The first two parts are from the contract. The last part is the remarks of the student.
Question:
"What happened the first few hours after my child arrived at Eagle Ranch Academy?
Answer:
Upon arrival, your child was immediately transferred from their escort to the Program or Assistant Program Director who took your child to our family room and spent a few minutes talking to them. Two staff members escorted your child to a private room and spent time getting to know your child and outlined our program.
During this process the two staff members that were with your child were of the same gender as your child. All personal clothing, etc., are stored and given to you during your first campus visit. Your child was then issued formal Eagle Ranch Academy uniforms and all other personal items needed during their stay at ERA. A current student was then assigned as a mentor or “buddy” that will be with your child for the next few days."
Remarks from the student
First, if this is a "voluntary only" program, why do children need to be transported by "escorts" (paid kidnappers who arrive in the middle of the night/very early morning to shock, restrain, and spirit away a child to an arguably illegal lockdown facility)? In the introduction letter of the enrollment packet above, ERA states it is a voluntary program and that children in the program must be there voluntarily. This is obviously a deceptive statement as coercion is used to get the child to "volunteer" to remain in the program. If you deprive a person of any hope of going home and promise nothing but torture and pain for non-compliance, you can probably get them to "volunteer" for anything. This is not the true volunteerism that comes from the will or desire of the individual volunteering, but, coerced conformity.
The manipulation of language in this sense is dubious and suggests that ERA is an abusive program. It is very nice to say that the two staff "spent time getting to know your child", but, the reality is they performed a strip search including possibly restraining your child to the ground, ripping off their clothes, and having untrained and unqualified staff perform a full body cavity search on your child. If your child has any history of being physically or sexually abused, this will re-traumatize them and no extra care will be used to safeguard a sexual assault victim from a violent takedown and strip search if the staff "deem it necessary" (and they will/do). The fact that it was a strip search is reinforced by the fact that the director finds it necessary to state that the two staff members are the same gender as the child being searched.
The Q & A claims that all personal items will be returned, but, the contract above states that ERA keeps no inventory and accepts no responsibility for lost or stolen items. So, their promotional materials (i.e. Q & A form) contradict the contract and point to deceptive marketing practices. The assignment of a "buddy" is typically the assignment of an "upper level" student who will be given control over your child and will use manipulation, lies, abuse, and sabotage to "help" your child be broken so he/she too can become a slave to the program and begin the process of "earning" the right to be treated like a human being. The fact that the "buddy" is assigned for a few days is also misleading. The "buddy" will remain until your child shows signs of submitting to the program.
Sources:
- Old version of talk page (Secret Prisons for teens - Can only be viewed in Denmark)
- Factsheet about the program (Fornits Wiki)
