Hot News!
• Berns’ complaint with FCC against WVXU, Maryanne Zeleznik
On today's date in The Beacon archives, we published:
•Ralph Nader on Least-Worst Voting (2008)•When Personal Responsibility Becomes Abusive (2008)
•Hamilton County Black Woman Convicted for Leaving Child in Car - And the Kid Lived! (2007)
•$10,000? What is The Charter Party? (2007)
•NAACP Cincinnati Branch President says back to Court we go (2007)
•“As Ohio Goes” Joins Liberal Blogs Promoting Political Censorship (2006)
•Dr. Vic Wulsin: Ethically Challenged? Part I (2006)
•Todd Portune’s Letter to Chris Finney (2006)
•Project Censored Announces the Release of the Top 25 Most Censored Stories for 2005-06 (2006)
Contact Us
v mail: (513) 685-0678
e mail: click here
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Kids Helping Kids: A Cincinnati Beacon/Real Talk Live Ongoing Investigation
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Yesterday, Derrick Blassingame and I drove out to the Kids Helping Kids facility in Milford, Ohio to talk with the protesters and to see what we could learn about the allegations of abuse. What we found were a group of people concerned about the well-being of young people, and a very strange complex hidden from public view filled with workers behaving suspiciously.
We have decided that this issue is important, and that we should do our part to keep the story alive. We’re talking about children here, and I think that trumps political affiliation, or “news of the day.” We have a lot of material: this week we will look over our tapes, and we will broadcast some on Real Talk Live next Friday. Then the rest will be archived online here at The Beacon.
For now, however, I want to share some observations about the facility itself, and an audio file of William Earnshaw from ISAC Corporation talking about their work to force KHK to adhere to certain licensing guidelines.
Firstly, I’d like to emphasize the strange placement and design of the facility itself. The place is surrounded by businesses like tool shops, car repair centers, and a public storage facility. There is no signage to indicate the KHK location—just a lonely driveway winding behind the public storage facility.
But here is the strange thing: if you follow this driveway until you finally get to see the building, you will notice that the architecture is designed to merge with the public storage. The design of the industrial warehouse siding matches almost perfectly with KHK’s neighbor. From the street, you would never guess at the facility’s identity. You would think it more storage.
Why such secrecy?
When we walked into the lobby of KHK, no one was willing to comment on the the protesters. When we started to read a large sign on the lobby’s wall entitled “2004 Contributors,” we were told to leave their private property immediately.
One component of the KHK treatment is to separate children from their parents indefinitely. (Hopefully, in the upcoming weeks, some survivors will write their experiences so we can post that information first-hand. I will also try to digitize our radio interview with a survivor and post it soon.) Those newly enrolled are evaluated, screamed at, and physically abused by untrained teeenagers who are also part of the “rehabilitation.”
Then, in evenings, these kids are forced to go live at a “host home,” which means staying with complete strangers—with no contact to the outside world.
According to William Earnshaw, these “host homes” are foster homes—and they should be licensed as such.
Listen to Earnshaw discuss his organizations recent work to force KHK to comply with licensing guidelines, and KHK’s refusal to comply so far: Click Here.
• Share This Article! | Listen to this article |
|  |
Register
Anonymous comments are allowed, but you can create an account above to stamp your name and to avoid typing the anti-spam code.
If you are not familiar with our rules for leaving comments, click here! The Cincinnati Beacon is not responsible for the contents of any comments. Comments do not represent the views of the moderators of The Cincinnati Beacon.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
11 Feb 2006 at 10:55 am | #
Appears to be quite similar to Hitler’s Youth Programs!
11 Feb 2006 at 12:18 pm | #
It’s been a long time I know-
When you write -” these kids are forced to go live at a ?host home,? which means staying with complete strangers?with no contact to the outside world” -Aren’t the “host homes” contact with the outside world? I assume (and this maybe my fault) that these “licensed foster homes” do not just stick these children in boxes on the back porch for the night.
Actually I know quite a few people who have gone through this program and they always had very nice things to say about the people who were kind enough to let them into their homes.
