DHS confirms another child death at Diamond Ranch Academy

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

http://jilliestake.blogspot.com/2013/11/diamond-ranch-academy-confirmation.html

Friday, November 1, 2013
DIAMOND RANCH ACADEMY - CONFIRMATION - ANOTHER CHILD'S LIFE IS LOST - "SUICIDE COMPLETION"
DIAMOND RANCH ACADEMY
http://www.diamondranchacademy.com/
UTAH DHS LICENSE #  20018

"WE ARE DIFFERENT - BY DESIGN"

HURRICANE, UTAH - 11-01-2013
 
Recently, there have been several inquiries and testaments from parents regarding placement of their children in various facilities across the U.S.  Diamond Ranch Academy (DRA) is one such facility, as there have been numerous Internet postings alleging a recent death of a child at DRA.
 
 
The State of Utah's DHS Licensing Division has confirmed that approximately six weeks ago, there was another child's death at Diamond Ranch Academy.  This time, a young boy (name withheld out of respect for the young man and his family), perished after completing a suicide attempt.
 
Since prior postings have alluded to or described his suicide attempt, it has been confirmed by a Utah State Official that his precious life ended in a shower, hanging from a belt attached to a shower rod.
 
According to the State, the police and DHS investigations are near closure.  DHS recommended
corrective action at DRA, which has taken place.  One corrective act  was installing collapsible shower rods and shower heads, so that they remain innocuous.
 
Excuse:  "The staff gets complacent." Another word for negligent.
 
A State source conveyed, "the child that completed  his suicide attempt was taken off suicide watch by the tending Psychiatrist two days before."  Negligence?
 
Question:  Why was a suicidal child at DRA to begin with?  Why was he not transferred to a Mental Health facility?
 
DHS stated that their county receives "on average,  one call a year relating to a child's suicide."
 
Since the investigation is near finalized,  whether charges shall be filed remain to be determined.
 
Another quote from a State Official, who was very professional and kind, yet seemingly naive, "DRA is one of the better ones. I believe they can make a difference with these children."
 
 
Jilliestake response: 
 
 
DRA surely did "make a difference."
 
"We are different - by design" -  as in shower rods and shower heads? 
 
DRA appears in dire need of a fresh marketing campaign to bounce back from apparent, egregious negligence. One imagines, DRA  and its adjunct mental health care providers,  pray the death of this young man is kept "under wraps."
 
But, hey, they can always count on Dr. Drew Pinsky (aka Dr. Drew) for a stellar recommendation.
 
Quoted  from the DRA website, "As seen On Dr. Phil's Life Changers"
 
 
"I don't make this recommendation casually;
this is from years of experience in dealing
with people with behavioral problems.."
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v0YojzS9KU#t=37
 
http://www.diamondranchacademy.com/
 
 
It is more than evident, that the laws in Utah and across the country regarding Teen Residential Treatment Facilities, Wilderness Programs, and the like,  must change to protect our young.
There is no accountability.
Educational Consultants that send children and youths to these facilites, still do not fathom that they are mandated reporters.
This is not the first child's life that was lost or destroyed, nor will it be the last, if there is no accountability or humanity.
 
As advocates for children, DRA is not recommended for placement.
 
 
WE EXTEND OUR SINCERE SORROW TO THE FAMILY, UPON THE LOSS OF YOUR SON.
 
 
 
 
Notes:
 

According to Diamond Ranch Academy's website, they are a licensed youth "residential treatment center."

