This is the History of and Reporting Guide for Burning Tree Ranch in Kaufman, TX

(aka Burning Tree Recovery Ranch)

 

On this page you will find incomplete staff and complaint histories with sources cited (i.e. Progress Report), the general advisory against segregated congregate care with sources cited, and a reporting guide for those unlawfully harmed or firsthand witnesses to unlawful harm by or at this location to report violations of the law to the proper authorities/law enforcement.  The staff list itself will not be updated with additional names out of a sense of fairness where those providing the names ask for anonymity or confidentiality.  And, this program will remain eligible for merciful release if all criteria are met and no guest sermon is provided by a qualifying sponsor by that time.  In the meantime, it can graduate the COPE Conversion Program by meeting the Honesty In Marketing Standards (HIMS) or permanently close to be removed from the watch-list/released from the COPE Conversion Program.  If permanently closed prior to graduation or merciful release, it will be buried in the virtual graveyard.

 

Name

Unit/Position

Additional Information
David Elliott Founder/Managing Partner Elliott is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Curt Maddon CEO Formerly with Gatehouse Academy.  Maddon is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do  Maddon reportedly now works as CEO for Red Rock Recovery Center in Lakewood and Morrison, Colorado.
Sonya Kimbrell CFO HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Bethany Lutz Admissions Director Lutz is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Laura Richardson Marketing HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Michael Smith Multi-Media Marketing HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Dirk Lemasters Business Development HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Sarah Petelik Admissions Specialist Petelik is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Beth Stainton Admissions Specialist Stainton is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Michelle Wooldridge Financial Assistant HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Heidi Voet Smith Clinical Director Smith is licensed solely as a licensed professional counselor and has been licensed since 2005 in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Shea Barakatt Asst. Clinical Director Barakatt is a licensed LMSW and Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX and has been since 2010.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Dennis Dalton Psychiatrist Dalton is not a licensed psychiatrist nor mental health professional in TX.  Sources: http://reg.tmb.state.tx.us/OnLineVerif/Phys_SearchVerif.asp and https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Shelley Long Operations Mgr. HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Joshua New Counselor Joshua M. New (may be a different person) is a licensed LMSW and Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do 
Lori Crow Counselor Crow is a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX.  (license renewal/expires October 2013).  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/selSearchTypeTXRAS.do
Carey Ferren Counselor Ferren is a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/selSearchTypeTXRAS.do
Jennifer Boofer Neuro-Feedback Tech. Boofer is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Rachel Grayson Operations Asst. HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Lara Polito Client Care Asst. Polito is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Shelia Sirls Client Care Asst. Sirls is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Jade Perry Admin. Asst. HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
David Houke Clinical Director David W. Houke is a licensed LSMW and Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do?anchor=e372d0e.0
Frank Floca Psychiatrist

PHYSICIAN

NAME:  FRANK STEWART  FLOCA    MD DATE: 08/20/2013
 

THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOX HAS BEEN VERIFIED
BY THE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD
 
Date of Birth: 1950
License Number: E6078 Full Medical License
Issuance Date: 08/29/1976
Expiration Date of Physician’s Registration Permit: 11/30/2014
 
Registration Status: ACTIVE Registration Date: 01/01/1978
Disciplinary Status: SEE PREVIOUS ORDER Disciplinary Date: 06/17/2011
Licensure Status: NONE Licensure Date: NONE
 
 
Medical School of Graduation:
At the time of licensure, TMB verified the physician’s graduation from medical school as follows: 
UNIV OF TEXAS MED BRANCH, GALVESTON 

Medical School Graduation Year: 1976
 
 
TMB Filings, Actions and License Restrictions
The Texas Medical Board has the following board actions against this physician. (This may include any formal complaints filed by TMB, as well as petitions and/or responses related to licensure contested matters, at the State Office of Administrative Hearings.)
 
View the documents containing action taken by the Board against this individual.

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Action Date:  06/17/2011
Description:  STATUS CLEARED 06/17/2011
 
Action Date:  06/03/2011
Description:  ON JUNE 3, THE BOARD ENTERED AN ORDER IMPOSING ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY REGARDING FRANK STEWART FLOCA, M.D., REQUIRING HIM TO PAY A FINE OF $500 WITHIN 60 DAYS FOR FAILURE TO NOTIFY THE BOARD OF AN ADDRESS CHANGE.
 
 
Investigations by TMB of Medical Malpractice
Section 164.201 of the Act requires that: the board review information relating to a physician against whom three or more malpractice claims have been reported within a five year period. Based on these reviews, the following investigations were conducted with the listed resolutions.
 
