please contact me if you can by email.. I would seriously appreciate it!

Oh my goodness. I just finished reading every last word of all the posts on this page.

I've worked at music schools that had stricter requirements for prospective teachers.

Cathi, "cry-babies?"

Obviously this is a very emotional topic, but can we put our emotions aside for a moment? I'm talking to JYA supporters and non-supporters alike. There are some very important issues being raised here that no one should turn a blind eye to.

What qualifications do the staff at JYA have? Is there a licensed pyschologist or counselor on the premises?

Lets stop personalizing all these posts for a minute, because its not about us. Its about the children that are currently enrolled at JYA. We need to look out for and protect the children. That is our role. That is our job.

Now, the truth may be difficult to discern, it may be hard to take if it differs from our hopes. But again, this isn't about ourselves (or at least it shouldn't be) and someone needs to get to the bottom of this.

Stop warring with each other and protect those kids. Don't take the easy way out by assuming the school is at fault because you are angry and don't assume the school is flawless because you are satisfied with your experience. FIND THE TRUTH!

I would just like to personally apologize to any students pain and suffering I may have contributed to. I was a new and very young teacher that only worked at the school for a few months because I disagreed with their methodology and was fired for that.

In fact, I will explain that briefly- I felt that the religious materials we were exposing the children to were not appropriate for their level of "spiritual maturity" which I thought to be harmful.

To be perfectly honest, the school scared me and I wanted to leave the day I arrived. But some of the head staff talked me into staying and working for them. But that's a story for a different time and forum. If you'd like to contact me with any grievances, questions or comments, please do. And again, I am sorry if I hurt anyone. I signed on w JYA with the intentions of helping, not hurting.

nicholsmusic@gmail.com

Phil,

I am responding to your post from 2008. I learned a lot from my experience working at JYA and I am grateful for that. My experience at your school especially helped me to more clearly define previously gray areas of my religious beliefs.

You wrote, "Point #3: We do not use isolation for ANY length of time as discipline for our students. We remove students from inappropriate circumstances or situations, not unlike any public school would do, to protect our student body. We do not have students shoveling dirt or digging holes. We do not abuse any of our students by making them run until they are sick. We do not require the students to eat more than they are comfortable eating."

I would just like to point out, that though this was several years ago, I personally witnessed the girls being required to shovel dirt and dig holes, while the school was located in Julian, CA. I also witnessed a type of isolation as punishment. For example, a new student was not allowed to speak or be spoken to by other students for a specific number of days. And this silent treatment was used as a form of punishment (for considerably less days) as was the writing of Bible verses. Whether or not I found this appropriate is neither here nor there. I am not here to cast judgment, but simply state what I witnessed.

In response to "Christine James'" post, I was employed by JYA when I was 21 years old. I did not posses a college degree nor had I any experience in counseling.

I think it is important to note that, from my understanding and experience, the girls were closely monitored as a form of protection from hurting themselves or from running away.

I do believe that the staff I worked with truly did have JYA's students best interests in mind whether or not I agreed with their methodology.

I understand why "Christine" would not want to reveal her real name. As I too understand how important JYA is to the parents of past and present students.

And to the parent that was so offended by "Christine's" post, I would like to point out that your child is enrolled at JYA for a reason and just because these are/were troubled or neglected teens that attend(ed) this school, that doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to what they have to say. You're an adult. I would hope you can decipher truth from blatant lies and find value in listening to these youth.

Thank you for your time and I wish the very best to all of you,

Jamie Nichols

Didn't that girl who did the thesis work for JYA? Don't you think thats bias? Obviously she is affiliated with JYA or you would not have met her "personally at a JYA meeting." The best studies to be done are INDEPENDENT studies.

Thanks again, Cathi, for proving my point that you can't come on here without being rude. I'm sure us girls don't appreciate being called "crybabies." Why can't you come on here and not name call? It shows alot about your character.

I am sorry but I am so sick and tired of these cry babies who make claims that because they were on "no talk" for a period of time that it was so harmful to them that to this date they suffer! This is just an example of what has been said on this site of the "harm" JYA has caused these girls. What about the harm these girls were causing to themselves PRIOR to JYA ... in my opinion (yes I do have one and rightfully so!) most of these girls would have been FAR worse off had they not attended JYA.

BETTER YET, I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE THOSE OF YOU OUT THERE TO CHECK OUT THE JYA SITE AT WWW.TEENRESCUE.COM, CLICK ONTO THE LABEL OF "Our Success Rates", MIDWAY DOWN THIS PAGE THERE IS A SENTENCE THAT SAYS "For more details and specifics regarding the basis for these successful findings and results, parents can view the report here. Please note that this information is copyright protected." CLICK ON VIEW REPORT AND YOU WILL SEE A THESIS WRITTEN BY A PERSON THAT I PERSONALLY MET AT A JYA MEETING. THIS IS A VERY VALID THESIS BY SOMEONE GETTING THEIR PhD. THERE IS NOT MUCH MORE TO SAY THAN WHAT THIS REPORT GIVE YOU.

THANK YOU ...

To comment on the Myspace JYA Job Applicaion:

First off, I would strongly question the motive of anyone who was searching a social networking site for a job with young girls and boys. What kinds of people on a social networking site are searching for anything with the words "Young girls" or "Young boys."?? That right there scares me.

Second, Id question the security and the integrity of a "school" or "program"
full of young girls/boys, that is putting feelers out in a social networking site for prospect employees, and posting ads there.

Third, Id question what types of employees these "programs" are getting for $9.25 an hour. Surely not employees with experience.

Wow Bill, I defended you earlier, but now youre just being spiteful. You know someone put up Congressman Miller's information for the JYA girls that were hurt by the program, and to me it seems like you just took that information and rubbed it in her face.

What I am not understanding is why anyone is angry that there are girls who were hurt by JYA. If I was a parent I'd be concerned for the girls that were hurt. Granted, I'd be grateful that my girl came out well, but Id still feel concern and empathy for any girl who didnt. You can't possibly think that all of us are making this up, can you? I tell you from the bottom of my heart, I am not. When I was at JYA I suffered trauma from being handcuffed and driven in silence to this place I didnt know. I suffered trauma from being ripped away from my family and my home. I have nightmares about taking off my clothes and spinning around for a stranger. I have nightmares about the days I was so racked with grief and so scared, but I couldnt tell anyone because the staff put me on "No Talk." I remember so clearly Mrs. Light yelling at all us girls, threatening punishment. Telling us all we were manipulators and liars. I remember being so young and thinking that I'd be there forever. That I was trapped. I couldn't fathom one day being in my twenties. I remember the constant pressure, it was too much for me. I started reading out of the JYA library all the time. Just reading book after book. I was trying to escape. I was trying to escape from the humiliation the staff put us through day to day. I was trying to escape from the pressure of being at JYA. It was more than my young mind could take. I cracked one day. One of the first emotions that comes to my mind when I think of JYA is fear. I remember being so afraid, all the time. Afraid to say the wrong thing. Afraid that my actions would be misconstrued by staff with power trips who were just looking to dock you so that the higher staff would know they were "up to the task" of "tough love." I was afraid that I'd never get out. I was afraid of everyone there. I was afraid of even showing my fear. All your actions and emotions are under such tight scrunity. You never know when they think you are messing up, or being "manipulative." Id think "Who can I trust with my feelings?" "If I tell staff the truth about my feelings towards how mad I am at my parents, will they keep me here longer?" My whole existence at JYA just became a game of survival. "Which girls can I trust talking to? What can I say to staff that will make them think I am learning?" I need to get out. I need to get out. Thats all I ever thought of.
These are thoughts and emotions that scarred me. Under the pressure of JYA they ingrained themselves into me. And I was hurt by them. No young girl should have to go through that. That doesnt "heal" a girl or her "broken family." That just takes a girl who is already broken and breaks her even more.

Thank you for Congressman Millers contact information. I too will contact his office and tell him what a blessing JYA has been to our family.

I meant eyes closed, by the way. I was writing too fast. Thinking about clothes.

I know being a parent is hard, and often dangerous... especially when your kid starts dealing or joins a gang & you can't supervise them properly because you're the sole breadwinner & can't be home with them. There's a price to pay for doing nothing about the situation, but there's also a price to pay down the line for sending your kid to one of these camps to be 'sanitized'. Kids there won't learn how to behave considerately out of a genuine inner impulse of EMPATHY. They will learn how to OPERATE in a psychologically abusive reward/punishment environment. Therefore their good behavior will become dependent on reward, not empathy, thereafter. They will become people-pleasers ripe for abusers unless they get help somewhere else later on.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't this site specifically about the rating of Julian Youth Academy? Why in the world are we talking about any other school than that on this site? I am sure there are those schools out there that should be shut down, in every avenue of life there are bad mixed in with the good. Let's keep this about JYA.

I really have a hard time talking about anything associated with JYA. I was the kid that never did drugs, had sex, never stole, never ran away, I just had really bad grades... My Mom was a single parent that just never had time for me. So she left it up to my aunt's to send me to JYA. Yes, I was spoiled. Yes, I was an over-indulgent only child. But I honestly just needed structure from my parent's. I did not need to go to a $38,000 school that held me back academically.

I did drop a level while at JYA. I was given the option to call my parent and tell them why, or let staff call. So I called my Mom, I let her know why I was dropped a letter. I was on no-talk for a month, yes a month. My point being, is that it is so inhumane to have someone be told they cannot express themselves verbally for ANY period of time. I became so withdrawn emotionally and it was the hardest time for me there. My Mom was so impressionable by staff, that she agreed this was a fair punishment.

I still have not forgiven my family for sending me to JYA. It has held me back in SOME areas of my life.

I attended a very well known Christian High school after JYA. But, I was held back a year in H.S because they would not accept my credits from JYA. They said they were not up to academic standards for the type of curriculum they teach... Yes, this was in 2001, so I don't know JYA uses the same home-schooling as I had.

After leaving JYA I was terrified of being sent back. So I did listen to my Mom, I did do well in school, I got a job, I deep-cleaned our whole house, I still was not involved with drug use or drinking. I was a 'stepford daughter'... I was changed because I was fearful of being who I really was. I was in a fog of non-secular JYA thinking.

In college I decided to major in psychology. It was at that time that I figured out the staff I had, were in NO way shape of form qualified to counsel the student's. It was pathetic. The staff at the time, were not equipped with any kind of counseling qualifications. Where were their certifications, degrees? There weren't any...

I did learn humility at JYA, because I had to, NOT because I wanted to, big difference. No individual will EVER understand how it is to be a student at JYA. All I know is my experience, which really wasn't that bad at the time. But the abandonment issues I have now are directly related to attending JYA.

I believe there are many steps before sending your child to a facility such as this. Exhaust every step possible first. It took me almost nine years to tell my Mom and my Aunt's how angry I was with them. So if you are a parent you may not even see the repercussions of sending your child away until years later. I resent my Mom a great deal and it's very disheartening to have this anger I have with her because of JYA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIt_-uZ0JCo

Aaron Bacon Documentary

Thank you for listing the website and recommending writing Sen. Miller. I had an assignment in a Early Childhood Education class and decided to write about JYA/behavior modification facilities and ended up writing to Sen. Miller as well.
Please everyone, it only takes a minute, I might post a link to a good template for those who are interested in writing our government bodies.

Regardless if JYA takes girls on these "Fun" trips, they still do things that I think are wrong. Do any of these staff even know what they are doing? I just saw another employment add on MYSPACE! This is where they are advertising for prospect employees? Myspace? Really? Paying them $9.25 an hour. Thats what a McDonalds worker makes. I know I am going to get a bunch of parents yelling "Missionary" at me for that comment. Thats such a load. To future JYA prospects though, this is all I am saying, do you want your precious daughter living with and in the hands of a bunch of employees that make 9.25 an hour who were possibly brought in by a Myspace add? I'd want my daughter being cared for by someone with a college education and a few children of their own, and some LIFE EXPERIENCE. Not a 24 year-old junior college dropout looking to make $9.25 an hour with a four day workweek. I want to put my childs life and impressionable mind in the care of someone with sometype of degree in counseling or social work. Who are these people they are hiring? I could blow through that employment application with my eyes clothes.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Also, more broad spectrum, but it doesn't hurt to write the President in support of the Bill.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-911

Wanted to again encourage those who have been violated/hurt/threatened by JYA/Teen Rescue to contact Congressman George Miller and offer your support for his bill. Let him know of your experience.

http://georgemiller.house.gov

At JYA there are fun times. The students have gone whale watching and they go to lakes and water ski and knee board. They play in the snow. These are just a few things they enjoy. Also, when we parents go on campus to spend the day, it is so much fun. We play games, eat wonderful food, take walks and talk with our children. The surroundings are beautiful. I have gone on campus to do crafts with the girls and I loved it.

Laurie

I hope that parents who are looking for a program for their son or daughter would check out teen rescue.com and call to discuss their situation. As a parent with a daughter who attended JYA and stayed 9 months after she turned 18 because she wanted to, I am an advocate for JYA and teen rescue. I have been asked if I work for teen rescue. I do not. I am a parent who believes in this program wholeheartedly.
Laurie

Dear Netiquette ... you are kidding me, right!!! What will they come up with next. I have never been a fan of being "Politically Correct" nor will I ever be. I am very content in what I have written, who I am, what I stand in and believe so "fanatically" in. I truly believe the cattiness has been in BOTH directions so please, all of you, quit playing the little innocents and me a the big bad wolf!!! It truly is getting (YAWN!!!) boring.

I cannot believe those of you against JYA. It seems to me that you all do attack those that speak out against it. I have read conversations and those who hate JYA are more hateful and mean spirited. It is a gang bang with you against Ms. Reily. She is right, when she speaks out FOR jya there is a huge attack and you all just try to shred and tear her apart.

Ms. Reily, I have spoken to you on the phone and you were so very kind and helpful to me when my daughter first went to jya and I thank you for all the time you have taken for me when I have called you. Keep strong and dont let these people get to you.

So Cathi you carry on with no new comments or information because......???

It's almost like you're trying to have the last word, when its the same word you've said a thousand times. usually, if someone truly believes in something to the depths of their soul, they don't feel the need to continue to repeat themselves blue in the face. "just an observation"

"I think the past poster asked you to reread your posts. If you did this, I think you would see how you are contradicting yourself and past posts.
Do you realize you can't type one post without putting down the past poster?? ( Your latest post: "address your stupidity..." ) or putting down girls that are dealing with issues from attending this school??"

In answer, I already DID re-read my post and from MY FIRST POSTING I was criticized as a parent, accused of taking the easy way out and having someone else be responsible for my child, told I should have tried "other steps" to reach out to my child, told maybe if I held her more and told her I loved her more I would not have had problems, etc. There was MUCH insinuation that I didn't bother to "love" my daughter more and wanted to get rid of her and I found that extremely offensive, mean and cruel. Sweetheart, this is a 2-way street here and if YOU read all postings from the beginning, before I even posted on here, EACH AND EVERY PERSON who was on the side of JYA or spoke positively on their behalf INCLUDING PAST STUDENTS WHO HAD POSITIVE TO SAY, had been attacked and critisized by people like you. Like my Mom used to tell me, if you can't take it, then don't dish it out!!!

In regards to my "stupidity" comment, it was in response to HER comment to me of "You are coming across as needing to prove what a great mom, person you are. If you feel you need to do that on here, the internet, it might be time to ask yourself why?" My response to that comment was "I have no plans on trying to convince you or others of what kind of a Mom I am, nor will I do so with you or address your stupidity on this comment". I owe no apologies to anyone for that comment ... I am like the Lioness with her cubs, my children mean the world to me, being a Mom is one of the greatest privileges God has given me and I will be DAMNED before I will silently stand by and let anyone tear me down as a Mommy, my skills, my love for my child. To make a comment like that to me was SHEAR STUPIDITY as far as I am concerned.

The founder of teen rescue, Phil Ludwig is one of the most caring, honest, ethical, and moral individuals that I have had the pleasure of knowing. I learned so much from him not in just being more of a parent than friend to my daughter, but how to "hear" what my daughter is saying, what she HAS to say to me when we have our disagreements, etc.

I am not looking for your respect nor do I want it, trulyl. My purpose is to reach out to others who may need help and to also make sure anyone who "googles" JYA will see positive comments from a parent. I too believe my comments and viewpoint to be truth with all my heart and I too will swear this before the Lord. It is only fair for parents out there seeking help have a viewpoint from both sides and in my heart, it is my job to make sure the positive is thrown out there too.

Sincerely,

I forgive, but I could never forget.

http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/starthere/netiquette.html

"Netiquette is the fusing of the words Network and Etiquette. These rules, while never carved in stone, are pretty much known by anyone who's used the Internet for a while and should always be abided by. Much of it is common sense, but there are some elements of it that are borne out of the medium we're communicating through (that would be text).

"The main rule to stick by is just treat people like you would want to be treated. Very biblical, I know, but it's true. You have to be polite and considerate to anyone you meet. There's a tendency on the Internet to abuse your anonymity and go all-out insulting people, but that's just sad. Always consider whether your comment may be appropriate, and whether it could cause hurt feelings. Be careful about how your words come across — misunderstandings can be common. Without a tone of voice, unless you're a great writer, a sarcastic or otherwise harmless comment can often come off the wrong way.

"...No matter who you're writing to, you should always strive to sound intelligent, and don't take everything too seriously.

"...You should give your message a quick once-over before clicking send; if only because once you say it there's no going back.

"...Final rule? Just don't be an ass."

rationalize any and all defending points to your taste; the truth and facts remain unchanged.

Cathi,

1) You have made your point. To the point where you appear fanatical. The more you try to prove yourself, the more insecure you look. If this is how you want other parents to see your opinion, by all means, continue to press the same points with no new information or facts. yawn.

2) See above. Hopefully everyone here respects your OPINION. Everyone should be able to express their own without your unChristianly judgement. Or, judge them, it's really up to you, but I'm politely letting you know this is how you're coming across. Whether you agree or disagree with other's perspectives is irrelevant.

3) Everyone feels hurt at times in their lives. All parents have different opinions and methods of dealing with their child's hurt. I hope everyone posting appreciates and feels joyous about your success with your daughter/family. God knows we've heard it a thousand times already. wonderful. we get it.
It is not the isolated, specific rules/tactics jya used to elicit a certain type of behavior that has affected those of us who have experienced hurtful and lasting character/personality defects. It is the fact that we experienced hurtful and lasting character/personality defects that are requiring other sources of healing, such as extensive therapy and a tremendous amount of love to make the hurt become a positive affirmation of how strong we are. Praise God for healing!

4) Are you speaking FOR your daughter now? wow. See #1 response.

5) Also see response for #1, again. Resorting to name-calling and assumptions on who, what, where, why, and how all the jya non-supporters came to be is exuding immaturity and is really uncalled for. How sad that you would feel the authority to speak in such ways to those who choose to speak in disagreement.

Because you're righteous, and everyone else is just speaking lies, right? I dont have any basis for the things I say or believe, right? I just made it all up because I get off to it? ok.

Again, if this is not how you want to portray yourself to potential jya parents, you sure are coming off as if you want to deter them.

Cathi
I think the past poster asked you to reread your posts.
If you did this, I think you would see how you are contradicting yourself and past posts.
Do you realize you can't type one post without putting down the past poster?? ( Your latest post: "address your stupidity..." ) or putting down girls that are dealing with issues from attending this school??

Is it good that your daughter benefited from this program? Yes. But does that mean its been the same for every other teen in the program, absolutely not!

You have a good relationship with Phil, have never been verbally abused by him, or had your childrens safety threatened by him.

Does that mean that he has never done this to another parent and child? Absolutely not!

And I will swear before God and a Court of law that he did those things personally to us, and other families. Like I have said before, God sees, hears and knows everything. And whether it be before a court of law, or the Court of the Lord, I know that God will hold accountable those who treated us and others this way.

And you do not have the right to judge those who were mistreated, tell them they are lying. You are cruel to people who have been hurt by Teen Rescue/JYA in every one of your posts. How do you expect anyone to respect your opinion if all you do is judge those you dont know, and cast judgement as to whether or not they are telling the truth?

Mathew 7:3
"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

PART TWO ... CONTINUED:

(4) "You were not there with them at the school, you were not there with specific situations with the staff": I spent a lot of time in volunteering with the school for projects, cooking, etc. My daughter, after 2 years of being home, would absolutely positively had said something to me about these claims and she has not. As a matter of fact she has quite a large group of friends from JYA that she still talks to and none of them agree with this. Do they have their gripes and complaints about the rules and think some of them were stupid and hated it? Yes. Is it something my daughter would want to do again? Hell no! Is it something that she knows she brought upon herself? Yes. My daughter does tell me that although it is not something she would want to do again, there are some memories that are fond to her, friendships that are strong, people that she misses and that does include the staff. As far as I am concern, after so many years of being a part of JYA, I have every right to speak up.