And as for separation from their parents - what? Yes it is an away from home facility, but family is an important part of the recovery processes.
Dean, I understand that the green party failed in Cincinnati and that there in not much to write about, but do some research first.
11 Feb 2006 at 01:21 pm | #
Actually I know quite a few people who have gone through this program and they always had very nice things to say about the people who were kind enough to let them into their homes.
Yossarian - How about putting them in touch with the Dean so he can find out for himself? And why are you using a pseudonym?
11 Feb 2006 at 03:40 pm | #
Really, Yossarian—have them get a hold of me.
I did do my research. This is a strange outfit. Stay tuned, and I’ll be revealing the depth of the information I have found over the next several weeks. There is LOADS of information here.
For those eager to have a sneak peek:
Search “Straight, Inc.”
Or how about the police records that should be coming to me in digitized form soon? Last night, I saw about one thousand pages of police reports to KHK Milford in just one or two calendar years. ALL of the reports are shady.
So you say you know some people who have been through the program. I now know some, too—only I actually recorded them speaking. One survivor was on Real Talk Live Friday. When I acquire the disc from Derrick, I will upload her interview here. They have all agreed to send us stuff. So over the week, everyone can meet some real (not Yossarian’s hypothetical) folks who have been through the program.
I mean, just look at this page about “Warning Signs” to see how manipulative the program is.
So, if you are a parent who chooses more than four boxes, you need this outfit’s intervention. Let’s see, if I choose these, I need my kid taken away from me:
If my child (1) is being rebellious and defiant, (2) required extra sleep, (3) broke curfew, and if I have (4) given my child “extra money”—then my family life is in disarray.
What horseshit! Most teens are rebellious, most adolescents sleep more than adults, most kids will try and push the limit of their curfew—and BFD if I want to slip my kid an extra ten so he can pick up a sandwich while out with his friends.
Finally, Yossarian, staying with complete strangers while under the watchful eye of abusive teens is not my idea of “contact with the outside world.”
11 Feb 2006 at 05:33 pm | #
While I agree with you on the absurdity of the list…it actually said “possessed unexplained money”. If you slip your kid a ten, its no longer unexplained.
11 Feb 2006 at 06:07 pm | #
No, check the list for what parents do (Do you…). It is included in the tally for four. One line item reads, “give money to your child.”
12 Feb 2006 at 10:38 am | #
You are right…I was just looking at the top list. That is stupid..ha ha
12 Feb 2006 at 04:17 pm | #
Yosarian, let me tell you about the “host homes”. I was in Straight, Inc. over 20 years ago. I’ve checked, little has changed in the mean time. I’m very happy for these kids in there now that their open meetings on Fridays don’t run on into the wee hours. They seem to actually get out of there by around 10:30 or so. Ours used to run till 1, 2 or 3AM or later, with the same 6 or 7am report time next day.
In a licensed foster home, you don’t have the doors locked from the outside and windows screwed shut. I understand that, since ISAC has been trying to get some investigation done, they’ve gone back to motion detectors and oldcomers sleeping in front of doors. Either way, these kids are effectively imprisoned. They’re physically restrained by the beltlines of their pants on the way to or from the car, house and building and even from their chair to the bathroom or anywhere else they walk while inside the building. First phase is all about total lack of autonomy. They’re not permitted to speak, even to say “hey, got a tissue?” w/o permission.
They’re not permitted to read anything, not a newspaper, novel or book, except the state required ‘school’ work they do inside the building. And I understand that’s rather a joke. No radio, recorded music or television. No phone calls, no letters, nothing, nada, absolutely no contact of any kind w/ the ouside world till staff decides they’re broken and compliant enough to be trusted to go to their own homes w/ their own parents. Typically, they’ll then have newcomers and/or higher phased kids from out of town living with them. So even on higher phases, you don’t ever get any meaningful time alone w/ your own parents. It is absolutely verbotten to utter any negative word about the program. And there is always effective surveilance.
