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Djinn Buckingham - Snydersville, Pennsylvania

Many thanks to the teenhelpindustry.info visitor who alerted us to this tragic example of how the current system is failing our children.

12 year-old Djinn Buckingham has been held in a Pennsylvania jail since early January.

The boy was placed at the Monroe County Correctional Facility after being charged - as an ADULT - with setting a fire that killed his 11 year-old cousin.

While I certainly don't dispute the seriousness of the crime Djinn is accused of, I wholeheartedly disagree with this little boy, who probably still plays with Legos and thinks girls have cooties, being charged as an adult and being locked up with adult male offenders.

It is especially upsetting after reading about the history between this little boy, his screwed-up family, and child welfare authorities.

According to the Pocono Record, Djinn and his sisters were removed from their mother's custody twice in less than 4 months, but a judge approved their return in both cases.

During the first visit from Monroe County Children and Youth, child welfare authorities found piles of trash so tall they blocked the halls, children hiding in closets with bottles of alcohol, and rotten food.

Upon the second visit, authorities again arrived to a filthy house, and this time, there was no adult present.

According to neighbors, they could tell when Children and Youth was coming because "40 garbage bags" would be outside.

They also reported late-night visits from police, children screaming as if being beaten, and all-night partying.

Just 2 months before the fatal fire, the mother's public defender told a judge that the children were "thriving at home."

And in case you have any doubts about the character of the adults in Djinn's family, the Pocono Record reports that his mother and the dead child's mother spent almost $1,000 on fancy lingerie while the American Red Cross was paying for their stay at a hotel following the fatal fire.

Maybe they just wanted some pricey drawers to wear to the little girl's funeral.

Click here to visit the Pocono Record. Scroll all the way down to read all the articles.

posted February 18, 2006

Bay County Boot Camp - Florida

Last month we reported the death of Martin Lee Anderson at the Bay County Boot Camp, a military-style program for juvenile offenders run by the Sheriff's Department.

Martin died within hours of entering the program and his family says Martin was beaten by guards at the boot camp.

A Sheriff's department spokesperson denied those claims and said a videotape of the incident would not be released to the public.

Following court action by CNN and other media outlets, the video was released this week and it is disturbing to say the least.

There have been many new developments concerning Martin's death, so here's a rundown:

Despite the low quality of the tape, guards are clearly seen kneeing and striking the limp boy while other guards were forcing him to stand up.

The guards then throw him on the ground. News reports say they even shoved ammonia tablets up his nose - this action alone can be fatal.

Click here to see the video courtesy of CNN.

This site has stills from the tape, in case you can't view the video.

Even before the tape was released, the Justice Department announced that they would be investigating Martin's death.

In a curious coincidence of timing, the results of Martin's autopsy - which was performed by the county medical examiner - were released very soon after the video.

According to the coroner, Martin died of sickel cell anemia.

Experts on the disease have refuted those findings, saying that sudden death from sickle cell "just doesn't happen."

Now we're finding out that the coroner's medical license has expired and he has been criticized before.

Apparently he signed off on at least 2 questionable autopsy reports, one of which noted that a deceased FEMALE had "unremarkable" testicles.

Needless to say, the woman's mother disputed the coroner's report.

And in a surprise development just yesterday, the Bay County Boot Camp announced that it will be closing.

Click here to read a collection of articles about Martin's death.

edited February 23, 2006

Spring Creek Lodge Academy - Montana

According to the Sheriff's Office in Sanders County, Montana, Dr. Marcel Chappuis was fined $55 for speeding in December.

Whoopteedoo, right?

Lot's of folks get caught in speed traps.

What interests me is WHERE the good doc got busted.

Dr. Chappuis is a child psychologist and as far as we can tell, all he does is travel around to the various WWASPS programs, including Tranquility Bay in Jamaica.

Since Spring Creek Lodge Academy is a WWASPS facility, and it's located in Sanders County, Montana, I think it's pretty safe to assume that is where he was headed or had been.

Now, when Montana authorities say Spring Creek needs a license since they are providing therapy, Spring Creek says, "We don't provide therapy [even though we market to parents of kids with serious problems]. We are JUST a boarding school."

Unlike WWASPS, I'm not going to dance around the issue -

If Spring Creek is nothing more than a school, as they claim, and not providing therapy, as they claim, what the hell was this THERAPIST doing up there??

If you want to learn more about the man and his employer, you can do that here and here.

posted February 16, 2006

Kids Helping Kids - Milford, Ohio

There was an all-day protest at Kids Helping Kids on February 10th.

Protesters hope to draw attention to the fact that, in recent months, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) received and dismissed several complaints of abuse against the facility.

Kids Helping Kids also requires teens to live away from their parents on "first phase" in homes that amount to unlicensed foster homes.

The protesters were kind enough to send a statement describing the event.

TV station WCPO came to the protest and aired a follow up to a story they did in November.

The Cincinatti Beacon covered the event as well, and it looks like they intend to keep doing so.

Click here to learn more about Kids Helping Kids.

posted February 12, 2006