(5) "Do you work for Phil Ludwig? If you are, your posts will help prove the cruelness one gets when questioning if the school/staff is treating students/parents in a unthreatening, ethical, and humane way by the JYA staff, should this ever be taken before a court/judge": My real legal name is Cathi Reid Reilly … check it out … I am on the parent list … never an employee. I guess you just can’t believe that someone could believe so much in a program that gave both herself and her daughter a new life, a happiness and clarity never imaginable before. I owe God so much for what he did for us thru Phil, his staff, his program and I believe I am giving back to other parents in need such as was done for me … nothing more, nothing less.

Sometimes it does bother me when these things are said about me and I do know I come across strong in what I believe. I just can’t stand by and let people make up these lies and act like the place is a prison camp, nazi camp, torturistic, etc. It is not my intention to hurt others but in all honestly … I see these girls that say what they do as a bunch of big babies that need to grow up and deal with the real world or they will never make it in life and the parents that complain expected something different than a reality check on their parenting skills that participated in their daughters being where they were to be in such trouble. There is no doubt about it … the staff or Phil do not coddle the parents either but give us a reality check as to our part in the problem and I know there were some that were none to pleased … truth is truth and if our kids had to face it on campus, so did we as parents.

Sincerely …

PART ONE:

I think I will address your message point by point. My postings are not to please people such as you but to reach out to parents in the same need as I was at one time:

(1) “Why do you keep coming back to defend yourself”: THIS comment proved my claim correct from long ago … I do believe the attacks on me have been a large part to bring me down and hope I give up and quit opening my mouth. A cluster of you all wanted this to be a forum of lies about JYA, to rip and attack a program and a man of God who works so hard for something he didn’t have to do, but chose to do as God’s calling. I will continue to defend myself when I see necessary but most importantly I will continue to defend JYA in every way necessary.

(2) “You are coming across as needing to prove what a great mom, person you are”: I have no plans on trying to convince you or others of what kind of a Mom I am, nor will I do so with you or address your stupidity on this comment. My intention is to let those parents out there that are looking for help with their troubled teen daughter know that a program like this can in fact save your daughters life, make for better parents and a wonderful relationship with your family.

(3) “You focus a great deal of effort trying to prove those hurt, are wrong somehow. Why?”: You are right, I do focus a lot of my effort towards defending JYA. I am a believer in fighting for the innocent which I believe to be JYA, the staff, Phil. I know those of you out there believe this nonsense of what you say but I am sure you believe consequences, grounding, saying NO, taking things away, letting your children cry and not give in when you stick with the consequences/punishment of bad behavior are forms of abuse. Is it truly abuse to be on no talk for 5 days? Is it truly abuse to have to work your way up for privileges, to be monitored when conversations turn to talk of girls past, what they did, etc? The problem I have with you is that the situations you bring up as abuse leave me with my jaw hanging open in disbelief. The pain these girls claim to have suffered are the same reasons they ended up there in the first place.

...to be continued

Cathi- It is not "Any time" It is specifically you. You have many, many posts on here and another thread, I think it might do you some good to reread how you are responding to people, maybe even have someone you respect read it. Then you might be able to understand why you should be ashamed of yourself, and are rude, and have been called immature.

You are coming across as needing to prove what a great mom, person you are. If you feel you need to do that on here, the internet, it might be time to ask yourself why? Why do you keep coming back to defend yourself and slam other posters.

You focus a great deal of effort trying to prove those hurt, are wrong somehow. Why?
You aren't in their shoes, but somehow you feel the right to falsify the fact they were treated wrong.

You were not there with them at the school, you were not there with specific situations with the staff. You aren't a judge in a court reviewing all the evidence. You are not God.

Implying things like you think Unknown II is insane, and laughing at her, and putting down girls that were hurt. What is your true objective? Do you work for Phil Ludwig? If you are, your posts will help prove the cruelness one gets when questioning if the school/staff is treating students/parents in a unthreatening, ethical, and humane way by the JYA staff, should this ever be taken before a court/judge.

Why is it any time a parent states something in defense of JYA, supporting the school, director, staff we should "be ashamed of ourselves" or are "rude". We all have the right to have our opinions based on a positive experience and to disagree.

Ana ... I am not and will NEVER be ashamed of myself, my words and what I believe in. You are still a child yourself and someday you will see the other side as a parent.

Have a good day.

First off I am a boy who would like to share what I know,

I have a friend who I know was sent to JYA and same back after a year and compared it to Aushwitz, or any other Nazi Camp. She said it was like being charged with murder in the old USSR. Now recently I got expelled from my school because me and my girlfriend were caught in a bad situation. And she was sent to JYA which was my fear from the begging. I dont know whats happening to her right now but I hope to God she is okay. From what I have heard and read above this place needs to be shut down, and this new hybrid leader who is a mix of: Kim Jon Il/Hitler/Stalin should be charged with something because there is something illegal going down. The girls that are there are rebels, the worst thing you can do is suppress them with forceful tactics because they will rebel with three times the force at home and can cause emotional flashbacks and scars.

i'm a former student and while i can't necessarily say jya was the best decision for me, i do admit that it has helped. granted, it was a really hard situation to be in, and i'm still not fully okay with the whole thing. but i do appreciate the staff there. a lot of them really helped me through the program and a lot of heavy emotional issues i was dealing with.

obviously, not everyone is going to graduate and be well-adjusted and never mess up again, but also every girl who graduates isn't just going to run off and gobble up all the drugs, etc. that she can. it's all situational, there's two sides to everything. so over patronising your daughter or exaggerating everything doesn't help either points at all. the program is hard and obviously controversial and i'm not supporting it or condemning it. it helped me with my creativity, understanding and respecting myself, and learning maturity as well as responsibility. but at the same time, i often have nightmares about being sent back, anxiety attacks, and emotional issues with being there.

i think the personal attacks on eachother is petty and especially for the parents employing this, you should be ashamed. everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and everyone should be respectful when someone disagrees.

Thank you for this information! I am writing to George Miller right now. Thank you for the encouragement and the websites, and getting us all back on point.

For those who do not know, I found this today:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-911

Congressman George Miller would also be another good to write.

http://georgemiller.house.gov/

The current address of Julian Youth Academy/Teen Rescue Academy is now up near Redding, CA, here is the address
12069 Tintagel Road | P.O. Box 141. Whitmore, CA 96096

Teen Rescue corp. offices are still in Chino, CA.
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Another website/forum with concerns of JYA/Teen Rescue:
http://endinstitutionalabuse.wikispaces.com/message/view/home/1208751

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Some Bible Verses that have given me reassurance during this hurtful experience. God knows, He sees and hears everything. Do not lose faith in God, what you are striving for for your family, your teenager.

Mathew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and Money.

Mathew 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Remembering God is there for us:
Mathew 11:28
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Used the wrong legal terminology, tired brain, and Im not a lawyer myself- A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, is what I meant to say for what type of Lawsuit could be brought.

Putting aside harsh criticism/hurtful words from people who are supporters of JYAs standards, those who have been hurt past and present, deserve to be listened to.

Please take time to document conversations you have had with staff at Teen Rescue/Julian Youth Academy, events that happened, and for students take time to document your experience as many dates/names/ as you can recall.

Below are some points of contact to where I would strongly suggest both past and present students and parents write to voice their concerns and complaints.

https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/getstarted.aspx

You will want to enter Teen Rescue as the company you are filing the complaint about.

Here is the BBB that handles Teen Rescue:
The BBB that will handle your complaint is:
Wise Giving Alliance
(Arlington, VA)
4200 Wilson Boulevard Suite 800
Arlington, VA 22203
Phone: (703)276-0100
Fax: (703)525-8277
Email: give@cbbb.bbb.org
Web: http://www.give.org

Contact the local Congressman near the school, Wally Herger (Redding, CA)
http://www.house.gov/herger/

Or contact the local congressman in your hometown.

Also with the amount of people with negative experiences I think that it might be the time to approach attorneys regarding the care there past/present. A lawyer may take this probono and make it a combined Civil Law suit.
We owe it to those who have been hurt, and to those who are currently being mistreated.

Rights have been violated, sadly it does happen that an organization under a Religious non-profit name will use that to their advantage and feel they have the right to treat people how ever they want, run a program with substandard care.
This is not right.
This is discrimination.
Julian Youth Academy/Teen Rescue needs to be held accountable.

Ex-JYA Girl ... If a realistic observation of a woman who talks as though she is completely off her rocker is considered rude, then rude I am. I am not a liberal, do not believe in being "PC" when I speak, have strong opinions and beliefs and do not believe in "coddling" people. I never made it my goal or indicated to anyone that I wish to be an "example" for anyone out there. Apparently you were mistaken if you thought I would care what those of you who are "anti" JYA think of me.

I am strong in my faith, my beliefs of right and wrong, family, old fashioned traditional values. I believe that parents should take charge and make whatever decisions are necessary to save their children, I believe in consequences for actions, taking responsibility for your wrongs, grounding, scolding, etc. I also believe in saying "I love you" each morning before you leave for the day, a kiss good nite and I love you when we go to bed. I believe in praise when deserved, lots of affection, laughter and smiles within the family. I believe in family dinners at the table to talk about your days and family day sundays just hanging out and having a nice afternoon together. I love my family and friends more than life itself. My daughters friends, male and female, have adopted me as their Mom. They know I am very strict and speak my mind. They come to me for advise or a shoulder and even though they may not like what I say at the time, they appreciate what I have to say and learn from it. They also know when the chips are down they can depend on me to be there for them when their own parents are not ... the parents who have no rules, let their kids come and go as they please and are not involved in their children's lives.

I just really don't understand how you can possibly describe me as "rude" ... truly :-)

Now please, if you wish to really get anywhere why don't you try to convince me that "unknown II" is sane!!!!!!!!!! After reading her comments I can see why ... never mind, will keep those thoughts to myself.

Have a good day.

Cathi, you are one of the rudest adults I think I've ever heard. Why are you so sarcastic? What a poor example.

Unknown II ... what planet are you from?? How could anyone possibly take you serious in the way you write.

You have taken situations and twisted them in a crazy way I never thought possible. It is true ... the girls do have to earn points to move up in levels that give them more and more privileges along the way. Now, with a clear and sound mind ... explain to me again why that is wrong???

My daughter has grown into an amazing young lady, turned 18 and is graduating from high school this w/e. She is enrolled in college, works 2 part time jobs, makes her car payments to us and ... hold your breath Ms. Unknown II ... will spend a Saturday Night watching movies with her Dad and I and (gasp!!!!) actually spend a Sat or Sun playing in the pool with us, playing board games and just enjoying a nice afternoon of family time with much laughter and (hold your breath Ms Unknown II!!!) tell us how much she really enjoys this time with us.

I don't know what planet you are from but it sure ain't the planet earth!!! JYA gave me my daughter back and happier than I ever believed possible.

Thank you Phil, the Lights, Ms. Smith and all staff members ... because of you I have a life I never imagined possible. Forever greatful ... Cathi, Parent of Grad Student Bree from 2007!

I'm going to agree with Bill here in a way. I am not a JYA supporter at all, and I've written my opinion on here too. But we need to keep it to that: Opinions or things witnessed, or testimonies, as long as they are true. Not to say that what you were "implying" wasnt true. I understood the gist of your writing style, and I am really sorry you were very hurt by the program, but we still have to be careful how we air our feelings. There are some places to search on the internet that will give you great descriptions of defamation, libel, and slander and they will show you how to state how you feel without getting into hot water. I don't say this to knock you down. Just to keep this forum on the up and up.

All I can say to Unknown II is that I am sorry for what she has been through, not being contacted with her daughter for months! I cannot immagine a facility witholding any contact whatsoever from any parent, whether they are Christian or not! The definition of Christian is not 'righteous' or correct, no matter what sin. The repentance of what was done; asking for your brother's forgiveness for past mistakes, and undoing the present day wrong and sins is what defines one's relationship in Christ. I think Unknown II has a 'righteous' anger and one that should be heard. After all, didn't Jesus have a righteous anger in the temple about using his Father's house for selfish gains? Children, especially His Anointed children are ones in which we
must all treat respectively in honor. We will be all held accountable and Judged in His Court at the comming day.
To Bill P., be careful not to start an accusing game.

Priscilla

As a parent of a former JYA student, and someone who is so greatful for the hope and tools my daughter has been given for a peaceful and healthy and hopeful future I can only tell you that unknown ll should be sued for defamation of character. It is a Christian program, I believe a lot of the bias against Phil and this ministery are rooted in that fact. God forgive JYA for being human and not as perfect as the homes that these disgruntle people are from. Why were you there anyway? Oh yeah, sin. Just like me. But I can not begin to say how greatful I am that they cared enough to be there when we needed them.

Here are a few truthful points to consider about the school:

* 'MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!'~
Ludwig, the director, is all about money! And he shares.

* 'TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! EXCEPT IN THE WRONG DIRECTION'~
Ludwig wants complete control and ownership of your daughters.

* 'PLAYS MISSION IMPOSSIBLE'~
Ludwig helped 'kipnap' my daughter and did not return my phone calls for 14 days.

* 'LET'S FORGET THAT OTHER PARENT'~
There is not one call or letter allowed between my daughter and I for months.

* 'LET'S MAKE A DEAL! NOT MUCH TIME LEFT, I'LL GIVE YOU TOTO IF YOU GIVE ME THOSE RUBY SLIPPERS! HAA HA HAAAAAAA!'~
I was bribed first to write a letter to her to tell her she is in the right place; in exchange for communication with her. Then, oops, we forgot..the first contract was mailed 3 months later! Then pay half of $52,000 for a contract that says I would not receive any infor about her meds or any emergencies. Who would want to sign that and break your daughter to help them get a head start on an unknown program, and afterwards long term therapy for life?!

* 'LOTS OF BLUE BUDDIES AND THEY'RE NOT OOMPA LOOMPAS'!~
Police stations surrounding the valley of his facility are 'unaware' of this school. (Unless you get ahold of a new policeman who is duuhh?~ new on the job who can fill you in.)

* 'BY APPOINTMENT ONLY'~
Cameras are everywhere. Police get called if a joint parent is seen approaching the facility.

* 'NO ALIENS ALLOWED IN OUR CAMP!'
Ludwig believes in complete parental alienation with the other joint parents who is not in agreement of his unknown 'program'.

* 'LET'S PLAY PRETEND CHURCH'~
They say they are 'family oriented and they are Christian'.

* 'SORRY, NO SUCH CARD, GO FISH SOMEWHERE ELSE.'~
Ludwig calls to go 'fishing' for information and makes extra money on the side.

* 'CHOOSE DUCKTAPE OR SUFFOCATE'~
Upon arrival, your daughters gets no talk for the first 4-5 days/or even longer if they mess up.

* 'NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T', POOR CINDERELLAS'~
If packages are sent at the beginning of her being there, she will open them only to be told she didn't score enough points or on certain levels with their 'program' and the gifts get taken away.

* 'SIMON SAYS...OOPS SIMON DIDN'T SAY!~
Rules change all the time. For example: Siblings are told they are too old to see your daughter. Then a new rule, not until your daughter scores more points to see that sibling.

* 'HE'S A MEAN ONE, MR. GRINCH...'
Letters and packages are addressed to the facility only. If addressed to your daughter, they all get returned. All letters and gifts get opened and read by the staff. Sometimes letters are scanned and e-mailed to the other parent for approval. Most letters and packages get opened, then re-taped and returned back as 'refusal'. Other family, siblings, cousins, grandparents and friends are not allowed to contact your daughter by phone or mail.

UNKNOWN II

Hey to "Unknown"

Thanks for coming on here and saying how you feel. I know its difficult to express something that you've been through and thats been hard for you, especially when there are people that don't agree. Feel free to email me anytime. chrissychrissy83@yahoo.com

Whoever this christine james girl is.... if you still look on here every once in a while you should definitely find a way to contact me so that we can talk. I was a student at JYA and i can tell you that i was definitely discriminated against because i didnt come out of the program a christian... im not bashing on the program, but more or less some of the people who run/ work the program.... but i would absolutely say that i wouldnt send my kid there if my life depended on it because Phil was rude to my parents and all he cared about was the money he was making off of me being there. I can tell you that i have seen some of the staffs myspace pages and can honestly tell you that NO christian should have pictures of themselves indulging themselves in drunken favors. I can also tell you that no matter how many times i went to staff with a bladder infection or a personal need for medication, they usually thought i was faking it for attention. Honestly, JYA might be splendid now but i lived in a trailor and was looked down upon because of my religious choices. If anyone thinks that JYA is going to change your kid, just know if they come home still angry at the fact that you sent them away, they will do exactly what they used to do to an even higher extremity. Some girls come back perfect angels and honestly change for the better. But i promise you that most of us girls feel like our parents dont care enough about us so they send us to a far away place where they dont have to see us. Other than that i have not much to say, but its the christians that work at JYA that make me HATE jesus christ.... PEACE.

I had no intentions on commenting on this site, simply because I wasnt interested in getting involved in the "wars" between former students and parents just because of my opinion. However, I guess I got over that. I agree and dissagree with alot that is said. I am a believer that JYA is not the best way to handle a rebelious teenager. In my experience.. nothing was address in my actions as far as why I did the things I did, or what I could do to change them. Really, when you did the same things there instead of your parents grounding you.. JYA did. In my personal opinion.. It was my moms way of saying "she is broke.. fix her.. ill pay you.. and return her when its done." JYA's tactics were simply obey our rules or we will punish you.. Big Deal.. that is no different than what was at home.

It is not that we want to attack the person, more so that when you trash an institute because you didn't grasp the rhyme or reason behind it, it is upsetting. Yes, it was a difficult time for you, but do you not realize that you sent yourself there? Recently JYA was moved into one of the most beautiful campuses it has EVER had and the staff is improving yearly. Yeah you experienced a time of terrible confusion and anger in your teenage years, but don't blame people who truely only wanted to help for things that happened. I can't say that all the staff was perfect, but they did filter out the one's that were causing problems.

I still cant figure out why the girls who are for JYA, are putting down the girls who are not. How many times do I have to point out that I dont attack the girls? I point out the faults I see in the program. I find it really sad that a lot of JYA Supporters have to make their point by attacking the character of the girls who disagree with them.

I also want to continue to point out that my main problem is with the staff JYA hires. Why hasn't anyone commented on that. That's what this whole post was based off of and nobody has stuck to the point.

I think its great that some of you girls had wonderful experiences at JYA. Do you see me calling you a liar? Or judging you? No. So why can't you give the same respect to the girls who did not have good experiences? To the girls who were really hurt there? To the girls that did walk away with a host of problems thanks in part to staff that were not properly trained to care for them? Why do some of you supporters have to verbally bash the girls who are different from you?

It really makes me sad, and it makes me wonder what you are really being taught there. Is this the type of girl that JYA bases there "Sucess Stories" after? Someone who viciously attacks the core person of someone who disagrees with them?

When I was there, only a few guys were there and they were all kicked out either sent home to live with their parents or sent to jail for sodomizing a guy with a broomstick. This poor kid came to breakfast I don't know how many times with black eyes and bruises, claiming to have fallen off the top bunk again! I don't understand why the staff didn't stop the malicious attacks on this one guy before it got to that point?! I spent eleven months of my life there, that I will never get back. I was not allowed to see my dad until I was there for six or seven months because Phil thought it was better if I didn't after numerous fake-outs that I would be having a visit with him. I was not allowed to see my younger siblings except for Christmas time and when I went home. It was a horrible experience and looking back, I made some friends, when we were allowed to talk, but other then that I gained forty pounds because you HAD to clean your plate and we did PE maybe twice a month, and even then it was Sweatin to the Oldies or walking in a circle. Our "Volleyball Court" was constantly flooded from the septic system. As far as the bathroom situation, 20 women and two bathrooms in a house. If you were on level, maybe you could use the outside bathrooms. How about Tampon restriction does anyone remember that great debacle? How about the punishment for contraband tampons in your room? How about when The Shepards were fired and none of us knew what was going on but all the sudden they were gone and the previous cook and maintenance guy were now in charge. Hmm... sounds very organized. I can see how this would help some kids and their issues but we were not allowed to discuss anything that happened in our past or work through any problems with our parents. Everyone came with different issues that needed to be addressed and was treated the exact same, so I am not sure that this "fixed" any of our problems or just supressed our issues. When you get out into "the real world" you are lacking major social skills. You are living in a box basically and then thrown out into the real world and expected to fit right in and hold normal conversations, even with the opposite sex! Ahhhhh! I wonder why so many people resort to the only behavior they have ever known and resort back to their old ways? As far as Phil, I do not believe he is in the business of helping families reunite but is in it for the money. I feel for any kid who has gone through this school and hope they have an awesome support system to help them readjust to "the real world."