Here’s how insanely extreme the enforcement is. When we were out there Friday morning around 7, two boys walked up the drive, probably to wait for their school bus. That would mean they’re on 3rd, 4th or 5th phase. One of my friends shouted to them “Hope you boys have good day at school!” One of the boys shouted back “You too!” Then they conferred w/ each other a little, then picked up their book bags and ran back to the building. We were just headed to breakfast a few minutes later when the school bus stopped, waited briefely, then left without them.
I think they probably decided to run back in and report themselves for talking to ‘druggies’ or to ‘splits, pull offs and screw ups’. That’s an actual rule recited daily in Group. Even when they are allowed to attend school on higher phase, they’re not allowed to associate w/ anyone outside the program. If they do and someone reports them, they can be set back or even started over on day one, depending on the mood and temper of staff at the moment.
Now, maybe we’ll get very, very lucky and one or both of those boys will remember that encounter when they get out and are allowed to read this blog AND they’ll find the blog. Right now, there is absolutely no way for anyone to contact them and let them know anyone on the outside would like to hear from them about it. Mean time, all we can do is make our best guess based on what we know about the Program.
Doubt me? Why don’t you just walk on up to the front door of KHK (you’ll need directions, there is no sign on the door or anything.)
Check The Dean and Derrick’s report from when they tried it http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php/magaddiction/comments/kids_helping_kids_a_cincinnati_beacon_real_talk_live_ongoing_investigation/
I have to say, we had a good laugh watching them walk up there. I wonder how many of the parents standing out in the parking lot waiting to be allowed inside for open meeting remembered the “report any suspicious persons you may see around the building” rule and sent up a chain of command through the 16 or 17yo peer staff member on duty for open meeting that night?
12 Feb 2006 at 05:05 pm | #
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=4491&forum=7&2601;
12 Feb 2006 at 05:47 pm | #
I wanted to add one other thing. I had some very nice, and some not so nice, host parents when I was in. The nice ones did things like give the newcomers a real mattress to sleep on instead of just a couple of blankets on the floor. But they still enforced program rules, like locking the bedroom doors at night, diet restrictions, extra sleep restrictions sometimes and all the rest.
Thanks for the link, StinkyPete. That’s my site, ya busted me. I’m no good at all at keeping secrets. I hold to a hard-line pro Ist Amendment policy for my forums. Even when someone get on there w/ the intent to find something I’ll delete, I won’t. If you can’t find something offensive on Fornits, you don’t have a pulse!
But here are some much better links for people interested in KHK and the Straight, Inc. line of programs.
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewforum.php?forum=25&539;
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewforum.php?forum=7&43259;
Enjoy!
Ginger aka Eudora fka Antigen
12 Feb 2006 at 06:12 pm | #
Sorry, two more I should have thought of.
The Seed Discussion forum:
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewforum.php?forum=8&6848;
This one is moderated by an old Seedling, so it should be work safe and all that. If you’re interested in the history of where the Straight line came from, this is probably the best source. Please feel free to ask about anything you don’t understand. The discussion sometimes rests on a lot of inside references, but we’re happy to fill you in if you just ask. My family was involved w/ the Seed for about 10 years before they put me in Straight. Like most program kids, I didn’t have a drug problem or any other personal problem except for neurotic parents.
And then there’s this one:
http://fornits.com/wwf/
That’s the main forum page. This one attempts to encompass the entire Troubled Parent industry. You just have NO idea how pervasive this is. Best estimates are anywhere from 50k - 100k kids under private incarceration at any given time. In the old days, they left it up to the parents to trick or physically force kids into the intake room. These days, you can call a professional teen transport company and, for about $1500, have a couple of former Marines or other tough guys come and snatch your kid off the street or out of their bed at night.
