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...

Searching online for help for your troubled teen? Maybe they are not troubled, they have always been a good kid, but now they are making some really bad choices - hanging with the less than positive influences - smoking some pot (not to mention the cigarettes) - drinking - and starting to fail in school. We have even watched our teen drift away from the things they used to love such as sports, dance, music, hobbies, etc. Defiance, lack of respect, underachieving, withdrawing from family activities, and simply a child you no longer recognize - where did your happy toddler go? This scenario is very common, it happened to me over a decade ago - and is the reason I created my organization - Parents' Universal Resource Experts . I don't want to rehash my story here, you can read it on www.aparentstruestory.com or in my books Wit's End! Advice and Resources for Saving Your Out of Control Teen . I want to help you a bit as you are searching the Internet for help for...

Recently it was brought to my attention from a parent that I helped several years ago, she was reading a series of articles on abuse and neglect that happens in residential programs for teens and kids. We are in 2012 - a time when you would think that transparency of all schools and programs should be a given.  Unfortunately, like I also learned the hard way, when it comes to the big business of "teen help" and parents are at their wit's end - they can fall prey to most anything that sounds like relief. This is one of the reasons I created my organization, Parents' Universal Resource Experts, Inc (P.U.R.E.)  I felt there wasn't any place I could turn that could give me reliable information.  PURE helps educate parents and gives them insights to a very daunting industry.  Though you initially think you are looking for a boot camp type environment (thinking you want to teach your child a lesson) you will soon realize that your teen is crying out for help....

Utah River View in La Verkin River View River View Academy Not exactly sure?  Neither was a parent when she called me after surfing the Internet and coming across a marking arm that attempted to tell her that her son was a perfect fit for this program. As a parent advocate for over a decade, I have certainly heard and visited many schools and programs in our country and this one really confused me.  Why? Well - La Verkin, Utah is very small and the home of Cross Creek which is part of the organization that harmed my own daughter years ago and defrauded me. They are also part of many allegations of abuse, fraud and currently involved in yet another lawsuit .  Are you looking for residential therapy for your at-risk teen?  I commend you for being proactive - don't give up your search.  There are actually more good programs than there are not so good.  However it is imperative you do your research and dig deep. Know the questions to ask . ...