Alrighty.... here I go. My name is Ashley and I am a previous student and true proof that this program is not as horrible as it seems. First, I find it funny that there are people out there who claim they sustained "mental damage," which in reality is that they can't let go of their past and hold major grudges. I think a majority of it was that when a girl get sent there, she realized how stripped she became. When you enter the program you are forced into being humble and apperciative. They were used to getting their way and not being punished for the wrongs they did. I have noticed that a majority of these girls complain about weight and school grades. Let's take a step back and look at what the grades of the girls were before the school. I actually graduated a year and a half earlier thanks to the homeschool program. I in fact lost 30 lbs if I remember correctly while in the program.The food they provide is a well balanced meal and is what the nation has approved. Yes it is more than some people eat, but it is also in part to the lack of drugs some of the girls were on as well. I am not 19 years old and have successfully moved out and am working my butt off for a promotion I am getting at the end of the month. I have a healthy relationship with my parents, yes we disagree but have learned to work past it. My parents were stricker than proposed during aftercare and I am still going strong. You can not allow the program to define your problems. So what, you got sent away for things YOU did. Take responsibility. You were put on "no talk" for things YOU did. You were punished for the actions YOU commited. If you learned from your mistakes, you'd grow and leave the program. Lay off JYA for your faults. The program is effective, and those that post here, are here because they can't let go, they searched for JYA articles with thoughts of revenge. This was emailed to me and I was sickened but the plain retardedness of some of these people. Email me any time if you'd like more information on me, my opinions, or if you'd like to challenge this post at all. (ashers423@yahoo.com)

Could you please post the number/contact info for the board of directors.

It is great you had a good experience with Phil Ludwig, but unfortunately there is more than one parent who has experienced a very verbally abusive, unmoral, unethical, demeaning side of Phil Ludwig in the past month, and he needs to be held accountable for his abuse. (These confrontations by Phil Ludwig have been documented and the board should be made aware of them)

I only pray a child has never seen this side of Phil Ludwig or worse. Phil also needs to be held accountable for the lack of care he provided to the boys Teen Rescue program, and address parent concerns past and present.

In answer to your question, yes absolutely there is a board of directors and also a parent advisory committee. Our experience with Julian Youth Academy is one where our daughter gained self esteem, self confidence, leadership skills, she finished her education with all A’s, and she will carry with her wonderful memories of the girls and staff and also will carry into adulthood lifelong skills. I would encourage anyone with a son or daughter to visit teen rescue’s website at www.teenrescue.com and call to speak to one of the caring people over there. The founder and CEO of teen rescue, Phil Ludwig is one of the most caring, honest, ethical, and moral individuals that we have had the pleasure of knowing.

Sincerely
Laurie
Proud former JYA parent

Does anyone know if there are California state agencies that oversee the Julian Youth Academy and Teen Rescue? Is there a board of directors over Phil Ludwig?
For the month of April, 20 student boys under Teen Rescue, were moved to a bunk house with only one bathroom, no showers, forced to wait in line for the bathroom. Their normal schooling, counseling did not occur.
Also the fact they make the students eat all their food, is true, they apply this to the boys program as well. With consequences for the boys who do not finish their food.
I would like to know if child welfare would look into this type of rule.
Parents of the boys were never notified of the above changes. (The boys school switched ownership to Phil Ludwig April 2009)
Phil Ludwig has verbally abused concerned parents and threatened the safety of their children. He also has made it quite apparent it is all about money. if you aren't paying the max tuition of 52k a year for your teen, he feels this is grounds to not have to listen to your concerns, and can lower the standards of your child's care.
Parents please beware of this organization, and be careful of any contract you sign with them.
For those who are not aware, Julian Youth Academy/Teen Rescue is now at a place that used to be called Shepards Ranch Christian Academy in Whitmore, CA.

Well, I respect all your opinions. It is great to hear from girls from back in the day. I want to point out though that, like the 20yr old staff who had a power trip and did what she did to Chelsea, there are staff at JYA that, in my opinion, are underscreened. If the Lights were not aware of what was going on at the time, doesn't that raise a red flag for anyone? All along this has been my point. To Quote what I said in the very first post:

"They specialize in behavior modification therapy, however, none of the staff to-date (at the time of first post) are accredited or licensed counselors, social workers, or psychologists. Many of the staff are under the age of 30. Most ranging in closer proximity to the students age than anything else. Many staff members do not even have a college education."

"I would sum up my biggest complaint about the school by saying for a school to claim to deal specifically with psychological and emotional behavior in teenage girls, they have very limited resources or accreditation to treat such cases."

That is my main problem with JYA. I think if the staff were better screened, it would help a lot. Maybe there wouldn't be so many conflicting opinions.

I'm am glad we are being given the chance to disuss these things.

Thank you all for hearing me out as well. -

Chissy

Thank you Jill. I enjoyed everything you wrote. I was the girl that threw up and had to finish my food and make everyone wait. It was my second day there, the first day you have to eat. It was breakfast and it was coco pebbles. I remember everything, where I was sitting, the staff member (who I would still give a piece of my mind to if I saw her today) who they made clean up my vomit...the staff member would not let me do it myself. I talked with the Lights several years later and they said they had no idea that had happened and that if they had she would have been fired. She was just some 20yr old on a power trip. And yes, like Jill said everything did seem so horrible at the time, and I do have a hard time letting that one incident go, but I too understand everything else now. I am glad my parents did what they did, and as hard as it was for me to be there it was just as hard or harder on them to send me there. I know it felt like forever at the time, but for most of us we were only there under two years at the most; at really that is not as long. I think it is unfortunate that some people still hold grudges over the place and can not get over it or see the benefits which might be hidden if you do not truly look at it. But everyone chooses to experience things differently and take from the experience differently.

(Continued..)

I apologize if some of you do not agree with me, but that is life. I respect all of your views and hope you will do the same with mine.

Thank you for your time.

I have just come to find this forum only days ago and have finally been able to read all of the comments. I did not want to be part of this forum but feel the need to speak for myself on this situation after seeing that my name and things that I have said on a myspace page for jya alumni have been posted without my knowledge or consent.... After speaking with some of my alumni as well as my mom and finding out facts before I speak, this is what I have to say...

My intention of the myspace page that I created was for the girls that attended JYA to be able to get together and keep in contact because honestly only we can understand the experience that we went through and it bonded a lot of us for life due to that. I wanted to keep in touch and find those that I lost touch with, this was the sole purpose of it.

It makes me so sad to read the messages of parents, owners, and students attacking and slandering each other. You all have great points in you're prospectives and I understand all of them...

Yes I said that I didn't know what I was more pissed off about weither it was being stripped naked in front of strangers of the feeling of abandonment by my family...that is how I felt at the time. When you are 14 and have to strip naked in front of strangers it is upsetting and when u get dropped off by your parents at a place that is forgein to you, yes I felt abandoned. Do I understand why I was stripped naked upon arrival, yes they wanted to make sure I didn't have anything on me and I had to change into what the dress code was. Do I understand why my mom sent me there now, yes she didn't know how to handle me as a single mom and tried different things but they didn't work.

There are items that I would like to clarify...
First I was there when there was a new girl that couldn't eat all of her food, threw up in it and was forced to stay and eat the rest in fact the whole table that she was at was forced to stay until she finished and the rest of us were excused But the staff member that did that was new, young and only worked there for a few months.

Second it is difficult to be released back into "the real world", as we called it, I did have social issues and difficulties trying to figure out how to interact with my peers and this may be part of the reason that I fell back in to things, however, I have been informed that JYA has a house in Ramona now for those that just graduated to help them re-adjust to life by going to Ramona's high school and having a part time job.

Third I understand why the girls can not talk about their past, however, I do think that it is necessary to be able to discuss your past with a staff member or a counsler. In order to move forward and learn why we did what we did, we must first address our past so we can examine it, learn from it, and then move forward.

actually this is what u may want to think is going on at your school but i attended in 96 when the sheplers were there who were great by the way and actually loved us kids. just because i could no longer gag down a meat and onions dish. i was then put on no talk which is taking away freedom of speech because i could no longer gag down a hamburger onion dish. that is taking away communication from child to others.cameras were on the property but were not inside as far as i knew, but we were highly monitored by sound, we had baby monitors in all rooms all bathrooms so every sound was heard. our showeres, using the bathroom, staff sat down stairs in there floor listening to every private noises. we did dig hole or trenches they called it punishment too, it wasnt a secret or scrubbing all showeres of rust being told put elbow grease into it after 4hrs, and on no talk. these r kids who need someone to love them and believe in them not treat them like orphans. we already felt abandoned by our parents. staff come there not to really help or care about teens who have a screwed up hm life and get loaded off on someone else so there parents dont have to be parents, they come to feel better about there christian walk like there on a mission of some sort, you know what most these kids dont have a faith and dont want it shoved down therre throat actions spak louder then words. i understand it gives kids a new direction in life or buys them time to become of legal age to be legally responsible for mistakes. the girls i was with most of us all had kids out of wedlock, did drugs after they got out hated parents and jya, been through alot of crap because of the abandonment. i have no realtionship with my father because i cant forgive him for jya and he cant say sorry, i dont trust him either. how many other kids would agree we faked it there faked being happy or changing , or growing in our faith just to get out. its a joke. phil!!!

continued-
There are things there to keep people safe, not to pick on anyone. I'm going to admit I figured out how to play my way right through and get out quickly. Maybe that's why I wasn't so miserable, I knew what I needed to do to get home and I did it.
I will have to admit I see the otherside a little bit too. In ways I feel like my parents expected me to change and they didn't. We came from very different worlds and it took many years after JYA for us to come to common grounds. There are perhaps ways the program could improve but the core of it is not that bad.
Let's face it, JYA compared to other places is a cake walk. There are wilderness camps and other places that don't give you half of what you got there. Jail would be worse and you don't get any options there. There is no outings, nothing. Your parents don't get to pull you and you don't have rights.
There is no need to argue and be angry at each other about JYA. It has good points and bad points. Everything happens for a reason in life that helps to shape your future. You yourself have to decide whether you are going to take that experience and turn it negative or make it positive. I did great through the program and for six months afterwards until I went back to my "old" ways. Now ten years later I own my own business and am married with three kids. So even though I got into more trouble (no fault of JYA, my very own decisions- yes I take responsibility for my decisions and don't place blame elsewhere) I still turned out to be a very functional adult with no bitterness. I'm even happy to have friends who have been through the same experience I have and can understand what I went through.
In short, you want to be treated like an adult, act like an adult and take responsibility for your decisions and stop blaming them on JYA or elsewhere.

I came on here to defend JYA which is something I thought I would never do in a million years. I was there ten years ago and at the time,absolutely hated the fact I had to be there. Although it was not the horrible place people made it out to be.
First point I do need to touch on the medical stuff. I have a serious heart condition I was born with that needs monitoring by a cardiologist. To top it off my scar from my surgery was having problems while I was there. I was taken to a doctor who helped my scar and to top it off found my scoliosis that no one else had. My condition is more severe than being pregnant and I survived without a single problem. So for medical care being withheld, that is completely wrong.
Yes we had to clean and do chores, nothing worse than we should have done at home or even do now as adults. We don't live in a world where everything can be done for us.
I may not have graduated high school, but that was not any fault of JYA. I chose to get my GED a year early instead of graduating which has not held me back in life in any way. I may not have done as great as I could have in the classes there, but it still didn't effect me.
The food sucked and I only say that because I had to try new things. We were required to eat a minimum and didn't have to eat any more than that if we chose not to. You had to eat everything you took basically. If you didn't think you could eat much, then don't take too much. There was usually seconds and even thirds.
No talk is not that horrible and is not isolation. It sucked being a teenage girl and just wanting to socialize, but there were always reasons behind no talking.
I had to write lines once the entire thirteen months I spent there. It was because I broke the rules not because they were bored and trying to pick on me.
Yes girls were forced to wear pajamas when they decided to run. If you run away, they are going to take away the things to help you. What else were they going to do, hold you down? So don't run away and you don't have to wear pajamas, very simple.
Remember the fun things we were able to do also like hikes, swimming, boating, pizza hut and other things. The first time I was every out on a boat was at JYA. I had fun getting to do those things. I even remember going to the Old Country Buffet (or whatever they call it California).
We did listen to music other than christian music. It may have been oldies but being that I grew up with oldies, I didn't complain. It just depended on whoever was driving the van, what they wanted to listen to. All you had to do was ask.

So Christine, you post a few pictures and one person's opinion in attempt to make your point? (and most of those comments under the pictures are sarcastic, but you obviously don't get that) For every picture you have I can post ten pictures of the girls smiling and happy. And big deal if it has been ten years ofter ONE person posted her time there...JYA was a big event in our lives, we are always going to remember it. For you to biasly select quotes and pictures does not prove your point, but only further proves that you yourself have issues...really, you know 60 girls or more? I seriously doubt that. I am still friends with more than half the girls that I went to JYA with and they all have positive things to say about JYA...what they do not have positive things to say about is you, we are all alarmed by your negativism in which you have to create lies in attempt to make your point...we get it, your bitter; you did not do the program, you screwed up when you got home...but you know what, you probably would have been way worse off if you had not gone at all, its too bad you did not take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to learn and grown. What a waste.

actually this is what u may want to think is going on at your school but i attended in 96 when the sheplers were there who were great by the way and actually loved us kids. just because i could no longer gag down a meat and onions dish. i was then put on no talk which is taking away freedom of speech because i could no longer gag down a hamburger onion dish. that is taking away communication from child to others.cameras were on the property but were not inside as far as i knew, but we were highly monitored by sound, we had baby monitors in all rooms all bathrooms so every sound was heard. our showeres, using the bathroom, staff sat down stairs in there floor listening to every private noises. we did dig hole or trenches they called it punishment too, it wasnt a secret or scrubbing all showeres of rust being told put elbow grease into it after 4hrs, and on no talk. these r kids who need someone to love them and believe in them not treat them like orphans. we already felt abandoned by our parents. staff come there not to really help or care about teens who have a screwed up hm life and get loaded off on someone else so there parents dont have to be parents, they come to feel better about there christian walk like there on a mission of some sort, you know what most these kids dont have a faith and dont want it shoved down therre throat actions spak louder then words. i understand it gives kids a new direction in life or buys them time to become of legal age to be legally responsible for mistakes. the girls i was with most of us all had kids out of wedlock, did drugs after they got out hated parents and jya, been through alot of crap because of the abandonment. i have no realtionship with my father because i cant forgive him for jya and he cant say sorry, i dont trust him either. how many other kids would agree we faked it there faked being happy or changing , or growing in our faith just to get out. its a joke. phil!!!

Part Two:

"The emotional distress caused by the program is evident and outrageous. In some cases, pregnant children are forced to live there against their will and are provided with the very minimal legal requirement of health care."

Anything is emotional for a teenager, they believe they have freedom and rights but they do not until they are 18. Anything you do not want to do, especially as a teen, is gong to be emotional...but it is NOT outrageous! I had some hard times there, and yes being there was hard, but it has made me who I am to day and I am a stronger person because of it.

I was never there when there was any pregnant girls, but from what I have heard they were treated just fine. I highly doubt they were treated another way.

"Other health care concerns have been raised by former parents and students. Physicals and check-ups are not done by a doctor..."

This is because there are not doctors on staff. If a child gets sick or needs a physical they are taken to one of the local doctors. MEDICAL CARE IS NOT WITHHELD!!

"There is a lack for basic rights to privacy such as surveillance cameras in the girls dormitory and monitors used to listen in on conversations in the girls private quarters."

Again, teenagers do not have the same "basic rights" as adults. The cameras were only in the hallways, and the quarters are not private, the staff has a right to MONITOR what conversations are going on so that "Negative Talk" such as drugs, sex, or plans to run away can be intercepted.

"Upon arrival, girls are not allowed to use the bathroom facilities with the door closed. Even a staff is placed in front of the door..."

The door is not left open, just a crack and yes staff is outside, this is to make sure no one is elicit vomiting (bolemia) or trying to run. This is only for one week at most.

My guess is that people like Christine and others that had a negative response here are likely did not truly do the program and did not do well when they got home. Yeah I hated it there, any teenager would, teens want to do what they want to do and think they know everything; including what is right, which is often so far from the truth. But I did the program and I did well when I got home, I was not perfect; who is; but the program saved my life. I am a former student and former staff, and I would send my child there.

Part one:

"Some punishments include isolation, where a child is to go without speaking, looking at, or interacting in any way with other people for a period of time ranging from 24 hours to a month. Other punishments include excessive cleaning..."

The girls are put on "No talk", not isolation, they still interact with others such as in P.E. and can usually talk during group meets. This punishment is not harsh and is usually dealt for "Negative Talk" or for when lines are being written so that time can be focused on the task. All the girls know what the rules are and that this is a possible punishment, so they choose to be on no talk.

"The girls are also required to eat excessive amounts of food and many graduate from the program with a BMI.."

None of the girls are required to eat excessive amounts of food, they are however required to eat a balanced healthy meal. It may seem like a lot those that were not eating properly before the program (like I was, and yes at the time it SEEMED like a lot) or those with eating disorders. Many girls did gain a lot of weight, the majority because they were very underweight prior to the program (again, me). The few that did "have a MBI of obesity" did so on their own terms by taking second helpings or were obese to begin with.

"Other behavior modification is used such as writing Biblical..."

There was only ONE person that ever had to write Bible verses as a punishment and that was ME, they got permission from my parents first and the verse was chosen wisely, it is now my favorite verse (Isiah 40:31)

"Events from the "outside" world are forbidden in most cases to be discussed or viewed..."

It is a Christian school and parents know this when they send their children there. No child is required to participate in any of the religious actives. They do not have to attend Bible study, they can sit quietly without participating during morning devotional, and are only required to respect the meal prayers by being quiet, not to participate.

"..and many girls are witnessed to be behind in education after they graduate."

Most of the girls would not have even graduated at all if they had not gone to JYA. Most do just fine when they leave, I graduated H.S. a year early even.

Apparently JYA's is of no effect on spoiledness, but they have given my daughter "beauty for ashes". By the way that is one of those tortureous Bible verses you refered to earlier. I praise God for the miracle in my daughters life. If she has had a couple of tough days in there, welcome to the planet. My daughter has learned who she really is in this program and she likes being who God made her be, she seems determined to stay that way. As a father, nothing could make me happier than to see my child happy, happy being who God made her to be. Bill P.

Hi Alisha,

I am very sorry to hear that. Its seems like more and more girls are being accepted to JYA who don't belong there. Its sad.

I am sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Please email me at chrissychrissy83@yahoo.com.

I hope I can help in answering your questions.

Could those of you who went to this school please send me your e-mail addresses? I am very scared a family member of mine is being brought to this school and does not deserve to go. This person has a B average in school and has never run away-it is just a way to send them off. I need to have more information so I can stop them from going.

Quote from Cathi:
"Finally ... just because you SAY what you say about so many girls supporting you doesn't mean it is so. I have not seen a majority of girls complaining, not on myspace, not on this blog or any other blog I have found on the internet regarding JYA."

Thanks for the inspiration Cathi. Not many of the girls have seen this post. Maybe I can remedy that. Im sure we will all thank you for the idea.

To "Mom of Former JYA Grad"

You took my speculating comment out of context. Go back and read the entire comment again please.

To both of you, like I've said a thousand times before, I am merely pointing out to people outside of JYA that there are two outcomes. Two sides to be explored. I think I have managed to calmly state my point. There are links from girls above and pictures as well that proved Phil to be misleading. He said in the second post:
"....We do not have students shoveling dirt or digging holes. We do not abuse any of our students by making them run until they are sick. We do not require the students to eat more than they are comfortable eating"
There are 3 links of pictures in this LA Times comment session disproving and/or shedding an alternate light on that statement.

I have shown comments from the girls personal sites about how they feel about the program. How JYA has left them worse off.

My main point is to show people both sides. I've done well. I think there are other steps before JYA to help you parents. I think there are shorter programs at the very least. I just encourage anyone reading this to explore all their resources: church, missionary trips to third world countries, shorter programs with staff that are psyhologically trained. licensed someway, and equipped at caring for these girls, starting parenting classes first to see if you can make an impact on the situation before spending this kind of money on a program that has so much controversy surrounding it that it leads to a huge comment section like this on the LA Times.

Thats my main point and my main purpose. Sorry to the parents that want to take this into a fight, Im just not interested in fighting with you. I have every right to my story and my opinion, as do you. Like someone said above: Its not a pissing contest about which girls are doing great because of JYA and which ones are doing worse. The main point is that there are those who are doing worse. Many. Justify and rationalize that all you want. It is what it is. JYA has the ability to make girls worse. Its a parent's right to know that.