12 Feb 2006 at 07:00 pm | #
Calm down, Beavis (Beavette?) ! First amendment? I simply posted a link and you go off into some long winded thang. Damage control? Hidden agenda? No need to go on a rant, just pointing out that some organizations and their supporters that rally against KHK and the like can in reality be against any and ALL drug treatment and FOR drug use and personal irresponsibility of all kinds. Not to say that all “watchdogs” are that way; some of these boot camp places need to have alot more oversight than they do. I was is one of those programs and it did me and the overwhelming majority of others a great deal of good; the people who seem to have problems years later were rich, upper class white kids who wanted their pot, coke and MTV whenever they wanted it, and still do. Go down to the missions and shelters in your town and see all the men and women with wrecked lives due to drugs and booze; I’ll bet they would have loved to have been put in a KHK type place in their teens or early 20’s. Take care, I had better go before I accuse myself of going on a rant.
12 Feb 2006 at 07:38 pm | #
Right, I got your point immediately. You tried to tar all critics just like program supporters always do. It’s just the same way Nazis always go about smearing their chosen scapegoats.
Anyway, I just wanted to counter that, despite the fact that SOME of the content may be offensive or pointless, there is a lot of good content there too. Fornits is not an organization, it’s just a web forum. Anyone can post there. I don’t belong to any organizations at all, I’m just a private citizen. I don’t speak for anyone but myself, ever.
BTW, Are you the joker in the big white pick-em-up truck who laid down a cloud of diesel smoke on us? If so, or if you know him, please pass on my sincere admiration for his skill. He did it just perfectly. I was talking to Hagit at the time, so I got a good broad view. You/he laid down a heavy cloud that started just past us and covered the entire stretch of sidewalk where my friends were standing. Looked like the work of a very adept crop duster and you/he were/was lucky enough to have a light wind going just the right way, so it drifted right over to them. Oh, and thanks so very much for the asthma attack. Probably could have gone the whole trip w/o that if it hadn’t been for that little extra dose of smoke.
12 Feb 2006 at 07:39 pm | #
Darlin, if you go down to some of the shelters, jails, psyche wards in towns where this line of programs has been operating for some time, you’ll almost certainly find some program grads and former staff.
12 Feb 2006 at 08:51 pm | #
I was in LIFE - the program that (pardon the pun) “Seeded” KHK back in the early 80’s. It’s easy to dismiss the accounts of chained doors, bolted windows and other various combinations of locking kids in because there is no evidence!. We were not allowed a radio, much less a camera.
The rules were effective - now there is no evidence of what went on… and that was the purpose for it.
Look at us now… it’s someone’s word against someone else’s. Yes, the program rule of “no talking behind backs” and “What you hear here, stays here” was quite effective. Sum that with scaring the ever-lovin’-shit out of a kid, so that they keep their mouth shut for twenty years, and what do you have? Exactly what the founders and staffers wanted - complete indemnity.
13 Feb 2006 at 03:46 am | #
Systematic Physically and Psychologically Abusive Drug Treatment Continues in Milford Ohio
By: William Earnshaw, Sr.
President
International Survivors Action Committee Corporation
http://www.isaccorp.org
On April 4, 2005, ODADAS received a comprehensive complaint from ISAC Corporation that included several allegations against KHK and its owner Tri-State Drug Rehabilitation and Counseling Program, Inc. TSDRCP is the 501(c)(3) entity incorporated in Kentucky. KHK is just a foreign corporation registered in Ohio and is not registered separately with the IRS as a non-profit corporation. These allegations included: systematic physical abuse, systematic psychological abuse, brainwashing, the use by KHK of unlicensed foster/host homes, use of constant restraint, operating a drug treatment program while (at that time) the 501c3 corporation had been administratively dissolved for over 4 years, no bathroom privacy, no communication with the outside world ie. denial of “Natural Environment”, questionable intake assessments, the use of the same treatment modality as STRAIGHT, INC., recurring and unresolved deficiencies as outlined by ODADAS re-certification inspectors. On June 30th, 2005, ISAC filed an addendum to this complaint. This alleged that the psychologist used by KHK, as shown on their website, was not licensed in the state of Ohio.
