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Dore E. Frances, M.A.
Educational Consultant
(866) 833-6911
(541) 312-4422
Dore@dorefrances.com
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"TroubledTeenHelp.com" Announces ....
Sunday, May 17, 2009
DO-IT YOURSELF BLUNDERS
(Dore Frances has been assisting parents in finding residential and wilderness placements for their
struggling and troubled adolescents, teens and young adults for almost seventeen years. She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA).
Be careful when doing this on your own
With the sour economy has come a class of ambitious do-it-yourselfers tackling solutions and support for their at-risk teen or young adult that before the days of rampant penny-pinching might have been left to experienced paid professionals.
An unlucky few have learned that being thrifty sometimes comes at a high price.
For some, saving money never cost quite so much
When Megan refused to attend counseling sessions any longer with her adopted parents, her parents went on the Internet searching for an intervention. Megan had begun skipping classes at school and her grades were rapidly dropping to the point she may not graduate middle school. Her parents lived in Alaska and there was a program in Colorado that they found that was advertised in a major magazine. Initially things looked good, but after 2 weeks and $10,000 their daughter refused to participate. The program asked her to leave.
From there the parents enrolled their daughter in a ranch style program in Utah that stated on their website that they “treated teens with Reactive Attachment Disorders”.
Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is described in clinical literature as a severe and relatively uncommon attachment disorder that can affect children.
RAD is characterized by markedly disturbed and developmentally inappropriate ways of relating socially in most contexts. Children with RAD are presumed to have grossly disturbed internal working models of relationships which may lead to interpersonal and behavioral difficulties in later life. There is as yet no universally accepted diagnostic protocol for reactive attachment disorder.
Often a range of measures is used in research and diagnosis.
However, this information was not shared with the parents.
At the tuition rate of nearly $6,000 per month the parents were assured that they had a therapist that specialized in this area. After a 2 month stay the parents begun to see no progress and were having difficulty getting the credentials of the therapist regarding their specialized training with RAD.
Also, their daughter was just now getting enrolled in the school classes. She had been on Level 0 because of “bad behavior” and was not allowed to attend school until she settled down.
The parents again went to the Internet and found a school in Arizona.
“It just kept getting worse”, her father said.
Just one week before they moved her there they found Horizon Family Solutions. Their daughter attended an outdoor program to allow her to benefit from some breathing room and then attended a program that truly is set up and run by clinical therapists who have training in RAD and have other children such as Megan who can relate to this difficult situation. This young lady is now graduating high school this year, at home, and will be going to college next year.
While there is no national database that tracks parents who do not use a therapeutic consultant and instead become do-it-yourselfers, experts in this industry do say there does seem to be an increase in this kind of emotionally and financially costly situation in recessions. Experts say these kinds of situations where parents have had to move their child from one program to another, oftentimes at great expense financially, let alone the emotional turmoil this causes for everyone, does seem to be increasing. When this happens there is a loss of connection between the child and their parents, they are gone from home longer, and oftentimes the outcome is not beneficial or long lasting.
Horizon Family Solutions has seen an increase in multiple placements by families before they come to us.
In general, parents feel it will be less expensive to make this life changing decision on their own. On the average parents have spent $20,000 in failed placements by the time they come to us for assistance with their child. There is a lot that goes into choosing a placement for a child other than what a parent reads on the Internet website. Parents are not accustomed to asking the kids of questions needed when they are emotionally attached to the situation. Failed placements happen all the time when parents get to emotional in their decision making process.
Many parents then have “buyer’s remorse”, because they hoped to save on the services of an ethical professional.
Parents are not accustomed to making these kinds of decisions.
Hoping to save on services of a professional can cost not only money, but on the average their child ends up spending anywhere from 8 to 14 months more away from home.
Bill and Jane from Delaware were raising their grandchild Chris.
Hoping to save on the expense of a therapeutic consultant and avoid any additional costs, they spent three months searching the Internet before placing their grandson into a program in Utah.
They accepted what was written on the website and what was sent in the brochure as factual, including the pictures. Their grandson was there two weeks when they felt the need to go see him and drop by the program. Because the program had suggested he be transported rather than them bringing, they had not see the program.