To "former girl", regarding your statement:

"Second, I am sure JYA is the one that convinces parents their children will be dead without the program. But how can you even speculate on whether someone would be dead or not?- we are not God, nor should we play God."

As a parent, when you see your child sneaking out in the middle of the nite, coming back drunk or high ... when they become runaways because they don't like the rules ... when they place themselves in dangerous situations ... HOW DARE YOU SAY WE ARE PLAYING GOD BECAUSE WE ARE CONVINCED IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING OUR CHILDREN COULD VERY WELL END UP DEAD!!! It is not JYA who convinced me, it was family, friends and my parental instinct. In my heart it was "do I send her away and save her life, possibly having her hate me or do I continue to fight a loosing battle and spend my life putting flowers on her grave and live with regrets". My choice was one I will never regret.

I am not a victim, not of you girls, not of our society, most certainly not of JYA.

Secondly ... my daughter has been home for almost 2 years now so I am sure if what you said is true I would, by now, see some signs of it ... sorry, not happening!!

Finally ... just because you SAY what you say about so many girls supporting you doesn't mean it is so. I have not seen a majority of girls complaining, not on myspace, not on this blog or any other blog I have found on the internet regarding JYA.

Yes, there are those of you out there that no matter what was done to try and straighten you out would have something bad to say. I will not take that away ... just because it is so doesn't mean what you are saying about JYA is truth ... it may be your twisted truth ... but not THE truth.

I too, thru my daughter and other parents, know of many, many girls who are so much better off now, happier and give thanks to JYA. Granted ... not one girl will jump for joy for being sent to a program and wouldn't want to do it again but that does not mean that the program was mentally harmful.

There truly is nothing "life destroying or mentally abusive" with a program that takes a young lady away from an atmosphere that is dangerous and uses structure, strict rules, mentoring, etc. to help bring a girl to respect and love herself, know how to draw boundaries, deal with deep anger issues, how to better deal with conflict and resolution and to live life better for themselves irregardless of what peer pressure they have to deal with or the mean world that we live in today.

I am truly sorry but I just don't see how you girls can say what you dealt with at JYA was abusive, mentally destructive, etc. I truly believe you girls are that handful that no matter what, you will bitch about it and probably also believe that to scold a child when they are bad is a form of child abuse also!!!!

Sorry you feel the way you do about me but I have a feeling that you deal with alot of people who have "authority" over you in the same way. Too bad.

Have a nice life!

cont..
....In my opinion, the only one on here that sounds like they are "victimizing" themselves is you, Cathi. Stop taking this as a personal attack. I don't think a single person on here is really blaming the parents. I personally think JYA is to blame. I think they run this organization improperly. I've seen that the majority of the girls come out worse off. I think JYA is to blame for preying on parents insecurities about their children. I think JYA is to blame for thinking it has the right staff and are properly equipped at dealing with a adolescent girl who is in a world of trouble. I think JYA is to blame for the techniques they use for "tough love" and "lets teach these girls about responsibility." I think JYA is to blame for the majority of these girls having deeper issues by the time they leave than when they first got there.

I've been out for ten years now, and luckily I had some really great help to make me as well as I am today. I am telling you from personal experience, JYA made me sick. I can also tell you that out of the group of girls I was there with, about 85% of them say the same thing. Furthermore, out of all the girls I have met who have come out of JYA from 10 years ago to now, the MAJORITY of them say the same thing, "JYA made me worse."

First off, this post isn't about the girl's responsibility. It is about JYA's responsibility. Its about a program that took a lot of YOUNG girls in on the basis of "behavior modification," and then whatever happened while they were there ended up inflicting harm on their mental and social development. For whatever reason JYA made them WORSE. Its about the fact that we have showed you girl after girl who has gotten out of the program WORSE OFF than before she went. I know a lot of these girls weren't pregnant before they went to JYA. No, they graduated on the "JYA assurance" of being "in a better place in their lives now and quipped with the tools and skills for sucess" and than they went home and went CRAZY. You thought your child was bad before JYA?? Just wait till you see her after, and you are raising her brand new baby. Or wait till she graduates and comes home and her head is in such a fog from being kept away on a mountain, out of reality, that she becomes majorly depressed or suicidal or she starts sleeping with people to feel better about herself or she starts doing more drugs but she is way better at hiding them thanks to the "skills" she learned at JYA. At least thats how it is for all the former girls I know. And I know a lot of them. From ten years ago, five years ago, 2 years ago.

Yes its true, teenagers have responsibility too. They make choices and suffer the consequences. But ultimately its the parents responsibility to make sure the child's health, both mental and physical, are safe. I agree that having your kid doing drugs on the street is not safe. But neither is sending her to a program that doesn't know what the hell its doing. That IS NOT SAFE EITHER! Tough love might be needed, but make sure its the right kind. THAT IS THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY, NOT THE CHILDS.

Second, I am sure JYA is the one that convinces parents their children will be dead without the program. But how can you even speculate on whether someone would be dead or not?- we are not God, nor should we play God.

Third, we are not "victimizing" ourselves. Anyone can see that this started off with someone writing how she felt and what she remembers about JYA. It was honest. How in the world was she to know the response it was going to get? Every girl on here, even the ones who recently graduated and are in support of JYA, has been honest.
To be continued....

All I will say to that is where the heck is your responsibility girls?!! I don't know of ONE parent who went to this extreme because they decided "what the hell, I want time away from my daughter so why not spend $50,000 to get it". There is a reason parents made this decision ... the lives of these girls were going down a path that was dangerous and harmful and there was a complete loss of parental control. I look at it this way ... you are still alive to complain and make a mountain out of a mole hill ... if your parents didn't make this step how many of you would be alive or have your act together today? That's all I have to say on this matter as I just won't argue this "victimization" you girls want to play.

You are still not getting it. Obviously, the program did not help these girls...it HARMED them. Read ALL the comments again. Slowly. Look at what they have to say about JYA. Especially the comments stating "mental damage." These are girls who graduated the program, and look how they feel, how they think. ....hello, RED FLAG ANYONE???

To the prior students of JYA and parents who are considering this program: 85% of the girls enrolled in this program were failing school in the first place and far from graduating, probably would NOT have graduated with their classmates. I knew MANY girls who were enrolled that had a grade point average of 2.0 and BELOW, were runaways who were not attending school on a regular basis or in continuation school. When I did my parent orientation I asked about school when I found out it was "independent" study and no official teacher on the premises. The first thing I was asked was "how is your daughter doing in school right now, do you see her graduating on time" ... I had to honestly answer "no". She didn't care about school and it was definately not a concern she had so really ... what was the difference. Yes, independent study is much harder and some girls do get behind but they were anyhow!!!! I can only speak from my experience but when my daughter came home she had an attitude of "if I can do the independent study real school will be a breeze!". She went from a 1.8 to a 3.2 at school, worked hard to catch up on what she fell behind on her own PRIOR to JYA and while in JYA and will be graduating with her class. After going to public school when she came home she CHOSE to go back to independent study because she wanted to hurry up and finish school so she can get on with what she really wants to do ... work, get a car and go to college. She didn't even consider college prior to JYA. Parents, how are your kids doing in school right now ... are they really going to graduate with their class? When you enroll your child, school is a priority but not THE priority ... getting our girls to love themselves again, have self respect, deal with their anger ... THAT is what the priority is.

Regarding not having a period and worrying about pregnancy ... what about having self respect for your body to not sell it so cheaply to the boys out there that don't give a damn about you and waiting for someone who loves you WITHOUT the sex!!!

To the "Doctor": You obviously didn't do your research on JYA very well. I knew quite a few parents personally and (1) 70% of them are parents still married and are the parents of the child they enrolled in the program; (2) 20% of the divorced parents were in unity on their decision and worked thru this as a team; (3) only 3% were single Mom's, me being one of them; (4) The remaining single/divorced parents were not united in their decision. Also, I could honestly say I only met a few parents who were not that involved in working out the problems as a team and were looking for the easy way out, there is that handful in everything in life. There was not one "remarried" couple I met that enrolled their daughter because the new spouse couldn't handle or deal as I saw those step parents in the meetings we had twice a month and the step parent was just as destraught as the "bio" parent. Personally, I did NOT enroll my daughter because she was a hassle ... I enrolled her to save her life!! I dealt with enough of your "therapists" out there that totally alienated the parents from what was going on with the childs life due to the b.s. CA laws on privacy. It was so wrong to leave me out of what was truly going on with her so I too could help. In JYA her and I were finally able to work out what was going on because there were no "secrets". We worked on our books together, Boundaries, Anger, Conflict and Resolution. Her anger, as it turns out was alot to do with abandonment of FATHER issues which she discussed with her therapist and I was completely left out of. I don't care what the laws of CA are, doesn't mean I have to agree. The laws allow our children to have abortion w/o parental authorization but they can't have a broken arm fixed in the hospital without our consent ... makes no sense to me. My daughter is not my property but she is my responsibility. Anything she does, by the law, I am financially responsible for. With my experience with therapist/doctors with my oldest and youngest I would NEVER EVER AGAIN trust a therapist. All they did was "coddle" the teenager and push a caring loving parent further away. With my experience and knowledge of JYA, your "research" was shoddy at best.

Post from JYA Girls on Myspace.

QUESTION: What weird changes did ur body go through @ Jya?"

♥Breanna Denise ♥

F/19
South San Jose,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Reply to this Post Posted: Nov 14, 2006 9:32 PM
I didnt have my period for 20 months ... broke out EVERYDAY ... this never happened @ home and well we all know we gained HELLLA weight !!

Fun Size
F/21
Prunedale,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 16, 2006 6:20 PM
I didn't have my period for 12 months! And then when it finally started again it was all messed up and irregular so I was always freaking out that I had gotten pregnant or something. So finally my Dr. had to put me on birth control just so that my periods could start regulating themselves again. Plus my blood pressure went sky high...i'm too young for that!

Ms. Becca
F/21
Hollywood,
CALIFORNIA
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 28, 2006 10:38 AM
O my god!! i thought i was the only one!!! i didn't have my period for 10 months. i'm worried that i won't have babies now but i liked. ....... and i got fat. it made my dad really mad that they were feeding me as much food as the girls who were bigger

POST FROM JYA GIRLS, MYSPACE:
Questions: Who didnt graduate high school due to JYA??

F/19
South San Jose,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Reply to this Post Posted: Nov 14, 2006 9:29 PM

WOW we did school for like 3-4 hours a day ? Were on no talk so its hard to think about anything besides home ... and we didnt have " real " teachers !

Fun Size
F/21
Prunedale,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 16, 2006 6:42 PM
I graduated. But barely...I had to graduate through an adult school after I had already turned 18.
Autumn

F/21
Bremerton,
WASHINGTON
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Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 22, 2006 4:17 PM
ha I'm still trying to graduate...lol

[♥]Laura[♥]
F/21
RIVERSIDE, California ,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 23, 2006 9:33 AM
i still havent graduated.. i have a year left.. now i have a baby though.. so im put back even more.. lol
love it.

F/21
San Diego,
California
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Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 23, 2006 11:44 AM

yea im still trying to graduate as well but i only have 13 credits left. I WILL GRADUTE DECEMBER 15th. if i dont i will cry. laura i feel for you I've been behind ever since freakin JYA. at least I'll gradute in my year. and having babies doesn't make it any easier to get that high school diploma... ppl are already getting on my about college, im like WTF?!
Laura

F/24
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Post a reply to this Topic Posted: Nov 24, 2006 7:02 AM
dude... im going to have to go back to highschool as an 18 year old junior cause of jya..... pisses me off!

Here is another comment made on the JYA Girls site from another "student" this time from San Jose.

♥Breanna Denise ♥

F/19
South San Jose,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Reply to this Post Posted: Dec 13, 2006 6:35 PM

Hey wow I was reading the topic I posted about who didnt gradutate h.s cuz of Jya!! and I read some of ur comments back and I had a great idea !! Contact the Govenor !! its not right that we are all soo behind in school .. and not just school .. Ive been home for 8 months now and Im still not " used " to being home .. I really feel that Jya damaged me in MANY WAYS ... inside and out !!! Cum on we had to drink out of 1 water bottle for a month !!! and had staff that wernt even teachers trying to teach us !??!! wtf !!?? so message me and tell me wat you think or if you wanna help me with this ... or just leave som

Here is a post by a girl on the old group, JYA Girls on Myspace. I copied and pasted it. This girl is 21. SO this is how she feels about JYA a few years after graduating.

F/21
Prunedale,
California
Instant Message
Send Message Reply with this quote Reply to this Post Posted: Nov 18, 2006 7:50 PM

"http://www.petitiononline.com/hr1738/petition-sign.html?

Hey if any of you girls are interested in signing a petition to stop abuse in programs and other such things then click on the link above.

I'v been doing a lot of research about programs for my final english paper and it breaks my heart to see how many kids have died and suffered through hell. I know I got a lot of mental abuse from JYA but I was lucky enough to never physically be abused. The only physical thing that they did to me was make me keep running laps after my leg had popped out of its socket and i collapsed on the ground. I have had problems with my right hip ever since then. These type of programs are not monitored in any way or form. No state, government, anything to keep them in line. I know I will never forgive or forget jya and the mental problems they brought into my life but i am at least happy that jya was not an extremely abusive beat the hell out of you program. It's been almost 3 years since I graduated jys and i still can't get over all of the insecurities and such that they forced into my life. So ya sorry for blabbing on and on but doing all this reearch lately has been bringing up a lot of old emotions. Buy ya back to the point if you guys want to help at all then just sign the petiotion and maybe research what you can do to help if it's what you believe the right thing to do is."

If any girl comes out of this facility completely healthy in their own time, it is the miracle of God, not man's glory from what I have studied from the treatment of this facility. After studying this facility, I have come to the simple and obvious conclusion that it is not only inhumanistic of not only alienating this child from her whole family upon bribe, I have come to the conclusion that this facility does a certain kind of steriotype brainwashing of simply correcting the 'problem' for the sake of the parent without consideration or rights of the child. The sad thing is, after the 6 month mark...the girls break down completely as having no hope of ever getting out to get back with their parents, and living only in exsistence to conform into their harsh rules of God only knows what else is in there if it is not checked fully. If the cover up with this facility tells any parent to agree and write to their child to do so, then that leaves the absolute suspicion and acknowledgment of my gatherings and findings from previous 'victims' that there is a serious brainwashing method.
Please parents, check out the facility before placing your child and your money for what could be the most damaging in the future of the permanent relationship of your child. Most of all...those who have children with problems, hang in there. Please call support groups and work it out...save your money! Regarding my patient parent, we are just praying she will eventually return home to the other parent safely with any future hassle of the oppressive parent who threw her in there in the first place.

-Dr. Against Stockholm Treatments - December 30th,2008 at 12:50pm

II
"The most damaging process of giving a child up in silence with no communication from the parents from the night they are handcuffed, pepper sprayed and taken away by escorts to the following year or more of silence is the most crucial harmful break that teens could ever face. It is definitely evident that harming children in this way after they had experience a broken past with their parents, or situations just feeds the world with more violence and trouble. No wonder most children do not want to return home, the fear of being rejected again is incredibly horrible."
In research of this particular school, I have found this facility takes girls of divorced parents, whose primary parents have recently remarried a spouse who 'cannot handle the brokeness' of the child, and has them shipped out. The rating is high. 90% of the parents in the facility are remarried, primary parents of course and those with money, possibly using their children's college funds to get their lives straightened out because they do not want to take on the responsiblities and 'hassle'.
It is a way to get the child 'out of their life' so they can go on with theirs and the new marriage. I personally cannot imagine any natural parent being so convinced to 'check' their child in such an unregulated, falsely advertised "Christian" facility (one not checked by the state for physical or mental abuse) without further research of this facility and the cries of these victims who have suffered much from their experience of past brokeness which did not work for them. These kind of girls get worse because of the permanent brokeness from their family when all they needed was the right tools and love to reach them. They needed support for a family to walk with them through their difficulties.

I am a liscensed psychologist for a parent who has just suffered the loss of their daughter, who previously lived with the other parent who shipped her out without notifying this child's other parent. Unfortunately, this parent is unable to make contact with her daughter at this facility to this day. All mail is read by this unregulated facility and the parent's letter are not forwarded to the daughter unless this parent breaks down to tell their daughter that agreement of the program is perfect for her. This parent still does not know what the program is about. This parent and this daughter is now undergoing a 2nd trauma of Parental Alienation, which is a serious issue in today's news and in this time.
In my opinon, my patient and the daughter had suffered an incredible amount of parental alienation in the past and the daughter had problems of completely brokeness, no drugs, alcohol, nothing. In my expertise and speciality in Stockholm studies of the Stockholm Proceedure, (a proceedure performed on Jewish children by Nazi's soldiers in WWII; it is very critical, and known as the most crucial and damaging proceedure done to any person of any age, in all history. Can you imagine young teens who have especially come from broken backgrounds with this kind of proceedure? I would like to know if there is a professional with a Masters in this area on staff, and what is really done with these girls in this facility? So far in my research, I have not been able to find anyone in this facility to be professionally adequate to handle this kind of traumatic alienation that these girls are experiencing with an ongoing pain. Their constant alienation and sadness of being broken from their families, as well as their life, takes on not only a complete shock that lasts for years, it disconnects them from life. I would say that if research indicates a one year therapy for 2 day hostages suffering from Stockholm...it makes sense that an average of 15 months of Stockholm requires 10 years of therapy depending of course of the patient's progress. Most patients who are released seem to be in a complete fog, do not know themselves what they feel, and what they think and where they are going. This indicates that is the reason they are "lost" out in the world today. 60% of these girls who come out of theis facility are still to this day, not stable and records do show that they have gone back to drugs, alcohol, gangs and prostitution, in trying to find themselves.

There obviously is a difference of opinion with myself and those against JYA. I will continue to post updates and things about my daughter so parents can see that life after JYA is truly wonderful for both parents and children.

Last nite my daughter came home from work and shared with me what her supervisors told her. They said they were amazed to have a young girl that is such a hard worker, requires no direction and very little supervision, one who is always finding something to do instead of just stand there.

I also want to share a note from her to me that she sent ... we are always sending each other caring notes thru our myspace:
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THE MOMMY YOU ARE TO ME. NOW THAT IM GETTING OLDER AND GROWINGUP IM REALIZING WHY U DID THE THINGS U DID AND HOW MUCH OF A PAIN OF THE ASS I WAS...AND STILL AM. I LOVE U SO MUCH AND FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART APPRECIATE MORE THAN ANYTHING THE THINGS YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME . UR PROBABLY WONDERING WHY IM SAYING THIS. AT WORK TODAY I SAW A LITTLE GIRL AND HER MOMMY SHOPPING. AND HER MOM ASKED ME TO HELP PICK SOMETHING OUT FOR HER AND SHE WAS BEING SO UNAPPRECIATIVE AND A BRAT CUZ HER MOM WOULDNT BUY HER SOMETHING SUPER EXPENSIVE AT TILLYS BUT SHE WAS STILL WILLING TO GET HER SOMETHING NICE AND SHE WAS SO STUPID. AND I FELT BAD FOR THE MOM . AND I CANT BELIEVE I WAS EVER LIKE THAT. I TOLD HER MOM SHED GROW OUT OF IT AND TO TELL HER DAUGHTER SHES LUCKY SHES EVEN GETTING NE THING.
I LOVE U LOTS MOM

Parents, it wasn't easy for both of us. It took work during and after JYA to get us where we are today. I just wanted to offer hope to those at there who need it.

THank you ...

After thinking for a minute about this whole conversation, or lack thereof, I realized everyone has gotten way off point.

Your daughter sounds like a great girl. I am sure you are an excellent mother. It sounds as though you love her very much. I absolutely cannot comment on your situation.

The main point of this post is not to have a pissing contest over who is doing spectacular after JYA and who is harmed by it. The main point is that there are girls who were harmed by it. Period. I believe the girls testimonies speak for themselves.

I think we both have valid points. JYA helped your daughter. It strengthened your relationship.

JYA did not help me. It harmed my view on life and took many years of additional therapy to unlearn some of the bad habits I learned there. JYA did not help 90% of the peers who were in there with me. They got out and all of them were worse off. Angrier than before, but with better survival skills and techniques on hiding it. JYA did not restore the relationship with my family. It destroyed it. The subject of JYA is still a major source of contention and the feeling of family is gone.

I think people have every right to know my story, your story, anyone's story. It's starting to turn into a war. And thats just idiotic.

Here is a story posted from a girl over 10 years after being placed in Julian Youth Academy.

Interesting what she said...

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=201968923&blogID=335851605

In case you can't see the blog, I copied the story for you below:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, December 07, 2007

JIll Mallys time at JYA...