NONE
 
 
Status History
Status history contains entries for any updates to the individual’s registration, licensure or disciplinary status types (beginning with 1/1/78, when the board’s records were first automated). Entries are in reverse chronological order; new entries of each type supersede the previous entry of that same type. These records do not display status type. Should you have any questions, please contact our Customer Information Center at 512-305-7030 or verifcic@tmb.state.tx.us
 
Status Code:  CL Effective Date:  06/17/2011
Description:  SEE PREVIOUS ORDER
 
Status Code:  RB Effective Date:  06/03/2011
Description:  UNDER BOARD ORDER
 
Status Code:  AC Effective Date:  01/01/1978
Description:  ACTIVE
 

Source: http://reg.tmb.state.tx.us/OnLineVerif/Phys_SearchVerif.asp
Alissa Hendrickson Operations Mgr. HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Gary Dinkelman Clinical Mgr. Dinkelman is a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/selSearchTypeTXRAS.do
Lesley Crowley Counselor There is a Leslie F. Crowley (may be a different person) that is a licensed chemical dependency counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/selSearchTypeTXRAS.do
Lisa Pace Neuro-Feedback Tech Pace is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Kay Brady Counselor Brady is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do  (Special Note: Kay M. Brady (may be a different person) is registered as a licensed chemical dependency counselor intern.  An intern is not qualified to provide unsupervised treatment and support.)
Paula Harrell Client Care Asst. There is a Paula C. Harrell (may be a different person) that is a licensed Respiratory Care Practitioner in TX.  Harrell is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Suzanne Johnson Admin. Asst. HEAL does not perform professional licensure checks on office/accounting, maintenance, nor food preparation staff as such does not typically require special licensure.
Jan Ford Mustin Psycho-Therapist Contracted Service Provider: Peak Performance Institute  Mustin is a licensed LMFT, LCDC, and Professional Counselor in TX.  Source:  https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Angie Knight-Buja Family Program Facilitator There is an Angela E. Knight (may be a different person) that is a licensed professional counselor in TX.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Dawn S. Wilson Transitional Svcs. Dir. "Aftercare"  Wilson is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
Matt Brown Staff Formerly worked for Gatehouse Academy.  There are too many Matt Browns in TX to verify without additional information about Matt.  HEAL requires Matt's full legal name and/or license/certification number in order to complete background verification.
Ann Balowski Admissions Formerly worked for Gatehouse Academy.  Balowski is not a licensed mental health nor social work professional.  Source: https://vo.dshs.state.tx.us/datamart/searchByNameTXRAS.do
External Link:  http://www.thefix.com/content/burning-tree-rehab-abuse-tough-love8787
THE TRUTH:

All segregated congregate care providers, including those on our watch-list, are welcome to contact us to correct any information or provide additional data that may assist with delivering the whole truth to the public.  The HEAL Mission of COPE (HEAL) found in many cases where this offer has been abused or resulted in revealing additional basis for our concerns. For some examples see feedback.  Now, we are willing to look at the facts and may have questions or require documentation backing up any claims.  We do verify licensing, academic backgrounds, and other qualifications when investigating and researching programs on our watch-lis/enrolled in the Conversion Program to assist consumers seeking additional information on such programs or victims requiring assistance with getting corroborating evidence of their claims.  We do that in order to make sure the information we provide is accurate and verified and cite our sources.  In the event any information we've posted is in error, we're happy to make a correction. 

HEAL does not support segregated congregate care for many reasons which include that many such facilities are abusive, exploitative, fraudulent, and lack effective oversight often as a result of fraudulent misrepresentation coupled with the ignorance of those seeking to enroll loved ones in such facilities, programs, schools, or centers without a valid court order and involuntarily.  In the United States such involuntary placements done without a court order are apparently illegal as they either violate the Americans with Disabilities Act community integration requirement or due process rights of those involuntarily placed.  Now, in regards to parents, in the United States parents have the right to waive their own rights, but, not the rights of their minor children.  See https://www.cope.church/legalarguments.htm for more information.  Now, most facilities on our watch list include waivers, indemnity clauses, and sworn statements legal guardians must sign assuring the program that the parents/legal guardians have the right to make the placement involuntarily and without due process in a segregated congregate care environment, however, California and federal prosecutors as well as settled law appears to suggest that is not the case.  In fact, in the David Taylor case found at https://www.cope.church/provocases.htm , Taylor sued Provo Canyon School and his mother as co-defendants.  His mother was found liable for 75% of the damages awarded to Taylor as a result of multiple complaints including false imprisonment, while the program was found only 25% liable because the mother owed a duty of due diligence to investigate anyone to which she would entrust care of her child and she failed to do so. 

Now, HEAL opposes segregated congregate care and we find most placements are happening illegally in the USA which if the youth understood their rights would result in unfortunate outcomes for the parents, particularly when they don't exercise good judgment and support the fraud and abuse rather than their own children when they need remedy and justice.  And, HEAL supports all victims of fraud and abuse in seeking remedies at law for any crimes or torts committed against them.  And, that's true whether or not the program or victims are in the USA. 