Owners/Founders:

Rob and Sherri Dias
 
Utah administrative code for Licensed treatment facilities.
 
http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r501/r501-19.htm
 Definition of a licensed residential treatment center in Utah.

http://www.planning.utah.gov/Index_files/PDFs/ut3.57.pdf

UTAH DHS

http://www.dhs.utah.gov/

Hurricane, Utah Police Department

http://www.cityofhurricane.com/categories/departments/police-dept/
Posted by Jilliestake at 7:53 PM
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Labels: Child Mental Health, Diamond Ranch Academy, Diamond Ranch Academy Child Death, Educational Consultants, Residential Treament facility, Therapeutic Boarding Schools., UTAH Diamond Ranch Academy Child Suicide

3 comments:

    AnonymousNovember 1, 2013 at 8:43 PM

    Thanks for your ongoing dedication to the truth and acquiring confirmation of this death. Suicide ideation doesn't just magically disappear. What criteria was used to determine that this young man was no longer 'suicidal'. One thing these programs do quiet efficiently is teach young people how to 'act', as in, how to pretend, or lie better.
    Blessing to the family. I'm sure they thought, like other families, that they were doing the best thing for their child.
    Another concern for me, is how programs have been increasingly successful in the past few years at keeping these stories out of the media. I hope you will forward these details to news outlets in Utah and elsewhere, in hopes that they will cover the story. Parents pay more attention to statistics, and when no one is keeping track of the stats, how can parents make a truly informed decision?
    DRA seems to have the same 'cream of the crop' reputation as did HLA. So if there's this level of inadequate care in the 'better' programs, one can only imagine what's happening in the others.
    I hope he's in a much happier place.
    Deborah
    Reply
    AnonymousNovember 2, 2013 at 1:58 PM

    Rob and Sherri Dias do not care about the children that come to DRA. They chased my father out after he realized I shouldn't stay there from their negligence for my bladder problem. They only care about money. I have seen Rob Dias abuse children at DRA. I went to DRA in 2004 and I can only image that it has gotten worse. Please, protect your children. This poor young man was driven to suicide.
    Reply
    AnonymousNovember 2, 2013 at 2:42 PM

    what do you mean they chased your dad out? how can they do that?
    Reply

[Pile of Dead Kids]

One more dead kid at DRA and it doesn't even make the news? There's not even a name to add to the Pile? (Not that I can update my sig anyway. There's too many dead kids to squeeze into 600 characters.)

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

More recent quotes from the above article, including a parent who confirms DRA's "gag order" on the suicide and their attempts to hush it up (in red bold below):

AnonymousNovember 2, 2013 at 4:02 PM

I love the way you guys have no compassion for the kids themselves.. You are simply trying to shut down a school. Their "naivety" is their compassion and trust in those kids to treat them as kids, not psychopaths. The kids at Diamond Ranch Academy are just that, KIDS, and they have made mistakes in their lives but they are there to change and not let their past define their future. Yet you suggest that they go into a mental health facility, rather than being with kids their age going through similar things as them who can help them turn their lives around.
Reply
Replies

    AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 9:30 PM

    Seriously? Are you a low end marketer?
    Reply

AnonymousNovember 2, 2013 at 5:01 PM

This is yet another fine example of lack of security and reliability for our youth. I have heard far too many cases of abuse occurring at DRA and after each complaint, all i hear about is Rob and Sherri Dias doing whatever they can to ensure it doesn't leak out too far or ruin their stellar reputation. They should spend a little more time, money and effort on actually taking these counts of abuse, mistreat and self-mutilation seriously instead of Rob going out and buying himself a new car, watch or redoing many of their houses. It honestly disgusts me.
Reply
AnonymousNovember 3, 2013 at 12:10 PM

I went to DRA in 2008. This story is sad, but I never encountered any abuse. Sure it was not "fun" being there, but I was always safe. To the person who commented the staff chases their father out, when my mother decided she no longer liked the way the program was dealing with my therapy (my therapist quit and so I wasn't getting the correct amount of time due to the therapist getting extra kids) she took me home. Sure the staff told her I should stay but within an hour once my paper work was done and stuff was collected I was headed home.
Reply
AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 3:44 AM