They even sent their own staff out to pick him up and charge the family only $700 plus airfare. Much less expensive than hiring a professional teen transport company that is bonded and trained in this type of situation. Being trusting people, they jumped at the chance to save some money. They traveled out to the program and four hours later had their grandson with them in their car returning home.
“It was completely horrible,” said Jane. “It was not like the website at all. It was dirty and the beds only had sheets and no blankets, and it was winter.”
The grandparents were mortified at what they saw.
They honestly felt they had taken every precautionary measure possible.
Their grandson also had to be taken to the doctor for lice.
They had paid four months tuition at $5400 per month plus a $1200 admission fee.
It took them two months to get even a partial amount of that money back. Fortunately they were referred to me by a former client and we had their grandson in a new program within the month, which they took him to, and he graduated a year later.
However, he ran twice while he was there in the very beginning. He was so scared.
Gerry from San Francisco is among those who decided to skip using the services of a therapeutic educational consultant. For six months his son Joe bounced in and out of three programs.
It cost him more than $26,000.
It seemed like a good decision at the time, as he is a manager at a large well known company where he makes financial decisions for others all the time. Often though, the wounds that are happening in the family are not recognized when making these emotional decisions.
Alice and Richard of Texas, who are legal professionals working in a non-profit organization, thought they were saving money on their son’s residential placement after he was arrested for selling marijuana at school.
Their son was ion placement for almost a year before they were allowed to visit him, although they had weekly phone calls. He had to earn the privilege. When they went to visit their son they cringed at the site of the buildings on the grounds. They were in horrible condition.
Both parents asked their son why he had never mentioned anything, and he said he was told this is what they wanted for him because of the bad choices he had made the bad behavior he had displayed.
The kitchen was a mess and there were dogs running all around the food that was being served to the kids.
Their son also had has his head shaved.
No one mentioned that either.
Both parents kept telling him how sorry they were, and yet knew they had to make another attempt to help their son, as their family was even more fractured now than before. Their son also went to an outdoor adventure program where he could regain his self-esteem and know he was not being punished.
He then went onto a residential step-down program and graduated high school just before returning home.
He starts college in the fall. The cost to this family was $50,000.
There are other parents, and some I cannot even write what their reactions were to the situation they encountered. It is heartbreaking when this happens.
“Oh God, what do we do know?” is what I often hear.
“You so not need to be alone anymore,” is what I say.
About Dore Frances, M.A., Educational Consultant
Friday, April 17, 2009
New Happenings on Troubled Teen's Website!
40 + FLEXIBLE TUITION, LOW TUITION, SLIDING SCALE TUITION AND FREE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS FOR ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Directory of Educational Consultants
Resume Center
Thursday, March 19, 2009
How long did it take for you to get to TroubledTeenHelp.com?
How many days, weeks, months or years since your troubled teen first started exhibiting behavior that made you realize that you needed more help? Please pat yourself on the back that you are taking this very first and most difficult step.
Not take a deep breath as well. The journey has just begun. Many parents fail to get this far because of too much anxiety about what this may all mean, concerns over news reports that programs are unsafe, depression, loss of energy, frustration with the amount of time it has taken to get this far. Please visit TroubledTeenHelp.com. I am sorry that you needed to seek us out. By the same token, I am grateful that you are at TroubledTeenHelp.com. The intention here is to continue to offer the thousands of parents who visit our site the troubled teen resources that they can utilize in guiding them through the maze of programs and schools that parents must review in detail. So much information can be both a blessing and a curse. Our site hopefully is a blessing by offering the latest and best information that can assist the parents of troubled teens. Just a few mere decades ago, parents of out-of-control teenagers who fell into self-destructive behavior had few places to turn. TroubledTeenHelp.com lists programs that are committed to bringing harmony and laughter back into the homes of families by offering help for today and hope for tomorrow. With the information provided you can view boys only programs, Christian based programs, holistic treatment centers and much, much more.
TroubledTeenHelp.com is proud to join with today's parents in the fight for our children's future.
TroubledTeenHelp.com provides articles of interest, breaking news, local resources, press releases, visit reports to programs and schools, conference calendar, financial information for parents who need funding for a residential placement and much, much more. What we want to bring to parents and professionals is based only on accurate and up to date information!
Published by Horizon Family Solutions, LLC. Last Updated February 22, 2009.