HEAL has a 5 point argument against segregated congregate care we'd like you to consider:

a.  Segregated care is unconstitutional and a civil rights violation.  It is only permissible if a person is unable to survive independent of an institutional environment.  For more on this, watch the HEAL Report at  https://youtu.be/C4NzhZc4P0A.  Or, see:   http://www.ada.gov/olmstead/  which includes in part:    "United States v. Florida – 1:12-cv-60460 – (S.D. Fla.) – On April 7, 2016, the United States filed an Opposition to the State of Florida’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.  In the Motion, the State had asked the Court to rule, on a variety of grounds, that the United States could not recover damages for unnecessarily institutionalized children to whom the State had been deliberately indifferent."

b.  Institutionalization is always dehumanizing and coercive.  Institutionalization always harms the institutionalized and deprives them of protected civil rights.  Dr. David Straker, Psychiatry Professor at Columbia University's School of Medicine (Ivy League) explains this in detail at http://changingminds.org/disciplines/sociology/articles/institutionalization.htm.  "Many institutions, from prisons to monasteries to asylums, deliberately want to control and manage their inmates such that they conform and do not cause problems. Even in less harsh environments, many of the institutionalization methods may be found, albeit in more moderated form (although the psychological effect can be equally devastating)."  (See website linked in this paragraph for more info.)

c.  Institutionalization is not in the best interest of children.  Institutions are not ever better for a child than living with a loving family.  Source:   http://www.unicef.org/cambodia/12681_23295.html       

d.  Reform schools, residential treatment programs, and other segregated congregate care settings have been shown to be ineffective and harmful.  Best source on this currently is:     https://www.acgov.org/probation/documents/EndoftheReformSchoolbyVinny.doc

e. Boarding Schools, even the "good ones", result in a form of social death, isolation, and cause both anxiety and depression.  Therefore, it is clearly not in the best interest of the youth subjected to those environments.  Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/08/boarding-school-syndrome-joy-schaverien-review and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/secondaryeducation/11662001/The-truth-about-boarding-school-syndrome.html

Beyond the above arguments against segregated congregate care, we have reports from the NIH, Surgeon General, Yale University Studies, and much more showing the methodologies of behavior modification are damaging, harmful, and ineffective.  You can request these documents via e-mail.  In addition, for such programs offering academic services or claiming to offer diplomas, certifications, or the like, it is important to check to see if it is a diploma mill with no accredited academic services.  Please see article: "Avoiding Scams: What You Need To Know"  for important information on how to avoid education/training scams.

If you'd like to see what HEAL suggests rather than segregated congregate care (i.e. committing a crime or tort against your child if done against their will without a court order), please see articles: "Fix Your Family, Help Your Teen" and "Emancipation Guide".
REPORTING GUIDE FOR VICTIMS, SURVIVORS, AND WHISTLEBLOWERS:
 
In Texas, the statute of limitations does not apply to crimes against children that include sex offenses and human trafficking. There is no statutes of limitation on murder in Texas.  Other felonies have statutes of limitation ranging from three years to 10 years. Most misdemeanors in the state have a 2-year time limit. For civil suits in Texas, the statute of limitations is 2 years depending on cause of action. 

Options for you to take action and/or seek redress/justice today are listed below:

1.  Report crimes such as assault, fraud, battery, labor trafficking, and child abuse to law enforcement in Texas. You can call the Kaufman, TX Police at (972) 932-3094  to inquire about filing an official complaint which may provide the probable cause needed to get a warrant for investigation and/or prosecution.

2.  File a consumer complaint with your home state's attorney general against Burning Tree Ranch and include your request for compensation for any harm done to you.  If you live in Texas and/or would like to file consumer complaint as a non-resident with the Attorney General of Texas, visit: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/file-consumer-complaint  .

3.  If you do not wish to file a consumer complaint, you can contact a private personal injury attorney and look into suing in tort/civil court.  However, if you can't afford the retainer, you should expect to settle out of court with a non-disclosure agreement which may bar you from speaking publicly about the incident because you've agreed (even if with a grumbling assent) to the terms of the settlement. 
 
4.  You may send a new e-mail to rev@cope.church with subject "Post My Feedback" and we will post your feedback (e-mail printed to .pdf disclosing your name and e-mail address and any information in your e-mail with that subject) to https://www.cope.church/feedback.htm  and add a direct link to those .pdf files to this page . 

 5. You may also wish to provide a guest sermon.  Guest sermons are posted at https://www.cope.church/sermons.htm , under Progress Reports/Guest Sermons at https://www.cope.church/conversion.htm where appropriate, and on program info pages when applicable.  So, one provided by you on your program would also be placed on this page .  Guest sermons should be written into the body of an e-mail and sent to rev@cope.church . Your first and last name will be disclosed (contact info will not be unless you expressly request disclosure).  For sermons available on our site see https://www.cope.church/sermons.htm  (and sermon archives linked on that page).  If you have questions about this option, please contact rev@cope.church. Please see https://www.cope.church/givetoday.pdf  to get an idea what your sermon may be worth.
2/2/22: COPE Conversion Program Progress Report: Burning Tree Ranch in TX

 

 Last Updated: February 24th, 2023

Return to https://www.cope.church/conversion.htm