Nearly 4 months later on August 1, 2005, ISAC Corporation received a determination letter from ODADAS. The result was: “The evidence submitted is not sufficient to substantiate the allegations against Kids Helping Kids. The addendum reply was that the psychologist was: “He does not provide any alcohol and drug addiction treatment services or supervision of staff.” So, how this is possible, I do not know. During these months, for a time, the KHK website was “under construction”. When it came back online, the psychologist’s name was gone. One of the requirements of treatment programs is that they have to have professionals licensed IN THE STATE in which they operate. This was a blatant foul, in my opinion, and of many others.
Upon receipt of this determination letter, I called and spoke to ODADAS Director Carolyn Givens and she told me that she could only take complaints from former clients themselves, and only if they had been treated at KHK while it was under the direction of Penny Walker. At that point, I summoned former clients, who in turn summoned more clients and a total of 3 of them filed official ODADAS complaints. All 3 of them were summarily dismissed for various reasons and none of them were investigated. After that happened, ISAC filed a “Host Home Re-Classification Request” with ODADAS. Since KHK uses unlicensed foster homes and never allows its newer clients to ever be outside the program, it is quite obvious that this program should not be considered as “outpatient”. This request was never considered longer than it took ODADAS to send a reply complaining about how little evidence they were sent that any problems, abuse, improprieties and other allegations existed and still continue to exist at KHK. ONE PROBLEM THOUGH… That Re-Classification Request was accompanied by nearly 100 documents that backed up ALL of the allegations and even proved that KHK is in a business relationship with another STRAIGHT, INC. relative program called Pathway Family Center.
These people think that we are just going to go away and they’ll be able to keep their little secrets to themselves. I have news for them. The KHK confidentiality rule is BOGUS. All it does is make the kids think they can’t talk about what they see happening inside that locked up windowless room in the warehouse there in Milford. Parents of first phase clients are not told where their kids are being “hosted”. If there is abuse, how could the report of it ever escape the clutches of this kind of environment? When people complain, the agencies dismiss them. Then what? Well, it is going to take people who know what is really going on to speak out about this problem. If kids need treatment, they need help, not systematic physical and psychological abuse. I often wonder, if KHK charges over $20,000 for each client, then why do they have to raise over $400,000 per year on top of that? They own the building that they bought from STRAIGHT Foundation in 1993. This just gets deeper and deeper.
Thank you for your interest in this story. It is time for the media to get involved full steam ahead. No one should be abused in the name of treatment, ever. More information can be found at:
http://www.isaccorp.org
http://www.thestraights.com
http://www.rickross.com
http://www.kathymoya.com/FICA/index.html
Recommended additional topics of internet research on this issue:
Mel and Betty Sembler
Drug Free America Foundation
Miller Newton (Father Cassian)
Mel Riddile
Pathway Family Center
Substance Abuse and Family Education, Inc.
Growing Together
STRAIGHT, INC.
H.R. 1738
Cults and Mind Control
13 Feb 2006 at 01:24 pm | #
First of all about fornits….certainly it is a mixture of what some would consider offensive or pro drug posts, but there is plenty of productive dialog as well. Here is just one of countless examples of productive conversations.
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?Sort=&mode=viewtopic&topic=12327&forum=7&start=0
Second…I personally support helping kids that really do need help. My main objection is to the methods used by KHK or similar facilities. In addition, I do not use drugs or drink excessively, nor do I promote/like irresponsible alcohol/drug use such as drunk driving for example.
Third point….how do you know that programs did “the overwhelming majority of others a great deal of good”???? Do you have statistics/evidence to support that assertion? Has this ‘overwhelming majority’ been tracked years after being subjected to mind control, oops, I mean ‘treatment’???? 1 year later, 5 years later, 10 years later, 20 years later????? Certainly in the months immediately following ‘treatment’ the child/family will still proclaim the program saved the child. But very frequently, that same child who said the program worked will later come unraveled once the ‘programming’ wears off. Ever heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Its a common side effect of being subjected to harsh treatment facilities such as KHK and other similar programs. I have PTSD and there was a time, immediately after the program (Straight) that I said the program worked…it took some time for REALITY to hit me but it took less than a year for that to occur. Please produce some facts/evidence/statistics that supports how much good the program has done years later. I anxious to see this for I have yet to come across any longitudinal studies/statistics.