Jill Mally...still just Jill Mally :) ...February 10, 1996 to May or June 1997. My father came over to the house...I should have know then...so he and my mom sat me down told me they were shipping me off. As I was escorted to the truck, with only handcuffs missing...sort of, and secured in the truck, I had no escape. After the long haul up to Julian, CA (AKA: Apple Pie Paridise), I wasn't sure what I was more pissed off about...having to strip naked in front of a bunch of strangers..or the overwhelming feeling of abandonment from my family.

Either way, you adjust to life..... A wise man once told me.."No Matter Where You Are...There You Are" -Marion Halfacre.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She wrote that over TEN YEARS after being sent to JYA.

PROSPECTIVE PARENTS: Here are some pictures posted by former students of Julian Youth Academy. Please pay EXTRA attention to the comments below these pictures. These are comments out of the girls own mouths, years after the program. Doesn't sound like they gained a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings after JYA. Pay special attention to the comment after the 3rd link. The girl remembers staff making someone eat her food even after throwing up on it. Great place, huh?

Please copy and paste the below links into your web browser. I could not make them direct links. Let me know if you have any questions. I think these pictures speak only a tad bit of what I am trying to get at here. I have a bunch more. Happy to share them with you.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201968923&albumID=621063&imageID=3578612

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201968923&albumID=621063&imageID=3578600

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201968923&albumID=621063&imageID=3578521

Parents ... here is what JYA does for our young girls ... they become strong, determined and know how to draw their boundaries as the following was written by my daughter on her myspace:

♥ BREEANA ♥.
YOU WONT FORGET THE NAME, I PROMISE :]
IM DETERMINED, STUBORN, FIESTY, SARCASTIC AND KNOW WHAT I WANT OUT OF LIFE AND IM NOT AFRAID TO GO FOR IT.
TELL ME I CANT AND ILL SHOW YOU.
I WAS MEANT TO BE ON TOP, AND THATS WERE I WILL BE.
IM NOT YOUR ORDINARY GIRL I HAVE BIG DREAMS AND GOALS FOR MYSELF
AND NO ONE WILL GET IN THE WAY OF THEM.
I WOULD BE NO WERE WITHOUT MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I LOVE YOU GUYS YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME
I DONT CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK, I DO AND SAY WHAT I WANT BECAUSE THE ONES WHO MATTER WONT MIND.
I LIVE FOR ME AND MY HAPPINESS DOESNT NEED YOUR APPROVAL
AND IF YOUR A GUY AND YOUR GOING TO TRY TO TALK TO ME, HAVE SOME RESPECT, AND DONT CALL ME BABE, HUN, CUTIE . EXT. BECAUSE I WONT RESPOND ITS VERY ANNOYING. THANK YOU.
AND PEOPLE WHO MAKE FAKE MYSPACES ARE STUPID AND IF THATS YOU GET A LIFE, THIS IS MY ONE AND ONLY PAGE
DONT TRY TO BRING ME DOWN
THIS IS MY WORLD, I LIKE WHO I AM AND IM NOT GOING TO CHANGE

Like I said, they don't make robots, stepford children, zombies. Does this sound like a girl who is scarred for life or like one who has gained confidance, is happy and has strong goals for herself and her future? Does it sound like a young lady with anger towards her family for a decision made to help her? This is from the yound lady herself, not from the Mom.

My daughter has always been strong willed, determined and stubborn but prior to JYA she used those traits for self destruction. Now she uses those traits to make her life better, draw her boundaries with boys, friends, peers and is not afraid to be who she is for fear no one will like her.

Shouldn't we be offering our praise to the ONLY One who deserves our praise, THE LORD?!
If JYA was such a humble, Christian program, shouldn't they be directing any "success" to the One who has the power to change people's lives?
GOD is the only One who should be receiving credit and glory.

When you find a program that worked, made your child happy, confidant and smile again ... when the end result is an unbelievable happy, strong and healthy relationship with your child ... you DO support it. I don't know anyone whether it be politics, morals or religion that doesn't stand up and fight for what you believe in. So yes, I am totally emeshed with something that has been so positive and such a life saver. I made a commitment a long time ago that I would be a lifetime supporter of JYA and give back to them because they gave so much to my family ... isn't that what gratefullness is about?

STRUGGLING PARENTS IN NEED OF HELP -
Please feel free to contact me through this site for more information on my experience. I also have many other people who you can speak with who feel the same way. The reason I do not give out my contact information or the names of the other girls is because I believe JYA is a well-oiled machine that sends people out to crush the opposition. Look how fervent the above parents are. All of them obviously still in touch or emeshed with this program. I do not feel safe with them having my phone number. I'd also like to point out that it seems as though JYA does not give parents seeking help references of other parents who were not satisfied with the program. I have a few of those references if you wish to speak to them. I think its important to know both sides. That's the only reason I posted my EYEWITNESS account in the first place. So people could know my side of the story.

Call that a hidden agenda if you want. It seems pretty out in the open to me.

PARENTS ... Please feel free to contact Teen Rescue/Julian Youth Academy for my phone number if you would like to speak to me in person. I love sharing my experience and giving back to others what I was given at a time of need, when I didn't know where else to go, whom to turn to and fear of loosing my daughter permanently whether it be death or drugs. I am more than happy to share my experience with you and you can even speak with my daughter.

TO THOSE WHO HAVE THEIR HIDDEN AGENDA: I had to spend some time to put my emotions at bay and be logical before I respond as it is not my intention to make this a showdown as to who is right and wrong, nor to have a battle with anyone. I have said what I have to say to defend JYA, to make sure parents can see both sides fairly. It is not my goal to change your attitude towards lies that you obviously have convinced yourself to be true or have such an aggenda you don't care. Since I have the confidance in myself on my parenting and know without a doubt that I am a loving and wonderful Mom with a FANTASTIC relationship with my daughter (which I don't need to proove to you nor do I wish to waste my time on deaf ears), your remarks about me as a parent or statements/insinuations that I have damaged my child do not effect me, nor bring me down because I know it to be false. My only goal is to make sure that these sites that speak lies of JYA also show the other side so parents have a true picture about what a great program JYA is and the love that comes from these people.

I respect your views as different than my own.

What is frustrating is that parents talk about this as if they think they know, and it's an impossible feat to try and help you see from your daughter's point of view, regardless of how different their socialization process was or behaviors they were involved in that apparently got them sent there. It really goes much deeper than all these superficial rules and boundaries that are intended to control behavior but do not do anything to help the individual they are impressed on---BECAUSE their behaviors are 1)part of learning and growing up (!) 2) necessary to achieve true maturity, and 3) they are the effects of other spiritual or emotional conditions and hurts, which are the true root of why teenagers act out.
Please hear me, because I love every single one of you who is going through this process: Please write to your daughters every chance you get. Being abandoned from everything you know is a stab in the heart, so let them know you care by admitting your own mistakes and standing up for them and BELIEVING THEM when they say something wrong has happened to them. despite popular opinion, teenagers have a good sense of right and wrong, and are not all "manipulative tools."
You know your child is a very special individual. Don't let anyone fool you into labeling them as such, please. it's the worst thing to be on the receiving end of that kind of harsh judgment. It really breaks you down, and makes you feel so inferior, instead of being an individual valued for your strengths. point out the good in your child. encourage them, don't bash them down with judgment, please. It really, really...hurts. It upsets our sense of values.

"I just feel it is not worth my time and energy to go back and forth with an individual (Christine) who doesn't see others views, unless they mirror hers."

And you are showing respect for opinions and perspectives other than your own? are you open to receiving truths from those of us who have BEEN THROUGH THE PROGRAM, or are you rejecting the facts because you just can't believe they would be true (and accusing many of us women who have survived--I don't mean physical survival)? Do you really think the directors and staff TELL you all the decisions they make on a day to day basis?
Wake up, they DONT. My parents didn't know a tenth of all the things I told them went on after I graduated. Just like you, they wanted to believe it wasn't true. If your daughters ever tell you themselves, you probably still wouldn't believe them (?). I didn't tell my parents about what it was like there because I didn't want to hurt them or make them feel like they made a bad decision (ALL things work to the Lord's glory for those who believe in him, amen: I am content on my experiences and am mature enough to get REAL therapy to overcome and learn from my experiences at jya, good and bad).

Ask your graduated daughters about the fog they will feel after leaving the program. the fog of confusion and awareness of reality and its cruelties. This is my advice to bring you closer to your daughters by means of LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING, without judgement, what they really feel. I don't even want to know about it--that is very personal. But that is something you might want to ask them, if you care about how they really feel inside.
God bless ALL of you families going through this. I pray for ALL of you, whether you agree with me on this issue or not.

Well said Cathi! I especially like what you said here...

"You are being spiteful and not logical because anyone who has come against you in your quest to destroy JYA is put down by you. You use attacks towards the parents as a way to quash them down. Unfortunately for you I am extremely confidant in myself as a parent and one who loves her daughter to the end of this world. I am extremely confident in all decisions made for my daughter from the moment I enrolled her in JYA to this very day."

I fully agree and feel the same way about my situation..I am a parent who responded above(close to a month ago) and Christine quashed my statements down,I was not defeated, just chose not to respond due to Christine only having a positive ear towards former students or friends of former students who agreed with her. I just feel it is not worth my time and energy to go back and forth with an individual (Christine) who doesn't see others views, unless they mirror hers.

Kudos to you Cathi and others who have positive things to say about JYA.

(cont)
My daughter is not the only one who suffered during this time. I too had to wake up alone, come home alone. No one to have dinner with. I stayed in bed every weekend for the longest time because I missed my daughter so much it tore my heart out. I know it was hard for her, I know she felt alone at first. One thing I also know ... MOST ALL of these girls knew EXACTLY why they were there, why their parents did what they did. Even my own daughter. I had warned her for months that I was looking and checking on options of a school. She was only surprised I actually did it. She knew my life was devoted to her and she admits using that to her advantage. I dealt with things on a very emotional level and I too needed to make changes. I NEVER LOOKED FOR HER PERSONALITY TO CHANGE, I ONLY WANTED HER DECISION MAKING TO CHANGE SO SHE WOULD NOT PUT HER LIFE AND FUTURE AT JEAPORDY. My daughter was and is a very outgoing young lady who has no fear to do what she wants. She will always have that because it is who she IS. I didn't want that gone, I wanted her to use that outgoing no fear personality to be used to her benefit, for her future, to become something and be happy. Guess what ... it worked ... she is strong willed, determined, happy and very outgoing still to this day in a positive way. She consistantly told me while she was there she refused to change who she is, only to learn to love herself again, get rid of what was making her angry and to be happy again. I told her I did not every want her to change who she is, only how she lived and made choices. Read my original message ... we did counciling/therapy for a year. Did not one bit of good!!! 90% of parents who enrolled their kids in JYA did therapy first. You must remember one thing ... I don't know one parent from JYA who used it as a 1st resort!! JYA gave both myself AND my daughter a new meaning in life, a better life. I would give up 16 months with my daughter if I had to do it all over again, knowing how the end result has become. Like I told you before, she is by NO MEANS a robot, a stepford child. She is still rebelious at times, gets into trouble, breaks rules but it is different this time. She respects herself, respects me and I too have changed. Maybe you hat JYA so much because of what happened to you prior, maybe you are the exception to the rule like others can be. They don't claim 100% success rate. But be cautious on your hidden agenda of making a parent feel less loving to their child, etc. to make your agenda better.

PS - I am not a volunteer, just a staunch supporter who believes this IS God's work and that God DOES have his hand upon this program.

(continued)
I did not send her there to mature! My daughter was not a cutter, did not do drugs YET. She very rarely yelled at me, it was not due to lack of homework and all the stuff you said. I could have dealt with that ... I was not looking for someone else to be her Mom or looking for a way out of a hard situation. I WILL get personal here but keep this in mind ... not one word of what you can say back will EVER change my mind on the decision I made because I know without a doubt I saved her life ... she has told me so herself! She was a cheerleader, a young lady whose father abandoned her the year before. Everything I predicted to her father came true on how she changed. She was sneaking out in the middle of the nite, going with boys to hang out at the park with ONLY boys, coming home early morning hours drunk. Walking the streets alone back home. She started hangin out with continuation kids who were into drugs. Parties at my house while I was at work where one boy got angry and went after the girls and put a hole in every door they locked themselves into because he took too much drugs. Someone could have been seriously hurt, even killed, that day. One of the boys could have put something in her drink one nite and she could have been gang raped. Walking home by herself she could have been taken by some lunatic. The only thing keeping her from going over the edge was her LOVE for cheerleading. Guess what ... the coaches had enough and I knew she would not be allowed on the team the next year. I knew if she lost cheer, I lost her. I knew in my heart I would get that dreaded knock on the door to identify my daughters body. I had a choice to make, let go of her for 16-18 mos and have her back or my visits would be at her gravesite. I stand by my decision because I was right. I devoted my live to my child. I did not date from the time she was 7 until she was 15 because I believed it would be harmful to have men in and out of her life. I needed to be home each nite, cook for her, spend time with her, be home on the weekends to be available for her to go out with her friends. I cuddled with her at nite, kissed, hugged and prayed with her every morning before school and every nite before bed. My daughte needed more than that, something I couldn't do because I was too emotionally involved and somewhere along the line lost my parental authority because no matter what I took away, no matter how much I grounded, it didn't matter. There is my story.

I will answer you questions ...

You are being spiteful and not logical because anyone who has come against you in your quest to destroy JYA is put down by you. You use attacks towards the parents as a way to quash them down. Unfortunately for you I am extremely confidant in myself as a parent and one who loves her daughter to the end of this world. I am extremely confident in all decisions made for my daughter from the moment I enrolled her in JYA to this very day.

I too questioned my daughter on her reasons and did NOT say okay to it right away. I made her finish her semester of Jr Year to insure her decision was made for the right reasons. When I saw first hand with my own eyes the influence the kids in school were having on her, how mean and vicious the girls were because she wouldn't be like them I knew I had to agree with her to help her stay on her path of growing into a strong fine young lady. What you seem to fail over and over again in your writings is how our society, our schools, our kids have been torn apart and manipulated by Hollywood, the liberal scene, the "if it feels good do it" mentality. Our society is destroying the minds of these young kids with the violent video games which numb our kids to pain and hurt and make violence seem like a game. It is NOT JYA who is destroying our kids ... it is this modern liberal world that says "don't give a medal to the winning team because it makes the loosing team feel like loosers", if you give special awards to kids at school, make up enough awards so not one child is left out for fear that they aren't the same. It is our society who is making thoughtless non-thinking robots into our society. My daughter is mature due to the program, yes ... but is this really such a bad thing? What is she truly missing out on? Joy rides to danger? Crazy parties where girls are slipped drugs to be gang raped? Over indulging themselves to the point of destruction? Learning from their friends to lie to parents and not have respect as is truly Christian and right? My daughter did not want to be around this crap anymore and it made her depressed to see what was going on around her. I am so proud of her to make a decision that was best for herself and do it with maturity. When I say she is mature compared to others her age it is really a negative to others. I truly feel that most kids her age are very immature compared to how kids were when I was growing up. My daughter has the emotions and mentality of a college student ... considering she is 17, almost 18, that is not a horrible thing. Sorry, but you are way off base.

Also, the staff must be playing the volunteer card here. I think they make more than they must let on - at least in my opinion. They sent out an employment ad months ago advertising 600 a week with 3 days off and a plethera of benefits including room and board. Thats over 30K a year. Without an education, I'd say thats not too bad. Better than the national average for that type of industry.

- If I haven't been logical, please tell me how.

I speak from my own opinion and the things I have witnessed firsthand from my being there and the many girls I've seen. Once again, I'll remind everyone that I've had the advantage of seeing what takes root in the girls after a certain amount of time has passed. I stand firm by my argument. Give it a couple years and a lot of these girls start coming down with problems.

I question why your daughter wanted to be pulled out of public school. The only reason I question it, is because I did the same thing at her age. I wanted to be pulled out of school because due to being sent to JYA and being abruptly taken out of life at a critical time in adolescence, my social development was serverly stunted. I had a host of anxiety problems. I managed fine around adults (as your daughter seems to as well, from what you wrote) because for 15 to 18 months I was forced to grow up faster than normal; but put me around my own peers who didn't understand what I went through and it was a whole different ballgame. I would look into that if I were you. I'm not kidding. I truly say it out of concern.

I don't argue at all that kids mature there. I don't see how they couldn't mature there. Its traumatic being taken away from your family. Many trauma survivors are more mature than most their peers.

But I'd never risk my daughter's mental health later in life, so she could mature faster in her teen years. I know that many parents are looking at a last resort. Their daughter is on drugs, she cuts herself, etc. I would say if that is truly the problem, and you've actually witnessed your daughter take drugs or cut herself then first off, she needs more help than JYA can offer. She needs a therapist and someone who specializes in drug use or self-mutilation. But if your daughter is just an out of control, yelling, screaming, face piercing, possibly sexually active, angry, curious, likes loud music and not doing homework, etc. type-of-girl than you have a teenager. Albeit, a hard to deal with one. Yes I think you need to get your kid in control, and being a teenager doesn't excuse all behavior. But please don't fall into the trap of thinking that sending her to a boarding/behavior school away from you will solve the problem. Maybe getting her away from her friends is the right idea, but to pull her out of your home? Out of reality? And as abruptly as JYA advises? To not see your own child wake up every morning for over a year? Please put yourselves in the shoes of a 14 year old girl for just a quick minute. Imagine waking up to strangers and being so confused as to where you are and what happened. Imagine those first thoughts of thinking your family dropped you off somewhere. Come on, use your head. That can't be good for a child. Yes, they adapt. But you know, put a man in prison, and he will smile after a few months too. He'll adapt.

Find another way.

One last thought ... JYA is not just about helping the kids, but the parents also. Our kids did not take the wrong direction because we were perfect. We all had our flaws and needed to recognize this and make changes. I was truly very blessed because the changes I made in life did not just benefit my daughter, but changed my life in a way I didn't see coming. I met a man who is the most amazing loving man in the world, a widower who always wanted a daughter. My daughter's bio Dad was never there for her and she went thru life wishing she had a Dad like her friends did. Now she does. We waited until she graduated to get married. If it wasn't for JYA I would never been able to marry because my life was saving my child and she would never have been open to it. From the moment she met Gil she knew there was something special because JYA opened her eyes as to what made her so angry, not having a Daddy was a huge part. She calls him Dad, she introduces him as Dad and she is a Daddy's little girl. She has thrived with her relationship with him. I became healthy enough to have a relationship and get married after being a single Mom for 25 years. If it wasn't for JYA I would never have met my husband and my daughter would never have known what it is like to have a Dad like her friends. I could go on and on and on ... this is very personal to me. I could counter anything you have to say Christina but I will only do so logically ... please do the same.

(continued) Look, when she came home she was not perfect. She has broken rules and made some decisions that made me question if she in fact learned anything. My husband and I did what we knew ... we stood FIRM on the boundaries and rules with her. We consistantly gave her the consequences when she broke them. We did not deal with her in an emotional way, but logically. When she would burst into tears because we grounded her, took phone away and friends away for a month, we did not let that sway us in being a good parent. We do not deal with tears, only with logical conversations. You will probably have something negative to say about this but guess what ... she does the same with us!! There have been times that she has brought up to me that I am being too emotional and she can't talk until I can be logical. It makes me feel about 2 inches tall but she is right when she does this. My daughter came home the other day after having a conversation with a friends Mom. The Mom asked Bree what is it that makes her so mature and have such a good head on her shoulders. She told the Mom about JYA. She told the Mom that it was the best thing that happened to her even though she would never want to go thru it again. The Mom asked her if she has ever told me that ... she said "no" because it is still too hard to admit I did the right thing. The Mom told her "your Mom needs to hear you say that". She came home, woke me up, hugged me and told me. That is all the proof I need to know JYA is THE program.

Ron, Nardina, Ms. Smith, Phil, Sue ... I owe my life to you guys. I will forever have you in my heart and hope someday I can give back in some way to all of you for giving my daughter back to me. I will forever be an advocate for Teen Rescue and feel so privileged to get the phone calls to this day from parents who want to hear what I have to say. I tell these parents I am here for them no matter what as I feel it is my privilege to give back to them what others gave to me. I love you all and Ms Smith ... Bree still talks about you to this day. You are still someone she looks up to and admires.

