A mother of a female teenager reached out for help at Dr. Phil and the family was given an offer which they believed could help the girl which struggled with relationship problems as part of the rite of passage towards adulthood.

What the girl got was isolation and violence at the Island View Residential Treatment Center. She ended up with a broken arm, which could bother her for the rest of her life.

Neither the family or the girl was given any advice of the type of treatment center Island View is. It is basically a level 3 lockdown suited for the most severe and violent teenagers. There is little freedom and isolation from family and friends back home.

The family has sued both the treatment center and the Dr. Phil show for the damages.


Sources:

• Parents Say Dr. Phil Exploited Their Troubled Teenage Daughter (Court House News)
  
• Family sues Dr. Phil, Utah treatment center (Deseret News)
  

Teenagers continue to die in residential programs. Here is a partial list of names of teenagers who passed away while they were forced to live away from home. This list covers only the years back to 2010. For a more complete list please consult one of the sources below:

1. Taylor Mangham  (2010)
   
2. Levi Snyder  (2010)
   
3. Carnez Boone  (2010)
   
4. Shanice Nibbs  (2010)
   
5. Natasha Newman  (2010)
   
6. Gracie James  (2010)
   
7. Michael Owens  (2010)
   
8. Roger Eugene Benson (2011)
   
9. Dyskeha Streeter (2011)
   
10. Benjamin James Lolley (2011)
    
11. Caitlin A. Lee (2011)
    
12. Daniel Huerta (2011)
    
13. Anthony Parker (2011)
    
14. Corey Foster (2012)
    
15. Joseph Winters (2013)
    
16. Unnamed boy who died at Diamond Ranch Academy (2013)

The list could be longer as some programs settle the death with the family in private so they can avoid bad press.


Sources:

• Victim list - Fornits Wiki
• Today a child died memorial blog

By locating former students and having them tell positive stories about their stay at the boarding school, Diamond Ranch Academy hopes to address the negative press they have received during the last few years.

When they started their operation there were no internet and former students were not able to reach the established newspapers, radios and television-stations. There was no reason for them to care about what former students might have to say about their stay at the school. As long as the parents who paid for the stay were happy about having been relieved so they could use their time on holidays and other personal activities everything was fine.

But then the former students found each other on the Internet. They were able to compare and found out that they all had the same negative experiences. They began to publish their testimonies online. Teenagers who were in risk of ending up at the boarding began to care. Numerous petitions aiming at saving teenagers from the boarding school were only. They gained support from people not only in the United States but also in other countries. The trademark “Diamond Ranch Academy” lost its value. It has been something you threaten your child with when the child is a toddler. “Eat up your food or you will end up at Diamond Ranch Academy pulling carts all day long”.

When a boy died at the ranch it became clear that the remote location of the ranch posed a danger to the students. An entire new concept for the school had to be invented. They built a brand new campus where the focus is on sport rather than wilderness and ranching activities.

But the boarding school still has its problems which needed to be fixed. Another boy lost his life at the boarding school only a few months ago. In the long run the school cannot survive if the negative press continues. So they are now in the offensive.

Other schools and programs have been in this situation. Usually the next step is to change the name. The family foundation school did that in 2013. Now they are named The Allynwood Academy. What will the new name of Diamond Ranch Academy be? This attack on former students and their negative experiences will not be a success. They have to move on accepting that the past cannot be buried.

The young Miss Parker went on holiday with her family during Christmas but disappeared on her way back home to Oregon.

Her friends are very concerned that she might have been placed in a wilderness program in Arizona. Most wilderness programs in Oregon are now closed; Unfortunately not before they claimed the lives of several teenagers. Programs like Sagewalk and Catherine Freer each claimed the lives of teenagers before they closed.

Miss Parker was transported over state lines; An action now forbidden by the state of Texas but not by the state of Oregon. Still the authorities in Oregon should be concerned. What about the education of young Miss Parker. Will the money the local school district invested in Miss Parker be wasted if she returns to Oregon one day with school papers which she would not receive credits for at all?

Will she return home alive at all? Several teenagers have lost their lives during ranch operations in Arizona. The state of Arizona has not implemented laws which address the previous deaths so tragedy could occur again.

A Facebook group has been created by her concerned friends:
Here is a link:

Where is Ellie Parker? (Facebook)

Help the group aiding their friend so she doesn't end up at some victim list.