FREE, LOW TUITION, SLIDING SCALE, AND NO TUITION PROGRAMS FOR ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS These programs went through an initial screening process in order to be accepted on this non-advertising list. The list is updated throughout the year. This list is for parents who are not using the services of an Educational Consultant. $26.00 - Click here to order.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
How do you determine the most appropriate adolescent residential treatment center for your child?
You can trust Dore Frances, M.A., educational consultant to assist your child and your family.
Dore Frances helps families and their students choose and apply to addiction treatment centers, aftercare/next step transition programs, Christian based schools, clinically based programs, college preparatory boarding schools, eating disorder programs, emotional growth boarding schools as well as boarding schools for students who learn differently and for students who have behavioral and emotional needs. She has been empowering students and helping them make good decisions since 1987.
Adolescent residential treatment programs - Results 216,000 for adolescent residential treatment programs
Eating disorder treatment centers - Results 5,360,000 for eating disorder treatment centers
Mental Health Treatment Centers - Results 30,700,000 for Mental Health Treatment Centers
Residential Treatment Centers for Teens - Results 351,000 for Residential Treatment Centers for Teens
Teens who struggle - Results 3,120,000 for teens who struggle
Therapeutic boarding schools - Results 114,000 for therapeutic boarding schools
Addiction Treatment Centers - Results 61,300,000 for Addiction Treatment Centers
In 2001 Dore Frances, M.A. founded Horizon Family Solutions, LLC, an educational consulting firm.She travels extensively many times a year, visiting outdoor adventure programs, pre-teen schools, residential treatment centers and therapeutic facilities to ensure that she knows the campuses and their staff in order to help families make appropriate choices. In the past four years alone, Dore has toured over 125 therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness camps, young adult transition programs and addiction treatment facilities.
Dore E. Frances, M.A.
Founder, Horizon Family Solutions, LLC
Our Mission and Our VisionTuesday, February 3, 2009
Horizon Family Solutions Announces an Innovative New Website Targeting Parents and Professionals
Horizon Family Solutions Announces an Innovative New Website Targeting Parents and Professionals Searching For Residential Treatment and Wilderness Program Information and Services
(Bend, Oregon) February 2, 2009 - Dore Frances, M.A. today unveiled TroubledTeenHelp.com, an innovative new website targeting parents and professionals searching for residential treatment and wilderness program information and services.
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| “In order for many residential treatment centers and wilderness programs to remain competitive, cost-effective, and current in their online marketing endeavors, they must consider as a vital tool for meeting their evolving needs. “ |
| “The focal point of our site is to simplify the Internet search for parents and professionals by providing a cost-effective one-stop solution for program search as well as articles of interest. “ |
Residential treatment and wilderness program business owners and professionals can attest first hand to the mind-boggling evolution that has taken shape in the Internet Marketing Landscape since the late 90s. The shift from cool looking but highly ineffective banner ads to such emerging technologies as Social Search, Blog Marketing and Mobile Media has provided diversely creative opportunities for delivering targeted marketing messages to the right audience. These are exciting times for those working in the Residential Treatment and Wilderness Treatment industry and it is a time that is presenting some daunting challenges when striving to keep pace with the present light-speed movement of this high paced industry. Many programs and schools are experiencing continual skill and service gaps in their Internet Marketing efforts. The challenges and expense of hiring diversely skilled Internet Marketing Specialists in-house has many businesses exploring other options to meet their growing needs.
Dore Frances, M.A., founder of Horizon Family Solutions, reported "Outsourcing has become a practical necessity for many new and existing residential and wilderness programs attempting to operate in this competitive industry.”
She added, "In order for many residential and wilderness programs to remain competitive, cost-effective, and current in their online marketing endeavors, they must consider outsourcing as a vital tool for meeting their evolving needs."
At TroubledTeenHelp.com, programs and schools can post breaking news, conferences, articles, press releases, as well as advertise.
TroubledTeenHelp.com also suggests that all advertisers on her site or any other site use the Google Analytics tool to effectively gain rich insights into their website traffic with Advanced Segmentation, Custom Reporting, Motion Charts, and more.
Frances also sees an increasing number of Internet Marketing sites emerging to address the growing demand for the advertising of residential treatment centers and wilderness programs.