(continued) They give so much of themselves to our daughters, they love them sincerely and care about what happens. They work hard endless hours for little pay because they believe they are giving back something in life to these girls, working for God. During the time I may not have been happy with all the rules but I talked to the Staff and they helped me thru it and in the end they were right ... there is a purpose for these rules. They help these girls to love themselves for who they are on the inside, to have confidance to be who they are irregardless of the peer pressure when they come home. My daugter begged me to let her go to public school and I did with fear. After 6 mos she begged me to let her home school because she couldn't stand to be around the immature drama, the drugs, the peer pressure to do things that she knew were destructive. To me this was a mature decision on her part, to do what is best and safe for herself. She is now 17 and is thriving now with straight A's, works 20-40 hrs a week to save for a car and help financially during these hard times we are living in right now with the recession. She LOVES working and gets great pride in herself. When she had her job interviews she told the people about what she went thru and why this made her a great candidate for the position because she learned the rewards of hard work, great attitude and a positive outlook in life. The company she works for had to let go of all their part time teens but they refuse to let her go. Why? Because she has such a great work ethic and attitude and they are amazed that a 17 yr old is as mature and responsible as she is. She works with the different stores because they are trying to make sure she can have the hours. Each store she goes to begs her to take the position there but she likes her home base near home.

Look, when she came home she was not perfect. She has broken rules and made some decisions that made me question if she in fact learned anything. My husband and I did what we knew ... we stood FIRM on the boundaries and rules with her. We consistantly gave her the consequences when she broke them. We did not deal with her in an emotional way, but logically. When she would burst into tears because we grounded her, took phone away and friends away for a month, we did not let that sway us in being a good parent. We do not deal with tears, only with logical conversations. You will probably have something negative to say about this but guess what ... she does the same with us!!

My daughter, Breeana, graduated from this program 18 mos ago. At 14 I knew in my heart if I didn't do something I would be putting flowers on her grave. I had a choice, be without her for 18 mos or be without her forever. Christine ... obviously your parents felt the same and too be so harsh I find appalling towards your parents love for you to do anything they could to save you. You mention there are no trained councelors ... I was glad for that because CA State Law does not allow a councelor to tell the parent issues the child discuss. How can a parent help their child if they don't know what is going on? I took my daughter to counceling for over a year and things got worse. We went to church, things got worse. I tried all I could until all other choices were exhausted and did NOTHING. JYA not only saved my daughters life but mine also. Both of us made the changes that were needed to have a happy life together. For the first time my daughter talks to me about what is going on. I don't need to be sneaky to find out what she is doing wrong, when she does. I just know it, confront her and believe it or not ... she is honest with me knowing full well she will have consequences we have set up. My daughter did not come out as a robot ... she tested me for 6 mos but I stood firm to what I learned and guess what ... she respects me for that. How do I know this ... she tells me. Yes, Bree HATED being there, confined from family, friends, events but in the end SHE is the first one to say to all that JYA saved her life. She would never want to do it again but that's okay because it means she learned that there are consequences in life for bad actions, bad decisions. To this day she uses the tools she learned to better her life. She has told me many times that she is glad I made her graduate the program instead of taking her out early because if she could accomplish what she did in JYA "there is nothing in life she can't do if she sets her sites and goals for it". The staff were the most amazing people I have ever met.

WOW!Okay Christine...you're right and I appologise for being not being more sensitive and understanding.

[[To the important things]]

I have stated FACTS and MY opinion so I'm done here.Parents;it's up to you and I know that you'll make the right decision according to the kind of help your daughter needs!Good Luck and God Bless!

Rachel-
I think the only post I took personally was the one in which you admitted using terms such as "stupid" and "lame" to describe my opinion, and the other from the observer; in which she calls me "negative" and "bitter."

I can definitely see the angle you two are using now. You have turned this into a discussion about me. I'm pretty confident that the viewers of this website are intelligent. I trust that they will be able to see through your attempts at attacking my character.

If you don't mind, I'd just like to stick to covering my opinions on JYA and the staff and how I believe it affects the girls. This entire webpage is mainly centered on those three things. Not on my "personal life struggle," as you seem to want to lead the viewers to believe.

So back to the main issue: JYA

Parents, I think you can see my views clearly. Out of concern for the girls, I write my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I've witnessed a lot of unfortunate things coming from the girls who get through the program. To sum up my belief, I think the place does more harm than good. I also believe that is something that you will see later on in the girl's life.... I would be happy to go into deeper detail with you. Please feel free to ask me if you are interested.

Christine;
You made a very good observation in touching on what I had previously stated in my last comment.I did call your "facts" both 'lame' and 'stupid' which is also my opinion...when I said that I'm not trying to bring your opinion down I meant that I'm not attempting to get other to not see both sides...I'm simply stating my opinion as you were!Clearly;people are reading both your comments and mine;but you're beginning to turn this LA Times page into a personal life struggle that you have undergone.Everything people are saying towards your comments are being taken WAY too personally and you feel the need to fight back instead of just backing up what you "truly" believe
to be fact.I'm definitely not judging you for stating your opinion,no one should be judged off of that;let alone judged at all!I'm praying for you!!!!!!EVERYONE needs that!Whether you're hurting,angry,upset,depressed,etc. it's none of my business because I really don't know you;but I suggest that you discontinue taking the rest of our opinions personally because it wont change anything.I'm glad you're able to write out how you feel,especially as great as you have because it helps others see how each student/past student views the way things were run.Thank you for having such a strong opinion...[[no sarasim,I really mean that!]]

Dear Observer:

Fact #1: The statistics are on JYA's website. Under "Our Success Rates" it says:

"The girls who turn out excellent and are complete success stories make up 7-10% of our students."

So obviously you aren't that observant.

To both the recent students who wrote their opinion - Lets start with Rachel:
In your first paragraph you say you are not trying to bring my opinion down. Yet in the next paragraph you basically surmised that my opinions and experiences are "stupid" and "lame." If JYA is supposed to help attitudes, then I think a lot of people can see how effective that is.

To the "observer":

I am not using JYA as an excuse for the actions in my life. Nor am I an "angry" or "negative person. You really don't know anything about me, do you? Just like I don't know anything about you; which is why I don't speak for you. I speak only for me and what I've seen. Please have the same respect.

To both you girls: You are missing my point entirely. Both you girls write that life after JYA is based on the "Choices" you make. And you are absolutely right. You are the only one to choose what you do. All I am saying is that I believe the habits learned at JYA, the emotional trauma endured at JYA, and the lack of expertise of the staff in areas regarding the best course for a girl who is out of control, depressed, hurting, using, etc., can predisposition the girl to have deep emotional issues later on in life that seem to manifest themselves in even more negative and dangerous behavior. I don't believe girls do this as "pay back" to their parents. Maybe in some cases. I mainly believe that girls suffer a separation and traumatic event at a critical time in their personal development.. (Being taken away, in some cases by handcuffs, being put in a new home, being separated from parents and siblings for a long period of time,etc.) From what I've seen, these traumas start to reappear over time, and it has a drastic affect on the girls' lives.

I think you two are only staying on the surface of what we are discussing here. You are talking about choices as in "being bad, or being good." I am talking about something a bit deeper. Something that goes on below the surface of when a child gets out of the program. And once again, Im speaking from what I've witnessed firsthand.

There are just too many cases of girls like me that got out, made "good choices" for a year - maybe two- and then totally went off and had breakdowns centered on their experiences at JYA. It's just not right. To take a young girl out of her home, away from her family, and attempt to "work on her" when you have no license or training to do so. Its downright dangerous and prideful to think that you can. God gave parents the responsibility to raise their child. I have yet to find in the Bible a verse that says "and if you are having trouble with that, send her to a program."

Lets see if I have this right? Christine would admit that all the students coming into this program are struggling teens. So it appears that this program is making a difference with some teens that may never have received the help needed. Maybe not all, but what program is going to reach everyone. I do question where you are getting your percentages.

You are coming across as if you are just bitter. You said you wanted to hear from students that had been helped, BUT, when you did, you just dismissed them as a small percentage, and that somehow you have those stats at your disposal for the program's success. I find that difficult to accept based on it would be very difficult for you to know how many students have gone through this program.

You appear to be just an angry person. I would encourage you to just move on and quit blaming others for your issues. This may feel good for you to spread hate and contempt, but as an observer, it is clear your comments are not fact and are emotionally based as your life appears to be still a very unhappy one. You would not be so focus on negative things if you life had really turned around. You would be positive and making constructive and fact base comments.

Just admit that this program did not work for you, but it seems to help others. Be happy for them and quit trying to hurt other families that might receive the help that some did. I happen to know that Government child care agencies all over the country refers to this program.

Your campaign is a sad one and I hope you mature and move on with life ahead rather than you obsession with blaming and living in the past.

Just an observation!

II:
Girls mess up again because they chose to.It has nothing to do with the way staff approached things;the rules in the program;or even the fact that they were sent there...yeah,sure,maybe it's a way of "pay back" towards their parents for sending them there for so long when in reality how long they're there is up to them[[in a sense]].I've seen girls graduate in 15 months...thats no where near as long as you could CHOOSE to be there by simply making mistakes all the time.Who do you blame then????STAFF?NO!Girls blame staff just because they caught them and gave them the consequences they saw fit.LAME!!!!!!!!!!!As far as "give it time" goes;screwing up is not an option for my life anymore.I've had my so called "fun",screw-ups,party phases,drug experiments,and rebellion stages...I'm done...and you know why?BECAUSE I CHOSE TO!That's all it takes.Make the choice;sort out your boundaries;understand your priorities;and know that messing up your life is no longer an option!It's hard;but EVERYONE can do it.Using JYA as your excuse just makes you look stupid[[IN MY OPINION]].Just like Christine;I've seen MANY come out of JYA either after they graduated or were pulled and just go RIGHT BACK where they left off...I speak to every single one of those girls and sure;they blamed JYA;but would you like you to know what else they used in their excuse for messing up once again?"I blame JYA.If I hadn't been sent there I wouldn't have missed out on so much.I have to catch up with everyone else...I'M JUST HAVING FUN!"You're just having fun yet you blame JYA for that?Hm...all I have to say about that is;you're dumb.Have your opinions;state them;force them if you choose to...but parents;I ask that you consider both sides of the story,weigh your options,understand all the true information from the source,and choose wisely!This isn't a game,this is serious;so you NEED to do it right!

Christine;
You hold many good points just as you did in your previous messages and I'm not attempting in any way to bring your opinion down.Yes,I am only one opinion out of the many girls who have attended that may or may not feel the same way as I do,but when the only people stating their opinions are being negative and not stating AT LEAST one positive[[which makes me a little confused considering each one of you had to like something about JYA]]then you're definitely going to make JYA seem like the Hell on Earth.A lot of things do indeed suck there...but the only explanation for that is that we were taken out of our comfort zone and placed into an environment where there are rules that are definitely an option to follow but are smarter to follow considering the consequences!But hey;like you said;I am only one person with one opinion and I do advise parents to research all there is and ask all the questions possible regarding the program.I don't expect the parents to read my comments and run with them...NO WAY!You have to research everything...especially a place that you're considering sending someone so valueable in hopes that they will choose the path to better themselves and to restore that unique relationship between daughter/son and their parents.This program may not be 100% effective[[is that the right spelling?oh well;you know what I'm saying]]but for the most part;;it helps.

Dear Stacie,

I want to let you know that I don't for a minute think that the parents who place their kids in this program mean to inflict harm or come out with a "trained" child. I know that these parents are looking at their "last resort." Their child is near self-destruction, or already there. I am just trying to share with you that I believe this program is a very harmful last resort. I know from personal experience that being put in an environment of girls with problems ranging from serious crisis to typical rebellion, and taking away family, to this unknown place run by a group of people that have staff who are barely out of adolescence themselves is very, very damaging on that girls psyche and well being. This place is just not properly equipped with the right staff. Of course that would come as a surprise to parents, because its the very thing the controllers of this program gloss over. Oh they are loving Christians who care for kids with all their heart, right? Well how do you know that? How can you honestly say you are positive that everything that goes on at this place is on the up and up? You don't live there! And I strongly believe that these daughters will conform to the programs rules in order to get out! Thats what I did, thats what 90% of the girls did that I graduated with. Then in a matter of time after graduation, all hell broke loose. I know these girls. I know my own story. Its just too much of a coincidence. Something affected us all in that place that made our problems a lot worse as soon as we were out safely and far enough away to show it.

Yeah, there might be a few that stayed on the straight and narrow. They probably work there now. But there are so many other girls that became so much worse. I talk to so many of them, and we all agree: That place was a nightmare. Never have we felt so abandoned and the techniques to get us to straighten out are damaging. They might not physically hurt the girls, but 18 months of intense emotional trauma on a girl will leave its mark. Just wait and see.

There are other ways. Have you tried counseling, or living with another family member for a bit to cool off the tension at home? Have you tried intense love and support. Read the book The Love Dare, and pretend instead of it relating to your spouse, your relating it to your child. Have you tried taking parenting classes first while they still LIVE at home? Have you seen if your church can help? Maybe send her on a mission to Africa or Mexico for a month. That changes a lot of people. Heck your about to send her off anyway, why not give a mission trip a try. Escort her to the plane to go on a mission. Maybe that will make a difference. Are you entirely positive your child is out of control...or is she just being a teenager? Perhaps you should work on yourself and then try to work on her. But don't send her to JYA. Really, seriously look into JYA. Please don't hesitate to ask me for my JYA knowledge.

Why has no one yet addressed the fact that this is a "behavior modificaion program" run and staffed by people who have no degree, certificate, training, experience, etc, in psychology or behavioral studies?

Is that not an issue for you parents? That is just weird to me. And Dangerous.

To the Parents and pretty recent Students that have stated their opinion:

It seems you all either have a child in the program at the moment or you had one recently get out. (Same applies to the students..still in there, or just got out.) --- All I can say is to give it time. Your emotions, actions, and probably in most cases money, seem to still be freshly interwined with the program. I think its unfair to judge the persepective of the girls who have been out for awhile. We have an advantage in time. Time always tells.

I pray you all continue to do well. I'm happy you all have great things to say. But please remember that you are one opinion out of hundreds. There are still girls in there right now who will be majorly affected in a negative way by this program. There are still many girls that carry the scars from it to this day.

The bottom line is this:
That program might make 7 to 10% of its graduates lives amazing and successful. But is that worth what it does to the other 80%? Congratulations that you are doing so well right now. But what about the girl who went there with you and is now worse because of it? I know many, many of those girls. And Im sorry, but your happy stories don't hold a candle to their pain.

Its just something to think about.

jya is merely putting a band-aid on what is really going on in a young person's life. Negative behavior, or "Acting out" (i.e. doing drugs, disobedience, premarital/irresponsible sex, etc.), are all EFFECTS of misplaced hurt, abuse, neglect, drastic hormonal and bodily changes during adolescence, and so on.
I am a woman of God and a follower of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible. As I am also human, I am not perfect, but I am a person of honesty and integrity.
My testimony is 100% FACT. Therefore, I do not feel the need to defend the truth. Whether humans choose to acknowledge what is hurtful/harmful and what is not, God is the only Judge and He is the only One who sees the real truth. I completely trust The One and Only Lord Jesus Christ in this matter. And I want to thank Him openly for taking me through the hurt and pain of rape as a child, and the rape of my thoughts, feelings, and personal identity which jya inflicted. I thank the Lord for giving me strenth to somehow get through the horrendous experience of being isolated and raped by people who were professionally unable to assist me in dealing with the hurt that led to the effects of my misbehavior/depression as a teenager.
God sees everything. He sees what is done in secret. I completely trust Him to bring Justice for all the wrongs done in everyone's life. I await His return with anticipation that my suffering is to HIS GLORY! amen.

Opinion Part Two:
I for one, as I am sure most parents, can say I did not send my daughter to JYA to become a “trained dog” I too sent her there due to her heading down the wrong path. I was at a point where I had tried multiple things and everything I tried seemed to band-aid the problem, but nothing got to the core reason as to why she would make bad choices, choices that harmed her. Since taking my daughter to JYA our relationship has become better than I ever dreamed.
I disagree that our daughters aren’t allowed to share what they don’t like about the program. They are more than able to communicate the way they feel as one of the main things the program teaches is to be honest with each other, talk through things, etc.
In closing I would like to say I feel extremely blessed that the Lord has blessed our families with what I would call a “second chance” to do things the right way. I have many people in my family that wish there would have been a program like this for their children or themselves, as they became drug addicts, alcoholics, etc. later in life. They have said maybe if there was a program like this they would have learned to love themselves enough not to do things that would physically hurt or harm them and in the end their decisions would have not lead up to them being in rehab in their late 20’s or early 30’s.
I for one plan on doing whatever it takes to make sure we get it right this go round. And what I mean by that is making sure my daughter knows she has a voice and will be heard, even if I might disagree at times. My intention is to help guide my daughter in making the right decisions so she can be the best God has intended for her to be.

Opinion Part One:
Well said Rachel. I am a parent who has had my daughter in the program for just shy of a year. I am fully in favor and supportive of the program and staff. I have found the staff, school and corporate to be very open all the way up to when I first called inquiring of the program, went to tour the facility and up until today. I for one am not pleased by the responses from former students of JYA, but feel we all are entitled to our own opinions.
As for the girls who are former students I would like to say if you felt it was difficult to fit back into society, I feel that possibly you didn't communicate your feelings to your parents and aftercare staff. If you did this they could have helped you through your feelings and assisted in getting you readjusted to life outside of JYA. I agree it will be a bit difficult once my daughter graduates to get readjusted to all the pressures out in the real world, but I for one am willing to do the work that all parents are required to do with raising our children. Everything I have learned through this program is it is not just about our daughters making changes it is also about the parents changing. Do we live the program day in and day out, no, but we do get a BIG taste of where we, as parents, went wrong too. Another words through the homework assigned to us parents, we learn how to better understand our daughter and how to guide them in growing up, communicating with one another and making good decisions in general. Is JYA the cure all, no, but it certainly guides us down the right path and when staff feels our daughters are ready to move onto the next level they gain more and more privileges back until ideally they come back home for good. Am I in this fantasy land that everything is going to be peaches and cream when my daughter comes home, no. Are there any guarantees that our daughters won’t slip and we, as parents, won’t slip into bad habits again? No. But we certainly have the tools to know how to handle situations going forward much differently than before. Hopefully through what we have learned it will steer us back on the right track sooner rather than later. I feel that the staff at JYA have nothing but good intentions with our daughters and the parents, they want nothing more than to see us succeed as a family and as individuals. I believe that is their whole mission.

I am a former student Of JYA. First off, I have to say that I have never been better. I just graduated aftercare and I am living a happy and full life, which I would not have been able to do with the help of Jya and the staff. I would have to say that a lot of the former students "testimonies" are over exagerated and truly false. To adress punishment... You are only "punished" when YOU do something wrong. You do have to write lines depending on the circumstances, but they have NEVER contained any biblical referances. (Believe me, I should know. I broke the rules a lot.) I was in the school for almost two years. I was dropped on several occations, but each was deserved. I realize that for some girls, maybe Jya wasnt for you... But it saved my life, litterally. Away from drugs, achool, and the influence of the "adults" around me, I was able to think for myself and learn who I was. I also turned 18 while I was in the program, of course I had thoughts of leaving, but my mind was made up. I was staying. I am not saying that it wasnt hard, everybody knows that, but life is hard and you just have to suck it up. Some of you girls are outrageously bitter. You are out now and the only thing holding you back now is your rage and bitterness. Let it go.
For you parents looking for hope... I have never been a parent, so I dont know exactly how you feel. But I am in the place of your teenage daughter. I would take serious consideration of Jya. It is one that has brought me life, a great relationship with my parents and it was my second chance at my goals and dreams. If I had a daughter that was acting like I was, I wouldn't have a second thought about it. I would send her to Jya. The staff is so supportive, and really, one impeticular, helped me through everything. I had a messed up life, and Jya helped me deal with all of it. I do not say all this just to get you on boared or because I felt like bashing on some of the girls' negative comments. I say this because it is the truth. This school isnt perfect. But I swear it is one of the best. Sending your daughter here, will be the hardest thing you will ever do, but in the end, you will see that it has changed her in a way that no counslor, pychologist or even you could ever do.Dont be afraid to talk to the staff, and ask them all the questions you want. They will be happy to answer them. Or contact me and I will help you. I am being completly honest in everything that I say. And Rachel is right, Being happy is a choice, so make it.

