Name

Unit/Position

Hope Hill in Hope, KY Location--Cude has been at Hope Hill since 2005.

It is a concern that this program claims to only accept court-ordered placements, but, then claims that there are exceptions for this policy on page 1 of the application. 

From page 5 of the packet:

"I understand the during care at Family Connection, Inc., a 501(c)3 corporation dba Hope Hill Children's Home and/or Triple L Youth Center, (hereinafter FCI)..."

HEAL Comment:  The above is included to show that Hope Hill Children's Home and Triple L Youth Ranch/Center are part of the same company known as Family Connection, Inc. 

"I release FCI of all liability in the event of accident or injury."

HEAL Comment:  It is a serious concern that if a child is harmed by the willful or negligent conduct of FCI, that FCI does not take any responsibility for the harm and places all such responsibility on the family or the referring social services or justice department agencies.  This is a serious concern as this program uses restraint for purposes other than preventing serious bodily injury due to present and immediate physical threat.  And, many children have died in other programs due to the misuse of such restraint.

"Appropriate anonymous case references, pictures and video recordings may be made for public relations.  I authorize respectful and responsible use of any and all medial for public relations purposes, provided the actual names are not used."

HEAL Comment:  It is a concern that the program is willing to violate the child's privacy rights and that they ask government officials and/or parents to actively waive those rights of privacy in asking they approve use of video and photographs of the children in promotional materials/advertising.  This benefits the program and not the child and is a serious ethical concern.  For more information on children's rights, see www.heal-online.org/teenrights.htm and www.heal-online.org/legalarguments.htm. 

"I authorize the youth to hold employment while at FCI and for her to be transported to and from the job site."

HEAL Comment:  Parents should ask about the types of employment FCI approves and/or seeks for children in the program and should require all employment and payroll records be copied to the child and/or the parents to show that the child is being adequately compensated and not being used for slave labor.

"I authorize staff at FCI to perform random drug/alcohol screens for said youth.  I understand that I/my agency will be responsible for costs involved with such screening."

HEAL Comment:  Parents should require that all such drug/alcohol screenings be proven to have occurred before paying for them.  Other programs in this industry have charged for drug tests never administered and parents and government officials should demand evidence of any costs prior to paying for them.

"FCI will not be held liable for damage or loss of said items during care."

HEAL Comment:  FCI claims no responsibility for lost or damaged items belonging to the child but demand families cover any losses or damages reportedly caused by the child.  This is an unfair portion of the agreement and FCI should assume the reasonable risks of loss or damage associated with running such a program and/or should offer the same restitution as they demand of others when the roles are reversed.

"After 72hrs, any unclaimed items will become property of FCI and used for charitable ends."

HEAL Comment:  It is a concern that if a child leaves the program without all their belongings that any items left and unclaimed within 72 hours will be sold to benefit charity.  Since FCI claims to be a 501 (c) 3 charity, it can be assumed that the items are used/sold for personal gain.  And, this is a serious ethical concern as no one outside of the program will know if items were hidden or stolen from the children for FCI's benefit. 

"I understand that damage to FCI property by youth during care will be reported and restitution will be sought."

HEAL Comment:  HEAL has included this comment to show that FCI will demand restitution for items the child is reported to have damaged and, as stated above, refuses to take responsibility for any items it loses or destroys.  This is a concern.

"Safe Crisis Management (SCM): is a therapeutic behavior management technique that is based on passive restraint...Therapeutic holds are designed to restrict the movement of limbs and body to effectively prevent the youth from causing injury to self or others, extensive property damage, or a continued disruption of the milieu."

HEAL Comment: It is a serious concern that this program uses restraint for incidents that do not warrant it such as "disruption of the milieu".  This is extremely vague and restraint, therapeutic holds, and other such methods are known to result in injury in death.  Congress is currently working on legislation to stop these types of abuses of restraint and to limit or discard the use of restraint due to all of the injuries surrounding this practice.