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

A letter from Sue Scheff (Founder of Parent's Universal Resource Experts – P.U.R.E ) In recent news, the United States Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) has conducted a study revealing concerns about abuse and deaths in certain programs for struggling teens. At P.U.R.E. we are deeply touched by the publicized reports, which found thousands of cases involving abuse and even death at facilities licensed to help troubled teens. This reality hit home with my daughter and myself and inspired me to create Parent's Universal Resource Experts (P.U.R.E.) My organization helps to educate parents that are searching for safe alternatives for their children as well as create awareness in an industry that can be daunting for the desperate parent. I offer sympathy to the families that have been affected by any ill treatment and as always, would like to encourage all parents considering this level of care to take the necessary steps to ensure your child's safety and well-being. The...

Today Sue Scheff and Michael Fertik ( Reputation Defender ) appeared on the Fox News Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. The discussion of Internet Defamation is growing larger and expanding throughout the country. Free Speech will always have its' place on the Internet, however it doesn't condone defamation . Libelous comments can be held accountable as in the Sue Scheff vs Carey Bock case. A jury deliberated for several hours over the slanderous and libelous posts and found damages in the amount of $11.3M . Currently, after Carey Bock Levine was denied to have the judgement set aside, the garnishment of her wages will start shortly. Mike and Juliet are excellent hosts and understand that this issue is a growing concern today.

The law of Defamation has come under renewed scrutiny with the advent of the Internet. This is largely because it is the nature of the Internet to give the average, anonymous person an opportunity to express their opinion well-beyond any previously defined venue. Consider the fact that a person of modest means now has the ability to publish a statement, article, or news item across the world in an instant, without an editor checking the facts. Thereafter, the item will linger on the 'Net for months, or even years, impossible to recover and amend, if the "facts" are erroneous. Therefore, it is inevitable that problems are going to arise. The main issue to remember when dealing with the Internet is that people still have their basic legal rights intact on the Net, and - likewise - the Internet is not as completely anonymous as the typical person may presumes. What is Defamation? The law of defamation has been defined in the West for centuries, and the Internet variety holds...

Recently I have been updating posting informational articles on parenting teens and today's teen issues. Click here . There are a variety of articles from different media outlets on subjects such as teen depression, bullying, teen suicide and more. As a parent advocate, being an educated parent can help your through the adolescent years.