IIIIII:
As if I haven't wrote enough I'd like to add that I think JYA is one of the best programs you could ever send your daughter and now son to.Without JYA Staff's help,I would've never realized just how much I could've done on my own;how much self-control I really did have;and that happiness is a choice that sometimes we do have to make day by day.My self-esteem have risen higher than it had ever been.I am confident in just about everything I do and I know when to say "NO"!That's a big deal for me;I always said "WHY NOT?YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!?"WRONG!Trying just that one thing with the attitude of "YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE" could've killed me in that very moment.You do only live this life once...so why not live it to the fullest in happiness?I don't see a question arising in my head at all!My life has been completely transformed...and if you ask me...it's your choice!If you leave JYA with the attitude of "I'M GOING TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME";then yeah,you'll get pregnant,get involved with drugs,drink,and then maybe when you've become so completely lost that you have no where in the world to go,you may or may not experience suicidal thoughts and actions...but don't turn around and blame JYA,blame yourself!LIFE IS A CHOICE!TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!I've chosen to embrace life for all the good it has to offer and I can honestly say that without JYA,I would've never been able to understand all the good that I am now experiencing.I deserve the best,and so does everyone else.If your daughter is experiencing some scary things and you're scared for her safety...JYA is the answer...but she has to want the change to change!I pray that my message has helped you to understand the facts of what JYA is really like from my personal experience...it's not all fun but it sure does help!

IIIII:
Christine James also mentioned that some girls became suicidal in their life after the program...you can seriously say that is JYA Staff's fault...let alone JYA at all?HA!I laugh at you reading that statement.The people you knew who practiced with suidical actions and experienced suicidal thoughts must not have taken what the program had to offer or they did and just fell apart with the harsh cruelty of their past friends pressures or the fear of not being accepted because they chose not to go down that path again.You know,you have a lot of nerve to go as far as you did...without cursing...I'd have to say that was REALLY MESSED UP!!!!!!!!!!!You may have a lot of hostility towards the way that this program chooses to handle things because you cheated your way through and now you're regretting it...I could be wrong,I don't know you,but if I were you I'd think through the things you're stating as FACT when really I know they're FALSE!!I'd also like to comment on someone posting a comment who knew someone else who attented JYA...who are you to write your opinion on this program when you yourself have never experienced it or even seen it first hand?Hm...you really bother me.Did it ever occurr to you that maybe...JUST MAYBE your friend who claims what she did could possibly be lying or exaggerating the truth?I don't doubt it for a second...she was sent away for some reason...and I wouldn't doubt it was partially because of a lying issue;as most of us did.But hey,believe what you choose to...but before you start pointing fingers;get the first hand information...not second hand!

IIII:
We do eat healthy.VERY HEALTHY!I thought I was going to die because I couldn't have potatoe chips or chocolate chip cookies EVERY SINGLE DAY!We get all the calcium,vitamins,and protein we need throughout the day through each and every meal.I very much enjoyed the food as I know a lot of other girls did and if you didn't,oh well,you're getting what you need as I'm sure they weren't before JYA!Plus,dessert foods became very appreciated by myself because they were rare.We received them for birthdays,parent visits,and holidays!YAY!Sure,some girls may gain weight,but sometimes that's good for certain girls,others it may not be...that's EXACTLY what a huge thing we people like to call "Physical Education" is for.Most girls that get TOO big usually don't try hard enough AT ALL in P.E..If you ask me,that's their fault and they have no one to blame but themselves!We get weighed each and every month...it never fails.If staff notices that HUGE of change in our weight whether it be we lost a lot or gained a lot,they do what they must to get us back to our healthy state.As far as girls becoming "FAT or OVER WEIGHT" after the program...how in the world can you blame JYA for that?Their eating habits change after the program...mine did!As long as we're being honest here,let me just tell you all something,I lost weight when I graduated and I hadn't gained much while I was there.I ate quite a bit with getting what was required plus the optionals while I attended JYA,but I also participated in P.E. which I'm sure was the reason I didn't gain much.So,in a nutshell...eat what you want in whatever amounts you please,just remember to work it off and you'll more than likely be just fine.

III:
I'm not even sure why the whole pajama wearing when girls run away was even brought up considering many girls don't even run away because they're too scared.HELLO,we live on a freaking mountain in the middle of nowhere...all there are are animals and trees.I'd be scared,which is why I never ran.Anyway;yes,they are put in pajamas so that they think twice about looking like RUNNING FOOLS.Putting the girls who run into pajamas is an excellent idea because most girls go into the program so worried about what they look like[[IMAGE]].In putting them in rediculously ugly pajamas,they won't want to run because of how weird they look,and trust me...it does usually work!NICE GOING STAFF!If it keeps them from running,it keeps them safe.SEE!Staff does care. :)

II:
As far as "Bathroom Restriction" goes[[that is where a girl for the first 3 days which used to be 5 days has to leave the door BARELY cracked anytime that she goes to use the restroom,take a shower,wash her hands,brush her teeth,or change her clothes.No other student can even see inside the door...and even if they could,the staff is sitting or standing in front of the crack and anytime girls are lingering around during this time,the staff doing the Bathroom Restriction asks the students to go hang out elsewhere]]I feel that it's completely understanding.If Christine James had stated the reasoning behind leaving the door cracked for that short amount of time;you all who look at this action as disgusting,disturbing,and unnecessary may not have thought that in the first place.The reason staff do that is so they know what is going on with that specific student considering she has just recently been forced into an environment that she more than likely is not happy about.Most girls become depressed and uneasy when they first come in because the environment is not at all what they're used to;so,for their safety,they leave it cracked to listen and make sure they are doing what they're supposed to and not fooling around or taking any life-risking actions.POINT MADE!

I am both shocked and disappointed at some of the comments that a select few of you have deemed necessary to post to the public about JYA!!!!!!!!I have to question exactly how troubled you may have been or still are to actually lead yourself to believe that this stuff is fact!Did you REALLY experience those things you claim to have or are you in desperate need of some sort of attention?Whichever it may be;you are entitled to your opinion,but stating your opinion as YOUR opinion and stating your opinion by making it seem as FACT are two VERY different things.[[PLEASE understand that]]I am a former JYA student and can I just share the truth?JYA holds an amazing group of staff who are clearly there for no other reason than to lead us young teenage girls to a better life.Why do I use the word "clearly"?Because,the pay can't be anything EXTRAORDINARYLY high beyond minimum wage;they're CHOOSING to work with a huge load of teenage GIRLS who all normally have their period around the same time which leads me to say that we are ALL moody around the same time;most of us come in with a rebellious attitude of "I can do whatever I please and NO ONE will stop me...my parents never did.";and we all have many different personalities that each staff has to deal with.I could go on but I have many other things I'd like to say in JYA's defense!! :) EH HEM!Let's touch on the discipline subject shall we?I had NEVER received lines that contained a Biblical verse.Emphasis on [[NEVER]];and I had received many lines in my FULL 2 1/2 years at JYA...so if that were true,I would've probably received at least one set of lines that quoted a Biblical verse.!!WOW!!No Talk has now become isolation?Hm...I have to wonder about that theory because to be perfectly honest I view it as a perfectly legit consequence;;here's why:When you get into trouble for something;can you seriously tell me that after you're done getting lectured about how wrong you were you think it over and think of how you may better the situation or possibly never allow it to occurr again while involved in an interesting conversation among friends??I know I never did.I was much more interested in the gossip rather than how I could better myself and the situation that was currently at hand.Yes;Miss Christine James is correct in the sense that we may not speak with other students;staff;or parents while on No Talk unless absolutely vital.Do I call that "isolation"?Absolutely not;I call it necessary.Isolation in my opinion would be locking us up in a room or select area where we can see not one person.Obviously;that is not on the list of punishments...so I ask that false words are not forced into my mouth because that is not at all what I wrote.Staff take our bad behavior and rebellion against rules VERY seriously and it's so we learn from our mistakes by receiving a legit consequence.

I have heard a lot of things about JYA i have a friend of mine whose daughter is there. The girl has gained so much weight and it it not due to the healthy meals that they get. Also for those parents who think they liked this school please do research. For privacy reasons I would not mentioned the name of a girl who was killed november 2007 because she was in the company of a guy who was wanted by the police. "this is what education is all about" right? Please google research do your homework

Laurie,

Do you work for JYA by chance? After googling your name I see that you leave a lot of comments after Phil. Do you two work together?

I know a girl who stayed almost a year past her 18th birthday because the staff mentioned to her that programs in the Dominican Republic don't honor the rights of an 18 year old. You are there until they release you.

You know Phil, I'm starting to think maybe you just don't know what your staff is up to. How much training do you even give them? Are you there every day? How do you safeguard against possible verbal/mental/emotional abuse?

The friend of mine who also stayed at jya after for quite a while cited reasons for staying: she was scared to go into the real world because the isolated, sheltered, controlled environment at jya caused her to feel afraid of anything normal adults deal with on a day to day basis.

I believe this says it all. Our daughter stayed at Julian Youth Academy for 9 months after she turned 18. She did this on a voluntary basis as did many other girls who turned 18. It is hard for me to read comments about a school that has helped so many girls and families.
Sincerely,
Laurie Guy

"Every Captive will be SET FREE from JYA!
No More Unregulated Facilities!!"

To the parents who have expressed support of the program:

It is far more important to hear from the people who have been most affected by your choice to send them away: your children/young adults.

The day I hear how "wonderful" the program was from someone who endured the program (the CHILD who was separated from reality as they knew it)and has also lived life on their own for at least a few years and feels that the program was not psychologically hurtful to them = the day I am not completely against programs.

I have pictures of girls digging up tree trunks at JYA. I have pictures and comments of a lot of bad things at JYA. One girl writes that she remembers a girl that threw up from eating too much (she was forced to eat everything on her plate) and the staff at JYA forced her to continue eating right next to the throw up. Let me know if you want the pictures.

Our daughter attended Julian Youth Academy and graduated from high school and the leadership program in July, 2008. I can honesty tell you that Julian Youth Academy helped our daughter with self-esteem, self-worth, anger issues, compassion, leadership skills, academics, many life long skills. The staff are caring individuals who do this to help teenage girls who need the help this school provides. The CEO, Phil Ludwig has the upmost integrity personally as does this program. The best decision we ever made was to send our daughter to this school. I encourage anyone who has a struggling teen to contact teen rescue at their website www.teenrescue.com or to call them at 1-900-494-2200.
Sincerely,
Laurie Guy

TO: JYA

"FREE MY ANNOINTED ONES"

yes, teens are psychotic--WE ALL WERE!

How are ANY of these "warning signs of a 'problem'" NOT part of a teen's life!? Teens ARE psychotic. Parents need to be supportive of ALL that a teenager is going through, be sympathetic and realize they are just figuring out who they want to be by experimenting with different walks of life, and just get them through it! Its just a few years of their life, and there's NOTHING "wrong" with them!

The following is found on the TeenRescue.com site. If I were a parent that didn't know better, I wouldn't see the manipulative tactic they are using to make parents think something is "wrong" with their child. Parents who look into this too much apparently can't relate to their children and don't have a healthy relationship with their children to remember what it was like to BE a teenager.

A Quick Survey to See If a Problem Exists
Does your son obey the law and/or rules at home?
Does he sleep excessively or show other signs of depression?
Do you fear or know he is using alcohol or drugs?
Is your child generally angry or hostile towards authority?
Is your child doing poorly in school?
Is your child living a secret life?
Do you fear your child is sexually active?
Do his friends seem like unhealthy friends in your opinion?
Has he withdrawn from healthy activities such as sports, music, and extracurricular activities at school?
What kind of music does he listen to?
Does the music negatively influence him by talking about death and fantasies of suicide?
Has he radically changed his appearance either physically or cosmetically?
Are his eating habits normal and healthy?
Has his sleep patterns changed?

These are all patterns of:

a) being a teenager and going through one of the hardest parts of your life

AND/OR

b) having HURT in your life!

Stripping your teen of all they believed was true, isolating him/her from family and loved ones, negating his/her beliefs, disallowing access to advocacy, depriving him/her from affection, and creating an environment of disbelief is the absolute worst thing you can to do a hurting teen.

Tags for this letter

my perspective:
youth
now a parent who will NEVER pay to send my child to be raised by someone else, that is our responsibility as parents.
concerned citizen

Program types:
therapeutic boarding school
behavior mod program
faith-based program

reasons sent:
family conflict
breaking rules
other issues (psychological trauma, rape)

experience in program:
escort/transport service
medical care
facility conditions
discipline
privacy violations
human rights violations
abuse
suffering
no access to advocates

(cont'd)
The fact that JYA expects uncompromised, unquestioned dedication and commitment from parents is one of the scariest signs to me and is reflective of many cultist organizations. Personally, I question my doctors, my therapists, and any professionals recommending treatment or solutions for me. I believe it is my right to refuse treatment and my right to know the intentions of those professionals. As far as I know, they do not require parents to seek professional opinions regarding their child's mental, emotional, or physical state prior to acceptance of entry into the program. Programs telling parents "your child will die without us" is another very scary statement, and parents who are vulnerable (of course) and at their last ounce of emotional strength will believe them. I probably would, too, if I didn't know better.

This is where I stand, and I am not a professional but I am a mother. I am currently in an early childhood education class where I am learning a tremendous amount about children and humans as the social beings that we are. Because my parents were supportive and truly wanted the best for me, I believe that would have been enough, in addition to professional therapy, to get me through the non-violent trauma I endured as a teenager. I was a victim of a crime, and being sent away couldn’t have been further from the healing I needed. It was isolation at its worst, when all I needed was hugs, comfort, support no matter what mistakes I made, and unconditional love, especially from my parents and especially at times when I was hurt the most. Not receiving that affection due to being isolated at JYA has affected me in every single area of my life.

(cont'd) Girls there are not allowed to talk to each other very much. A girl is on what's called "no talk" (no communication whatsoever, including gestures and eye contact) automatically for the first 4-5 days. She can only tell her "up buddy" (a girl who has been there a certain amount of time and has achieved a certain level in the level system they use) if there's a need to use the restroom, or wants to talk to a staff member. Those first 4-5 days is when you're supposed to observe the rules and are expected to know and follow ALL rules after that time is over. However, this is really difficult because you cannot talk or be spoken to. right after those first days, you get off "no talk." and are allowed to talk to your own up-buddy (everyone is either an up buddy or a down buddy depending on the level achieved) and she is supposed to tell you all the rules. If you have a bad up buddy (isn't helping you at all) then you won't know the rules and will go punished a lot because you are then expected to know and follow them. Another person's up buddy is not allowed to help another person's down buddy with rules.

The level system goes A-L3. A is the first 4-5 days of no talk. after that, girls go to B automatically. C-J are levels where they receive "privileges" (I would call them rights) back. for instance, you cannot draw pictures until you are on D. you get to use stickers on level C. I can't remember what you get on E. plus these might have changed a bit, and can be revoked at any time for an individual (i.e. if staff thinks you're drawing "too much" at their discretion they will take that "privilege" away without notice or reason.), or for the whole group.

Once they get to level G, girls can talk to all the "down buddies." It's very difficult at first because you're not used to being discerning about who you can or can not talk to. in the real world, obviously you have the ability to choose who you want to talk to. You can also become an up buddy, and usually do at some point if staff thinks you're ready, at level G or H or so. Level F is one 15-20 minute phone call to the parent. They're not allowed to keep a journal until E or F, even then staff reads everything and they can't write friend's names and they can't talk about anything in your past unless it's positive. Things may have changed, but knowing the changes that were made shortly after I left, they must be less lenient.

When I was there, they did not have cameras, just speaker boxes in the corner of each room. Just before I left, they added cameras in each hallway and when I went back for "graduation" there were cameras in the rooms. I do not know if there are cameras in the bathrooms. As the place burned down a couple years ago, everything is new and I'm sure the technology has been updated.
(cont'd)

(cont'd)
7. Students were held responsible for other student's failures to follow rules. Low level students were spoken for by higher leveled students. Low level students were not allowed to speak directly to staff unless spoken to or if higher leveled student asked for them to speak with a staff member. Low level students were restricted from speaking to (in any form of communication, including glancing) other students who had not yet attained a certain level of the program.

8. No treatment for individual issues. Speaking about issues were not allowed until staff approved (average length of stay before allowed to speak about issues at home or personal issues: 8-9 months). All students were regarded as manipulative, untrustworthy children (all students were over the age of 13) who deserved no respect and were not regarded as individuals.

9. Forced attendance of church services.

10. I was forced to grate blocks of cheese until I had blisters on my hands.

11. Denied proper medication. Medication not dispensed by licensed or qualified medical personnel.

12. Forced calisthenics in mountainous terrain, hills so inclined and at such high altitudes (4,000 ft) that I was nauseous, dizzy, and felt like I was going to faint (I'm not sure how I didn't). I believe this was part of the mental breakdown prior to and during brainwashing.

13. Not permitted to speak with siblings until a certain level (usually after one year), and only if those siblings supported the program. I never saw my sister, who felt what my parents did to me was wrong, the entire time of being held at the program. I was not allowed to write siblings or grandparents or any other immediate family, only parents.

14. Never permitted to communicate with friends at home.

15. Not allowed to express creativity, such as drawing or musical instruments, until reaching a certain level (usually about 4-6 months after admittance, and only if you attained that level). No "secular" (non-Christian) music, and music was only played in the car in the way to church.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Most rules were mild, and punishment did not include physical abuse reported in other programs. What is wrong about this and all other programs in this class is the brainwashing tactic. The mental and verbal abuse and conditioning, and monotonous strict schedule conformed us into thinking that everything was okay, and that we would have died if we hadn't been sent there. The threat which stopped me and probably most others was the fact that we'd get sent to the physically abusive programs if we did not comply.
(cont'd)

(cont'd)
My physical health covered up the damage inside. I smiled for years after the program while crying on the inside, because that was the only "coping" method I knew how to do. I had carried that same smile for the last 15 and one half months.

These are some conditions of the facility, and some of the rules I can remember:

1. No freedom of speech

2. Calisthenic punishment for minor infractions, such as forgetting water bottle or looking at other student you were not allowed to talk to ("no talk")

3. Forced eating

4. Monitored communication in all forms
-letters were to be handed to staff without closure, to allow for strict monitoring and alteration, up to and including having to re-write as many times as necessary to fit the standard of what was allowed to be written to parents NOTHING "considered "negative" against the program was allowed at any time
-phone calls were "earned" and only after four months, to parents only, completely monitored, staff would hang up if anything negative about the program was said
-parent visits on campus were constantly monitored closely by staff (conversations required staff presence), and parents were required to tell staff if daughter spoke negatively in any way about the program.

5. Bathroom resrictions, inadequate facilities during school hours (one double bathroom to 30+ girls), only two girls allowed to use restroom at a time, which was a walk to and from the facility 100 ft away, next buddy group unable to ask until the last group came back. (sometimes we'd have to wait 45 or more minutes to use the restroom)

6. Continuous student cleaning. we did all maintenace of grounds, including chopping trees, which gave me bloody, blistered hands. Raking each and every single leaf of large forest or endure punishment. Extreme cleaning standards. all cleaning done by students. Staff did for a short time upon my arrival, help with cleaning/chores, but then staff was not permitted to help per superior staff.
(cont'd)

(cont'd) I have forgotten, by choice and through determination of self, a lot of what happened at JYA. Happenings were not easy to push out of my mind, and it took years to do so. I do remember as clearly as it was at the time, the cloud of fogginess in my head and in my heart following leaving the program. My brain had fully disassociated with true reality because of the false reality that took place within the walls of the program. I was lost. It would be years before I could be alone in a room or even a public place without having a panic attack. I also suffered from panic attacks when in environments that shouldn't have been socially overwhelming, like a baseball game or the city college. I had to start from scratch, as if the program literally re-programmed me (Its no wonder why they call it that) and none of my software was in yet. I walked like a zombie, not knowing what windows to open to get where I needed or wanted to go. Its like they erased all my drivers (for those of you who don't know about computers, those are what run each program). So I knew where I wanted to go, but was emotionally, mentally, physically unable to connect where I was to where I needed to be. I was always an A student before the program, now I was finding it difficult to take regular college classes that would have been a breeze for me if I hadn't been "dumbed-down" by the lack of trained professionals present at the "school." 90% of my school-related questions (the only questions we were allowed to ask) were unanswerable by the "teachers"--most staff had little more than high school education.

I was emotionally detached. I was unable to feel love for my parents, even when I tried. My younger brother and I grew apart, when previously we were the two playing cars in the dirt together. My sister has always been here for me, and I can truly say that without her love and support, I would not be where I am today. I had much difficulty in relationships, and felt uncomfortable around people in general. Because I was never able to stand up for myself and be assertive in my needs, those needs went unmet in my marriage which of course led to periods of marital separation. I suffered from not only the panic attacks (sometimes total loss of consciousness) I mentioned, but sexual difficulty as well, which had to do with my past abuse (only the statutory rape, no other family or other sexual abuse) but more so the fact that I never received professional help for healing for that trauma.
(cont'd)

(cont'd)
When taken down from 4,000 ft elevation to 3,000 ft to attend mandatory church services every Sunday for fifteen plus months, I would suffer from debilitating and extremely painful migraines. The first two Sundays, I was given no more than 400mg of Tylenol each instance, which was 200-400mg less than the recommended dosage for my weight and age at the time. The third time I was suffering from these migraines, I was denied medicinal relief of any kind, was told I was manipulating staff for merely requesting medicine, and was verbally forced to stop crying or making any noises or movements in attempts to relieve or take my mind off the excruciating pain. I was never granted medicinal relief for the remaining fifteen months, and was forced to suffer in silence with the threat of punishment if I ever asked for medicine for my headaches again. I know that had I had access to an object that could puncture, I surely would have punctured my brain just to relieve the blood from my head. Seeing and reading about the sufferings and numerous deaths of children under the “care” of treatment facilities, my suffering seems humble, but valid nonetheless.