She pointed out, "There are many Internet Marketing sites that are free and then there are those that charge hundreds of dollars per month for each individual advertisement. You need to know who you are doing business with and what results you are receiving for your precious dollars at work. Some of these sites are very outdated and a parent could spend many hours searching and then receive incorrect information. Other sites advertise anyone who is willing to pay and may add Boot Camps or other programs to their site that they would themselves not even entrust their own child to attend. This is not in the best interest of a child. You need to know that these are “safe search” sites for parents when needing to make a choice about their child. This is critical.”
Frances emphasized that TroubledTeenHelp.com is committed to watching the emerging Internet Marketing Trends of this industry and continuing to update in new areas. Also, the advertisers they accept must meet certain criteria and not all advertisers will be accepted.
“The focal point of our site is to simplify the safe Internet search for parents and professionals by providing a cost-effective one-stop solution for program and school searches that are in the best interest of the child and the family.”
This new site launched January 26, 2009. For more information about advertising, please visit TroubledTeenHelp.com
Monday, January 26, 2009
New Website Launched Today!
TroubledTeenHelp.com
Educational Consultants supporting parents and professionals assisting troubled teens and young adults
TroubledTeenHelp.com is a resource of information and places for struggling and troubled teens and young adults.
For nearly 17 years, Dore Frances,M.A., Child Advocate and Independent Educational Consultant and Founder of Horizon Family Solutions, has assisted families and helped professionals find appropriate and best matched programs and schools for their at-risk preteen, teen and young adult.
TroubledTeenHelp.com also provides a thorough place for parents and professionals to learn more about the industry of addiction treatment centers, aftercare / transitional programs, Christian based programs, clinically based programs, distance learning options, and more. Just check out the Breaking News area.
TroubledTeenHelp.com provides articles of interest, breaking news, local resources, press releases, visit reports to programs and schools, conference calendar, financial information for parents who need funding for a residential placement and much, much more.
TroubledTeenHelp.com offers Educational Consulting and other
specialized services to parents and professionals.
Online since 2001
Associations to which we belong.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Meeting the Needs Of Young Adults
As they mature and become sexually active, more young adults face serious health risks.
Most face these risks with too little factual information, too little guidance about sexual responsibility, and too little access to health care.
Meeting young adults' diverse needs challenges parents, communities, health care providers, and educators. Despite urgent needs, program efforts have been slight and slowed by controversy.
One-fifth of world population is between ages 10 and 19. Young people today marry later, and more start sex before marriage. Thus they face more risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
In developing countries 20% to 60% of young women's pregnancies and births are unintended, most coming sooner than planned. Pregnancy puts young women's health at risk, through childbearing or unsafe abortion.
Increasingly, early parenthood means lost education as well, with lifelong loss of earnings. Half of those infected with AIDS-causing HIV are under age 25. The help that young adults need to avoid these risks varies.
Some young people are not yet sexually active. They need support and skills to postpone starting sex.
Some suffer from sexual abuse. They need protection and care. Some start sex before marriage, and some change sexual partners several times before they marry. They need help to abstain from sex or use condoms to prevent pregnancy and STDs. Many others are married and need much the same health and family planning services as other married couples. Sex education and reproductive health programs for young adults often face opposition, but research shows that these programs do not lead to more frequent or earlier sex, as opponents fear. To win public support, programs must work with parents and within community norms.
At the same time, programs must advocate new social norms that protect the health of young adults.
Current norms reward boys but punish girls for having sex; they glamorize irresponsible sex in the mass media but reject young people's natural interest in sexuality. Until these values change, programs for young adults will fight an uphill battle to encourage responsible behavior and provide adequate care.
For family planning services, STD treatment, and prenatal care, most young adults must go to the same clinics available to older people. Only a few hospitals and nongovernmental organizations have set up special clinics or service hours for young people. Many different outreach programs have been tried, often employing young adults to talk with their peers and sometimes to distribute condoms. In a few US schools, clinics offer some reproductive health services along with other care; a few schools provide condoms.
Young adults need programs that are compassionate, learn their needs, earn their trust, go where they are, and speak their language.
Horizon Family Solutions
Dore E. Frances, M.A.
Educational Consultant
(866) 833-6911
(541) 312-4422
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