My Husband and I also sent our beautiful and most precious Daughter to DRA. Unfortunately we were lied to so many different time by so many different people, it became hard to tell who was telling the truth anymore. When we were finally able to have visits with her we would drive for a day and a half, sleep in our car just so we could visit with her for a few hours.... then they started testing her without our permission and giving us these diagnosis about her having learning disability's .... then on one visit one of the Teachers goes to a meeting, telling us we (parents) dont need to be there when in actuality it was an IEP meeting with the School District and he didnt tell us that... We also carried a large file box of her records that we were able to get from the school districts (what they hadent lost) and since we only have a few things to show The people a the IEP meeting decided that we just had not sent Jessica to school and thats why there were no records??? What... Jess's Dad is a Cop and I am a helicopter Mom so there was never anytime that Jess didnt not go to school, well I guess except when she was cutting class maybe.... Her therapist also quit or had so many Children to counsel that it was a joke for our Daughter to get any physiological counseling of any value just because he was spread so thing and he was still going to school and wasnt even a full psychiatrist yet ....They finally kicked her out because they werent bright enough to figure out how to bill our insurance which would have paid them very well... I pray for the young Mans Family and I'm so very sorry he felt that despondent with no way out or no one to talk to... The MOM
Reply
biohazard cleanerNovember 4, 2013 at 10:31 AM

i had no idea places like these existed- pretty bad when you send your kid off for help and he dies.
Reply
AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 3:37 PM

My son currently attends DRA, and on balance, while there are issues, we have determined to leave him there until he completes his semester of work. I can confirm that a child from Colorado did, in fact commit suicide, my son personally discussed it with the staffer who found the body (before the DRA gag order was imposed), and I can confirm that the Diaz family has significant pull in the Hurricane community to keep these events hushed up. If my son was even in the slightest prone to suicide, I would have immediately brought him home.
Reply
Replies

    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 7:28 AM

    I am disgusted with your attitude. Have you not seen drasurvivors.com? You son is being ABUSED and you are allowing it to happen. Parents like you disgust me even more than those who are oblivious to what's going on. You KNOW the facts and yet you choose to ignore them. You have absolutely NO IDEA what he going through right now, but I DO.

    How do you know your son ISN'T suicidal? Did they tell you that? Because DRA is enough to make ANYONE suicidal. Maybe you'll be getting a phone call next. I speak from experience.

    I guarantee that you son's mental health and well-being will be seriously damaged for the rest of his life because of what you've done. I hope once he is 18 he never has anything to do with you again, because you sound like a "parent" who deserves it.

    How many red flags do you need? If you know that things are being hushed up...then what else is being hushed up?

    I am so disgusted with you I cannot find the words.

    BRING HIM HOME NOW - AND KEEP HIM AT HOME.
    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 10:26 AM

    seriously.....YOU have no right to tell someone how to deal with their child. You take care of your kid and let others deal with theirs. You are disgusting.
    JilliestakeNovember 5, 2013 at 10:52 AM

    Understandably, the Therapeutic Teen Industry for both child advocates and its surviviors emotes an atmosphere where emotions run high.

    It is difficult enough to tackle issues related to this abusive, fraud-based industry, when one allows emotions to detract from debate and facts, which we feel are far more proactive, though difficult to achieve, when factoring in the human spirit. All, please refrain from personal attacks in comments.

    If you have an experience that will help one gain knowledge, then by all means, please impart it, but respectfully.

    Thank you.