2. The other regulation I’d like to emphasize is the need for one or more neutral, medically or otherwise qualified third-party evaluation(s) prior to admittance of a child (US resident under the age of 18) into a residential or non-residential private treatment center. The reasoning behind this is that parents do not always know how to approach their children when a problem is suspected or have the courage or rapport with their children to do so anyway. A neutral and qualified third party evaluation can significantly bridge the gap of communication between parent and child, and can positively influence the parents’ ultimate decision to be an appropriate one.
(cont'd)

(cont'd) Here is the exact truth about my personal experience. Nothing is falsified or exaggerated. I am a real person who feels obligated to share my experience in effort to expose the truth about this program. I support Senator Miller’s bill H.R. 6358, Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008.

My Testimony:

At 14 years old, I was awakened on a cold August morning at 5am to strangers who forced me to either dress in front of them or remain in the scant pajamas I was in. I chose the latter for obvious privacy reasons. I was not granted permission to use the restroom, or any other personal hygiene habits before what I was told would be "a long trip." My younger brother was asleep, and I would not get to see, write to, or talk to him until a year later. My older sister, I will never forget, stared into my eyes with such sadness and intensity that I was stricken to muteness and shock for the entirety of the 6 hour car ride to Julian, CA. I knew not that I would also not have contact with her, nor family other than my mother and father, for about a year.

As the escorts asked me if I knew or wanted to know where they were taking me, I remained in shock and was unable to speak or express needs to these strangers.

Upon arrival, I remained in “intake” status for almost nine hours, refusing to dress and demanding that I should get one phone call, “Even criminals get a phone call.” I was not a criminal, nor was I ever involved in using drugs or alcohol, promiscuity, or otherwise physically harmful behavior. I was a victim of a statutory rape crime, and the perpetrator is now walking the streets! Due to the emotional trauma that caused and the abandonment I felt from my parents not seeking understanding from me, retrospectively I hold to the fact that I “rebelled” as mildly as any “normal,” healthy teenager would.

During my imprisonment at Julian Youth Academy (aka JYA), which was a period of fifteen months and sixteen days, I was treated like property through lack of sympathy, lack of care for emotional needs, lack of care for health needs, constant disbelief from staff and directors and punishment for expressing my human and health needs, lack of anyone to trust, zero advocacy, and lack of experienced and trained staff.

As humans, we have fundamental and basic rights. This is the founding principle behind every free society, democracy and the US Constitution. Rights are not something that we must beg for, or that are subject to the whim of any government or authorities but are things that we are entitled to. In their most simple form, human rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity.

Human rights also extend to children. Children are not the property of their parents, and their rights cannot be revoked at a parent's whim or due to their parent's religious beliefs, ignorance or even callous disregard. The parent's rights do not supersede those of their child. A child is a person and not a sub-person. They have a name and an identity that belongs only to them.

"NO MINOR MATTER" © 2007 by Teen Advocates USA and Barbe Stamps. All Rights Reserved.

------------------------

I am a survivor of a faith-based residential treatment center called Julian Youth Academy, located in the mountains of San Diego, CA. Although the extent of my abuse was psychological and emotional, I consider the damage to me as harmful as any other form of abuse, such as physical abuse. Broken bones may heal in 6-8 weeks, but hearts sometimes never heal.

My goal has been to legally support the regulation of private institutions. I want private institutions that house children (minors) to be held accountable to the same basic civil laws that public institutions are, such as access to advocacy. There lies a problem with regulation and accountability in private institutions.

The scars that “programs” inflict are not seen on the outside or on one's skin. They go much deeper. With respect to what daughters and children go through at home and in life--I believe that those experiences are necessary in order to reach maturity, which is the ability for a young adult to make decisions on their own. I believe that programs not only prolong this important part of social development, but that they cause sometimes irreversible damage to a person with the isolation and lack of trust or belief which programs like Julian Youth Academy’s staff encourages: thinks is "helping."

I believe children should be seen, heard, and most importantly, believed.
(cont'd)

--Maybe thats a bit harsh. So let me at least leave you with this: I can give you at least 60 names of girls who graduated JYA and lived well for a couple years. That same number has gone on to either join gangs, do hardcore drugs, have children, have abortions, not talk to their parents, have social anxiety disorders, have abandonment issues, get involved in dangerous relationships with men, the list goes on. There are many flaws in that program. If I must name the greatest one its this: What special license do these people have? What actual psychological merit do they have to treat these girls? What training? These are girls who come in troubled and/or hurt. These are girls that need real help. Putting them in a group of other girls all like them and letting someone else raise them will not help. It will harm. Most of these staff are not college graduates, social/clinical health workers, psychologist or even parents!. What the heck do they know about whats good for your child?

PART ONE To both the parents who responded above:
Look, I feel your irritation. Who wants to hear negative things about a school they paid good money for to help "heal" their unruly or even dangerous daughter?
I am not some young kid taking a stab at a program I resented. I am an adult who went there as a child and can bear witness to the events that took place while I was there and how it affects me to this day.
The bottom line is this, you parents are not there everyday. You don't know that when a parent comes to tour the facility the girl who speaks to them must be on their best behavior. You aren't there when the girls are crying for days on end out of a sense of abandonment. You want a trained kid who doesn't act up at home? Well congratulations, you'll probably get one... for awhile. I am sure JYA teaches great things to the parents who go to the monthly meetings. I've read Phil's blog, and you know what? I think its great! I think its informative and has some nice techniques on how to deal with teens. But while you sit in that meeting and learn these wonderful things, your little girl is far away from you in a program with a bunch of other little girls who miss their families and will learn anything they can to get out. I was a great student at JYA. I was a great kid when I left. I refused to process what happened to me there until a little later on in life. And when I finally did, it wasn't pretty. This program teaches girls that their value is based on an eval/point system. They made the bed. 10 points. They did their daily devotions. Another 10. They didn't act up on parent visit. They were respectful. 10. 10. But what does it teach them about their personalities? Well, in my experience and with consulting with other girls there it taught us that we were manipulators, what we cared about was insignificant, and the only way to get through the program is to please the ones in control of it. ---You want to know what it feels like to be placed in a program and have your progress and your value based on a point system? Go down to the annual dog show in San Diego. Watch the rewards they get for obeying. In the end, you are going to lose your daughter. But you'll have a great pet.

Point #6: I know of three girls that had major surgery to treat a problem that was left untreated at JYA. Once again, I'll get permission from these girls to share their stories. I'm sure they'd love to.
Point #7: Were there ever surveillance cameras in the girls dormitory before the Julian Fire? What were the reasons for those cameras? Is it not true that you monitor each girls room to listen in on their conversations?

I am not trying to ruin your reputation here, Phil. I am only stating facts based on my eyewitness account. I have no reason to lie. I went to the program, and I graduated the program. I kept contact with many, many girls who were there with me. I see what many have become. And a very high percentage of them either became pregnant right away, or they became suicidal. Most became heavy drug users. All are affected to this day. I am an adult now, and I've had time to reflect on my time there with the wisdom and knowledge I have learned through both college and life in general. I believe the place is harmful to the psychological and emotional well-being of a young girl. And most importantly, I believe it is irresponsible that you run a behavior modification program without even having a child psychologist on the daily staff. Which, by the way, was my main point in my first post, and the only point you did not refute.

Point #5: I find it appalling that you had 3 pregnant girls there against their will. Can you provide proof that everything went off without problems? Could these girls provide us with some kind of testimony? Would you agree with my opinion that JYA is an emotionally tense and trying place? And you would subject a pregnant young girl to a behavior modification program? Was she informed of her right to go home? Did she have the right to go home and raise her baby how she saw fit? Did you ever put a pregnant girl on "No Talk?" I know of one of those girls, and she tells me otherwise. I'll ask if she would like to submit her testimony.

Point #4: You do use the Bible as form of punishment, in ways I have already explained above. As far as taking the girls to outside Museums and to Lake Perris, those are limited and heavily monitored excursions. Are the girls allowed to speak to anyone outside the program? Are they allowed to talk about anything other than Christian Music? Christian TV shows or programs? Anything other than Christian books? Are they allowed to speak about what they believe in - in regards to political choices they might want to start expressing at that age, or other religions they are interested in? Not when I was there.

A response to Phil: PART ONE

There may have never been a Christine James. I've been married for quite sometime now.

I am not surprised by your rebuttal, you being the CEO and creator of the program. I am surprised, however, by your blatant disregard for the truth. So let me point them out in the same sequence you used.

Point #1: You said "None of the consequences that students experience are any different than those used at public schools. We do not use corporal punishment in any way, shape or form. We do not use scripture as punishment. So as to the "strict" punishment that the writer claimed could be controversial, this is just not true.
--- Let me start by saying, I never once said you use "corpal punishment." I find it hard to believe you think of the forms of punishment you use as not "strict." Lets start by listing some punishments you use: "No Talk" Which is when you take away speaking privileges. Unless your program has changed very recently, this would include the girls right to talk to other students, talk to staff, and talk to parents. They also may not make eye contact with, smile, or have any non-verbal communication with anyone for a period of time - The girl could be on "No Talk" for a day to a month, until you deem their behavior has changed. I don't believe that is a form of punishment that a "public" school would use. Another punishment would be having the girl write "lines" while on No Talk. Some of these lines, at least when I went there, were biblical verses or sentences about God. In fact, I still have some of the biblical lines I was given while in the program. I'd be happy to mail them to you. Another form of punishment would be putting a girl in her pajamas if she tries to run away. Normally that would accompany receiving lines and No Talk at the same time. Another punishment would be having a girl run laps, or up and down stairs for a specific number of times ranging from 25 to 100. All these, Phil, are not forms of punishment used in public school. And therein lies your first falsehood.
Point #2: No lie there. I will withdraw my issue, although I still that you should be more closely monitored due to the fact you are a behavior modification school.
Point #3: You said you do not use any type of isolation. If this is true, we must have different views on how a girl feels when she is put on "No Talk." I'm sure you have never been on No Talk before, but I have. I was isolated from the other students for 3 weeks. During this time I was not allowed to speak, interact, or even smile at another person in the program. I am sure we could take this form of punishment to a couple of licensed psychologists and see how they view it. I have already seen 3 in the past few years. All of them have viewed that as isolation.

PART TWO
CHRISTINA states, "Other punishments include excessive cleaning, shoveling dirt or digging large holes, over-exertion in exercise such as running until sick." Let's see, my daughter is now helping with chores at home, and she can do the splits. Before the program? She wouldn't help at all with chores, and exercise? Maybe if walking down the stairs for food, sleeping, or walking around the mall count as exercise. I could understand how doing dishes and planting flowers could be tough. And to actually have to run a mile or hike up a hill? Torture I tell you, absolute torture. CHRISTINA states, "The girls are also required to eat excessive amounts of food and many graduate from the program with a BMI that puts them in the percentile of obesity." WOW, a healthy diet vs. fast food. Is excessive eating 3 meals a day? Not to mention, girls can choose to eat "optionals" which gives them the opportunity to say "No". My daughter stopped eating optionals and has lost weight and is almost pimple free. CHRISTINA states, "Events from the "outside" world are forbidden in most cases to be discussed or viewed. There is no discussion allowed about politics, other religions outside Christianity, music, art, etc. The curriculum in school is based of Alpha and Omega home studies and many girls are witnessed to be behind in education after they graduate." The "outside" world promoted the girls getting to the "inside" world to begin with. When I was a teenager, I wasn't able to vote on politics until I was 18. And all that Christian mumbo jumbo. Ah phooey. It all talks about love and good morals. Why would we possibly want that instilled in our girls? CHRISTINA states, "There is a lack for basic rights to privacy such as surveillance cameras in the girls dormitory and monitors used to listen in on conversations in the girls private quarters." I've seen the surveillance cameras you are talking about. They are pointed right to the door entrances. Not the bathroom door, not the changing area, and not the beds. Hmmm, isn't this for safety? There is nothing more precious than having a sexual predator sneak into the room while the girls are in the dining hall. I do know they have monitors too. The girls know about it so it is up to them to be accountable. AGAIN do I need to point out why they are there to begin with?
I love this school. It is the best thing that could've happened to my family. If you want to speak with me, please contact Teen rescue and they will give you my information.
My quote, "If you had a beautiful 67 Ford Mustang, would you take care of the knock or wait for the engine to blow? If your daughter is knocking, open the door before you loose her for good."

PART ONE:
Thank you Susan, I couldn't have said it better myself as a parent. My name is Rachael and my daughter also attends Julian Youth Academy. It isn't fair to share the things my daughter was doing, but I will share what my beautiful daughter went through prior to me sending her to JYA.
My daughter experienced rejection and abandonment. Her father and step-father had been absent from her life, so therefore, there was no male figure for her to look up too. She strived to be different from others in order to get attention. She also felt that physical pain would shield her emotional pain. There was no stability for her, and she chose other outlets outside of her home. Of course, she never felt at home. Nothing was ever good enough for her.
Since Susan gave you a parent's opinion of the school, I'll share some of the things my daughter has shared.
CHRISTINA states, "They follow a strict punishment/reward system based on the student's behavior that could be viewed as controversial." My daughter has shared some of the strict punishments she has been on. One is writing lines, which I currently incorporate in my own home with my other child. I tell you, it's child-abuse. Especially since my daughter at home has gone almost a month from getting an infraction for talking in class after completing 25 lines of "I will not talk in class unless given permission." Another "strict punishment" my daughter has received is RC (restricted conversation). I can see how that could be so strict considering she is a teen-age girl. I'd would've preferred the paddle myself. However, on the positive aspect, it does teach us to think before we speak. I wonder if CHRISTINA has ever stuck her foot in her mouth? CHRISTINA states, "Some punishments include isolation, where a child is to go without speaking, looking at, or interacting in any way with other people for a period of time ranging from 24 hours to a month". Okay CHRISTINA, seriously now. You make it sound like they are placing you in the "box" at prison. My daughter has been unaccountable at times with another student, so therefore, isn't allowed to speak with that student. Unaccountability leads to irresponsibility. We place our daughters there to help them grow, not to fall into the same traps that forced us to place them there in the first place. CONTINUED

I would just like to speak my mind to Christine James. My name is Susan and I am a parent of a student who is currently in the program. I am very upset and disturbed that you would make comments like that. My daughter like most teenagers these days led a very troubling life and it was not getting better. She was very rebellious, her grades were horrible and school was nothing more than a social gathering, and at the age of 15 she could do it all by her self. My husband and I realized that we just couldn't go on this way and we were losing our daughter. Everything we did just made things worse and we were doomed. We decided that this was bigger then us and we needed help. By the grace of God I found this program called "Julian Youth Academy" and I knew this was the answer to my prayers. Don't get me wrong I looked at other programs, I called each one and did my homework I just kept coming back to Julian. So, once the decision was made to send her to Julian. Then I had to put them under the microscope and check them out. I called parents of former and current students, I also talked to a graduated student and just knew this is the place. My husband and I toured the campus and talked to about 5 girls and asked as many questions as we could think of. I was crying the whole time, and the only thing I could think of was, if my daughter would change at least half of what these girls in front of me were then I would be more then happy. So we did send her and it was the hardest thing that we ever did. The worst thing that ever happened to my family was actually best thing that ever happened to us. My daughter has been in the program almost 9 months, and the change we see in her is the most exciting thing that we have ever experienced. I wish that every parent with a troubled teenager would have the pleasure of sending thier daughter to Julian.

Christine, as to your so called eye-witness accounts I also seen the girls digging with a shovel, they were planting beautifull flowers. And yes they do eat very well, 3 balanced meals a day, every teenager should be so lucky to eat like these girls. My daughter is actually eating vegetables, salads, drinking milk and having fruit on a daily basis. So I think you should be ashamed of yourself for writing such nonsense and get out of the way of a good thing. And as for the staff being under the age of 30 thats not all true but some are, and I feel that thats a good thing. My daughter loves the staff at Julian. The last time I checked, being the age of 25 to 30 is considered an adult.For parents reading this who feel there is no hope for you I strongly suggest you look into this program. The staff at Julian are amazing, I beleive that this place is trully Heaven Sent. I also am more than willing to speak to any one that has questions, especially a parent who is looking for answers. If you call the program they will let you know how to get in contact with me.

Sincerly,
Susan
A happy parent

I am responding to the "former student's" eye-witness account posted on October 14, 2008. It appears that the person that submitted this post does not wish to be known for we have never had a student at our school with the name of Christine James.
Point #1: None of the consequences that students experience are any different than those used at public schools. We do not use corporal punishment in any way, shape or form. We do not use scripture as punishment. So as to the "strict" punishment that the writer claimed could be controversial, this is just not true.
Point #2: We are a private school with a registered State Board of Education affidavit. We are a Federal and State non-profit 501(c3) corporation. We are accountable to our accreditation bureau, which holds us to a state legislated standard for all of the school curriculum which we use.
Point #3: We do not use isolation for ANY length of time as discipline for our students. We remove students from inappropriate circumstances or situations, not unlike any public school would do, to protect our student body. We do not have students shoveling dirt or digging holes. We do not abuse any of our students by making them run until they are sick. We do not require the students to eat more than they are comfortable eating.
Point #4: We do not EVER use the
Bible as a means for discipline. In regards to outside world contact being forbidden, we involve our students by going to museums, to the lake for water-skiing trips, and to public restaurants for meals.
Point #5: In the history of our school, we have accepted 3 pregnant teenagers. In every case, the experience was wonderful and there was never any legal or medical resources withheld from the expectant students.
Point #6: We have never refused or withheld medical care from any of our students. We are extremely conservative and if a student says they are ill, even if we suspect that the illness might be feigned by the student, we always treat the complaint as legitimate and act appropriately for the protection of the student.
Point #7: There are no surveillance cameras in any inappropriate location throughout the school campus.

Although this was an obvious attempt to disparage us and what we do, we are a caring Christian school for kids who need redirection. We would encourage you to go to our website at www.teenrescue.com and determine for yourself who speaks the truth.

Sincerely,

Phil Ludwig, Founder and CEO
Teen Rescue, Inc.

Former Student: According to my eye-witness account, the institution's weaknesses are as follows:

They follow a strict punishment/reward system based on the student's behavior that could be viewed as controversial.

They specialize in behavior modification therapy, however, none of the staff to-date are accredited or licensed counselors, social workers, or psychologist. Many of the staff are under the age of 30. Most ranging in closer proximity to the students age than anything else. Many staff members do not even have a college education.

The program has been adapted from other boarding placement, and behavior modification programs, to which they add other ways of teaching that works best for their circumstances. State, and local government regulation is seriously limited.

Some punishments include isolation, where a child is to go without speaking, looking at, or interacting in any way with other people for a period of time ranging from 24 hours to a month. Other punishments include excessive cleaning, shoveling dirt or digging large holes, over-exertion in exercise such as running until sick. The girls are also required to eat excessive amounts of food and many graduate from the program with a BMI that puts them in the percentile of obesity.

Other behavior modification is used such as writing Biblical verses to excess regardless of your religion, culture, or denomination.

Events from the "outside" world are forbidden in most cases to be discussed or viewed. There is no discussion allowed about politics, other religions outside Christianity, music, art, etc. The curriculum in school is based of Alpha and Omega home studies and many girls are witnessed to be behind in education after they graduate.

The emotional distress caused by the program is evident and outrageous. In some cases, pregnant children are forced to live there against their will and are provided with the very minimal legal requirement of health care.

Other health care concerns have been raised by former parents and students. Physicals and check-ups are not done by a doctor of a parent or child's choosing and are often not granted at all.

There is a lack for basic rights to privacy such as surveillance cameras in the girls dormitory and monitors used to listen in on conversations in the girls private quarters. Upon arrival, girls are not allowed to use the bathroom facilities with the door closed. Even a staff is placed in front of the door. I've witnessed this lead to humiliation and nervousness in the girls. Some girls will hold back their need to use the restroom due to embarrassment, thus creating internal problems which go untreated although often complained about.

I would sum up my biggest complaint about the school by saying for a school to claim to deal specifically with psychological and emotional behavior in teenage girls, they have very limited resources or accreditation to treat such cases.