HR 911: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for ... - HEAL

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EXHIBIT B Federal Declarations and Letters Submitted by Injured Children and Families DECLARATION UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY PURSUANT TO 28 USCA 1746 We, __Lisa and Jeremiah Anger____________, declare and state as follows: 1. ..My niece was abducted by and taken to Turn About Ranch in Escalante, UT on November 1, 2006. She was mentally, physically, and emotionally tortured and abused for 6 weeks with no outside contact with loved ones. She was a good kid, but her mother was crazy, the new step dad didn't like her, and her father was recently deceased. 2. ..We (aunt and uncle) infiltrated the camp (at a church close by that the kids were forced to go to) and offered her emancipation papers, which she immediately signed. She had just turned 16 a few days prior her incarceration. 3. ..With the help of an amazing lawyer, Randy Ludlow, the Provo Juvenile Court allowed us to take her out of the camp with a Writ of Assistance so she could have her due process. The story made front page of the Salt Lake Tribune and was the first time a minor has been released to a non-custodial parent from one of these behavior modification camps in the state of Utah. 4. ..Her mother gave guardianship to an aunt in Seattle during this process and she has been living with her for 1 ½ years and has been doing fabulous. My niece is a beautiful girl and is a 3.2 student, first chair second violin in orchestra, has many friends and a boy friend, will be senior editor of school year book this coming year, has a part 20
time job as a nanny, and has saved over $7500 for college. Please close these camps. They are cruel and extremely abusive on so many different levels. I give HEAL permission to use this statement. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on July 22, 2008. __(electronic submission)____ Lisa and Jeremiah Anger 5345 w Stony Brook Circle 801-840-2442 angers@thebluezone.net SPECIAL NOTE: STATUTE DOES NOT REQUIRE NOTARY] Since the death of my daughter Michelle Sutton in the now defunct Utah based Summit Quest Program, I have worked tirelessly to right a terrible wrong. The hands on learning experience sold to Michelle and her family turned out to be a do or die forced march in the desert. The counselors thought Michelle was faking her flu like symptoms. One counselor told Michelle her symptoms were all in her head. When Michelle died the owner of the program and the counselors blamed Michelle for dying of dehydration due to exposure of the elements. The program owner claimed that Michelle had a death wish. The owner went as far as to say that Michelle lacked the will to live and was not a survivor. She then spread a rumor that Michelle smuggled cocaine into the program and died of an overdose. We put out these rumors by visiting local newspapers and ordering an extensive drug screen on Michelle’s body. It was after Michelle’s death that I learned of the long talked about controversy about these programs. I also learned of the window of loss that says of each child who dies, “we lost ONE, but we are saving many.” I have often said, “I could not have DONE TO Michelle what was DONE TO her and walked away a free person. My daughter was labeled a “throw away kid” and no one was held accountable. I began by investigating accounts of neglect, abuse, and deaths of children. I found there to be LITTLE or NO accountability for what happened to children while in the so-called care of various programs within the industry. Instead, I found the outcome to be, blame the so-called troubled child, take a low profile, then "business as usual." As the Mother of Michelle and advocate for children who have suffered or died while in the so-called care of the "troubled teen industry," I would like to address vital components that I feel are missing from HR 911. I feel the bill in its current form will NOT send a strong enough message to the industry and will NOT protect future children from the same outcome of those who have suffered and OR died over the past two decades. 21
Page 1 and 2: HR 911: Stop Child Abuse in Residen
Page 3 and 4: complete financial records includin
Page 5 and 6: c. Federal Ban of Off-Shore Program
Page 7 and 8: for which this bill was originally
Page 9 and 10: 3 Breggin, Dr. Peter R., “Reclaim
Page 11 and 12: Since the First Amendment applies t
Page 13 and 14: Children are being forced to labor
Page 15 and 16: Same problem as above. Abuses and v
Page 17 and 18: Richard Meehan HEAL New York Coordi
Page 19: EXHIBIT A 19
Page 23 and 24: moved her operation to Nevada where
Page 25: ewarding private practice in Youth

HR 911: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for ... - HEAL

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