The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Don't get scammed because you are desperate for help. You are searching for a program for your struggling teen.  You have reached your wit's end and bumped into websites that seem to promise to help you.  After being stunned by the sticker shock, you start surfing the web a bit and suddenly realize everything isn't want it seems. Yes, River View Academy (Utah), River River Academy, Youth Foundation, Cross Creek, and even those sales people. Sigh.... And who am I. Well, if you ask these teen help "sales reps" they will tell you that I am a disgruntled parent that attempted to manipulate their referral system.  Okay, funny a jury trial didn't find that.  There has been many lawsuits filed against this organization, though many have been settled quietly, mine was the only one to go to a jury trial - in Salt Lake City.  I was not taking this sitting down. The Internet is a very deceptive place.  You see, there is Internet fact and Interne...

After experiencing my good teen making some bad choices, I found myself surfing the Internet until I was so confused and stressed that I couldn’t make a decision. One group of specialty schools and behavior modification programs kept popping up wherever I clicked, and I figured they must be good. Then I received their beautiful glossy literature with a video that could make any parent weep. Once the initial sticker shock wore off, the cost was reasonable in comparison with other programs, or so I thought until I enrolled my child. The hidden costs added up like a grocery bill. I was totally misled by the sales rep and made a rash decision. Mistake number one: being clueless as to whom you are speaking with when reaching out to these toll-free numbers. This is a common mistake for parents in a desperate situation. A swift sales rep is there waiting for you; meeting questions with the answers you want to hear and making promises that convince you they can help your chi...

Parents call our organization on a daily basis.  I created my Parents' Universal Resource Experts, Inc since I was duped and my daughter was abused in a residential therapy program over 10 years ago. I have become a voice and some have called me a crusader. I honestly don't care what people call me, what I care about is what parents can learn from the mistakes I have made and gain from the knowledge I have acquired over the past decade. Carolina Springs Academy harmed my daughter - they also lied to me.  Duped me - and today they are closed, however they still have other programs operating.  Years ago - they had a long list of programs, thankfully today that list is only a fraction long. Today I just heard from a parent that it is believed they just opened another program - or possibly just re-named one of their Utah ones. Youth Foundation located in LaVerkin, Utah is believed to be owned and operated by the same parent organization that I sent my daughter to ...