13 Feb 2006 at 01:38 pm | #
Another good resource would be here: http://www.alternet.org
See John Gorenfeld
13 Feb 2006 at 01:49 pm | #
Better yet, here is the specific link:
http://www.alternet.org/story/27725/
-Concerned in Cincinnati
13 Feb 2006 at 02:41 pm | #
More links…
http://radioinsidescoop.com/mt-posts-archive/000504.html
http://radioinsidescoop.com/mt-posts-archive/000506.html
15 Feb 2006 at 01:10 pm | #
Shut this place down, these are sick people running it. It’s disgusting how these people are…..
15 Feb 2006 at 02:37 pm | #
Check out this book. “Help At Any Cost” by Maria Szalavitz http://helpatanycost.com/
“...says Szalavitz, there’s no evidence that these facilities cure anything. Indeed, many teens suffer post-traumatic stress disorders for years; some actually die in these facilities. Szalavitz, a freelance journalist and senior fellow at Stats.org, has written a courageous—if horrifying—study of the tough-love industry, focusing on four key players: Straight Incorporated, North Star Expeditions, the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and the KIDS program. These hugely profitable businesses are largely unregulated by legal, medical or ethical codes, avoiding accountability for failure by blaming the victim. With a useful appendix discussing when and how to get responsible help for a troubled teen, this book, filled with first-person accounts.”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594489106/ref=ase_circlofmiamithem/102-4717459-6947359?n=283155&tagActionCode=circlofmiamithem
19 Feb 2006 at 05:57 pm | #
When is the media going to jump on this situation at 6070 BHGP? Is it because people just don’t really care about it? I mean, really, you have a bad situation going on in your backyard there in Cincinnati, and kids as young as 13 are getting put in there by the courts, schools, parents, etc… It’s not just about that particular place. There are many implications involved. Your governor is in on this whole thing too. The people who set the drug policies in this country are behind it. Typically when people hear about this place called khk or straight inc or pathway family center or safe inc, or growing together, or any other straight inc spinoff program, they are shocked and want to investigate, report, etc… but, nothing ever really changes. Pressure was placed on khk last year from outside, the 3rd party factor in other words. When people in Cincinnati and that area there speak out about this, something is bound to change. Isn’t there any media there that could go into the facility and demand answers? Doesn’t anyone that listens to this show every week want to help to get this kind of treatment stopped? As long as they are able to keep the doors open there, kids will keep being sent there unwillingly. The management will keep raking in the dough, all for a quack treatment method that costs very little to implement. Since when does khk need to raise $400,000 a year in public and private donations? 20 years ago, that SAME treatment cost $2500. They are using the same building, chairs, everything else donated, etc… why does it cost SO MUCH? $20,000 to sit in a chair in a windowless room all day and be locked in a “host home” at night? What gives?
It is time to raise a big stink about that place. Derrick said the marketing director was out sick last week. That was most likely a lie. They are afraid of the truth being told to the public. Are there any people reading this that know anyone who can get major media involved? WKRC was supposed to be there on the 10th but FAILED to show. They have been supportive of khk in the past and probably don’t want to put feet in their mouths. What about writing to the governor and/or his wife? She met with the DFAF during that election fiasco back in 2000. This is all bigtime news but it doesn’t get reported that way. The local media there mention this place but never TOTALLY expose it. This is what needs to happen. I am urging you folks there in OH to speak out about this place, call and ask them why they abuse kids, call ODADAS and ask them why they license the place after being shown PROOF of the abuse. How many of you folks there would be willing to go up there once a week and picket this place?
Thank you to Jason and Derrick for keeping this story going on the show last Friday. I hope you guys are able to talk to Penny Walker and ask her all the questions you have. You gotta know something is amiss when they repeatedly give you excuses as to why they can’t. It is complete BULLCRAP that they think they are above the law and can treat kids the way they do and to do so for such an extreme profit to boot.
If people are interested in helping financially, they can always make a tax-deductible contribution to ISAC Corporation at http://www.isaccorp.org