    Jilliestake Staff
    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 11:06 AM

    DRA was not bad. I speak from experience. I was there for six months before my parents brought me home. The only reason I got to leave early was because my therapist quit and with the extra kids for each therapist I did not see a therapist regularly, which was half of the reason I was there. The kids who fought it had a bad time. Never once in my six months was I abused, either verbally or physically. We had benefits where they took us off ranch, if you were good. We had three square meals and two snacks a day. We had classes, homework, and rec time (sports ect). It disgusts me all of the rumors people say about DRA. I still know a few girls from DRA, even though I went in 2008. Half are still mad they went and those kids who are still angry are doing awful, on the flip side the girls who tried to work through DRA without spite are all just graduating college and having awesome lives. The only thing I hated about DRA was I missed my friends back home, that was it. I gained an awesome work ethic. I will admit when I was there of course I didn't love it, and I would rather be home doing what I wanted to. However, my life did a complete turn around once I went there. I thank my parents everyday for sending me there. If I didn't go I guarantee with the way I was heading I would be pregnant in middle school and into drugs. Instead I am a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. So, to the person who is calling DRA a terrible place you are wrong. I was there for six months. The staff were awesome. Ricky use to let us play football instead of doing calisthenics (basically hard cardio) for a treat. We got special gifts/meals on all holidays. After a long day we all went back to the dorms and played games and just laughed.The girls I made friends with are still my friends to this day. We laughed together, we cried together, we became sisters. DRA is not evil. DRA is not bad. When I look back at the girls from DRA I keep in contact with, the ones who still hate DRA are the ones who went back to their old habits. The girls who don't regret going there are the ones who are now very successful.

    I went Utah expecting to go to a different treatment program. When we got there there were bars on all the doors and windows. You could not leave through any door way inside the building because every door way was key card activated. My parents would not be able to see me for a year had they left me there. My mom couldn't handle that places secretive ways. The very next day I went to DRA. At first I was on suicide watch, but after a week they took me off, and it was never a problem.

    To the person who said they would not left them see their kid on a visit, there could have been a reason. Each level prompted a different level of visit. At the "supervisor" level, you got two days for your parents to visit, but you could not stay over night with them. At the "manager" level you got a weekend hotel visit. Then at the next level you got to go home for a week. The level after that it was about a week and a half. If you got enough citations (basically naughty points for things like talking back, being violent, or breaking any rules) you were temporarily dropped back to the first level ( for just a week , then you went back to the regular level). Chances are something like this happened. Never once did I see parents having a hard time. Many girls left early and i'm sure, just like with my mom, the staff tried to talk them out of it. However, they left the kids go.

    I apologize for this long post, but people need to know the truth, not an angry former DRA kid's view.
    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 11:53 AM

    The above post exhibits naivete', among other issues in text that appear 'contrived' to say the least.

    No child experiencing suicidal ideations should ever be enrolled at DRA, period. The facility is obviously not equipped to handle the mental health needs of a suicidal child, which has been proven by suicide attempts and completions.

    DRA has a contract withan 'outside', 'adjunct'
    psychologist that is not on property as continuous staff, He is not a psychiatrist. DRA is not a Mental Health facility. DRA appears to be playing Russian roulette with chldren's lives.

    "Levels?" These are human beings, not Pavlov's dogs. This is not an experiment, or is it?

    How many suicidal deaths have there been at DRA... that have been covered up?
    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    You are more than welcome to think my post is contrived, that is your opinion. I cannot comment on whether DRA is equip for mental health issues such as suicide, however they counseling staff are all licensed mental health professionals. I agree however at least one mental health staff should be on campus at all times. However, when you boil it down having that staff there would not necessarily stop a suicide.

    The levels were established to be positive reinforcement. With each level increase you were entitled to more privileges, its simple behavioral reinforcement which many programs use. Its truly tragic that this has happened, however I want to establish that not every experience from DRA is negative.
    AnonymousNovember 5, 2013 at 12:17 PM

    QUOTED FROM ABOVE: "However, when you boil it down having that staff there would not necessarily stop a suicide."

    Correct: What will stop child suicide, is not accepting students or keeping students with suicidal ideations. Period. Total negligence.
    Reply

AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 4:14 PM

What I would like to know is...... who's fingerprints are on the "supposedly" suicide belt!!!
Reply
Replies

    AnonymousNovember 4, 2013 at 6:46 PM

    Excellent point, although nothing rarely gets out of Utah, unless they wish it.
    Reply

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

Is Diamond Ranch Academy trying to cover up the recent child death?

We are seeing more and more indications that Diamond Ranch Academy wants to keep news of the recent child death hush-hush.

This comment was made on the above article confirming the suicide:

    My son currently attends DRA, and on balance, while there are issues, we have determined to leave him there until he completes his semester of work. I can confirm that a child from Colorado did, in fact commit suicide, my son personally discussed it with the staffer who found the body (before the DRA gag order was imposed), and I can confirm that the Diaz family has significant pull in the Hurricane community to keep these events hushed up. If my son was even in the slightest prone to suicide, I would have immediately brought him home.

When we first broke this story, these comments were made by four different people in a DRA facebook group. From these comments and others I have received privately, it appears that DRA told their students that a suicide was attempted, but did not tell them the child died.

        This Is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. / I was at DRA during this last few months / Nothing Happened just some other Dumb ass thinking he can shut the place down

        No, As far as I know this is true. / It's heartbreaking, but I'm not sure if he died or not.

        [name redacted] tried commmitting suicide like a month agao there...

        I know [name redacted]..yes he tried to commit suicide but last i heard he was hospitalized and is still alive

Additionally, Diamond Ranch Academy deleted any mention of it on their facebook page, and have not responded to any tweets.
http://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/comments/1prewt/i_posted_news_of_the_recent_suicide_to_diamond

It's tragic enough that a child has been lost forever, yet Diamond Ranch Academy appears to want everyone to forget about him. We will not let that happen, we will continue to fight for the children that have no voice of their own.

[Reddit TroubledTeens]

Sunday, November 10th's Bipolar Nation Radio EXPOSES: Part 6 of "Life & Death at Diamond Ranch Academy"

Listen Live: http://www.latalkradio.com/Bipolar.php, it will be on channel 1, 11a PT / 2p ET. If you miss it, it will be available in the archives for streaming and mp3 download.

From Bipolar Nation Radio's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/notes/bipolar-nation-radio/sunday-november-10ths-bipolar-nation-radio-exposes-part-6-of-life-death-at-diamo/10152013629846257):

Susan Schofield's Bipolar Nation Radio welcomes Activist/Blogger Jillie Ryan to our show as we expose the latest death at Diamond Ranch Academy in Hurricane, Utah. Also, what new lengths is this and other facilities like Diamond Ranch Academy going to in order to insure their own survival while kids continue to die. Again, the Federal Government SUBSIDIZES these facilities yet CPS is NOWHERE on-site? In fact, Education Advocates are currently placing pedophiles from rich families inside these places so they won't end up in our prison system. Pedophiles are people too and have their own set of disorders, but they should not be getting treatment alongside mentally ill and autistic kids. I've made a song choice to end this show that may seem peculiar, but it says "Goodnight" to these kids in different languages and fits the tone of where I believe America is at... maintaining a false sense of peace. All this and so much more coming up LIVE this Sunday Morning on LATalkradio.com... where we're still not saying "Heil Hitler" yet, but we're damn close.

[Oscar]

From this article: The Troubled Teen Industry: The Politics of Abuse Within Therapeutic Boarding Schools (Medium)

While Beckler was enrolled in Diamond Ranch Academy a student named Jake Spencer hanged himself. “I remember that an ambulance came and everyone was put on lockdown and forced to stay in their rooms. The showers were closed for three days and when we were finally allowed to shower again they had installed collapsible shower rods so no one else could hang themselves”. Beckler never received counseling to cope with the death of his classmate.

[Oscar]

Wow. Only 3 teenagers had to die before the state of Utah decided to do the obivious. Closing them down!

Teen treatment facility Diamond Ranch Academy closing after Utah denies license renewal (KSL News)

[Oscar]

Additional news:

Troubled teen facility in Utah ordered to shut down after child?s death (NBC News)