Category: PURE Programs

PURE affiliated programs

Sue Scheff, Whitmore Academy, and the GAO

Readers of this blog might find irony in the fact that Sue Scheff is praising (archive) the GAO’s investigation of abuse in programs considering that, in their report, they detail abuse that occurred in a prominent program she referred to, Whitmore Academy, run by Mark and Cheryl Sudweeks. Although the facility and it’s owners are not named, specifically in the report itself, Greg Kurtz, of the GAO, revealed during a congressional hearing’s Q&A session that Case 7 of abuse was, indeed, Whitmore Academy.

“Victim was verbally abused and punched,
kicked, and slapped by other students, under
direction of one of the school’s owners

Victim was hit and pushed down stairs by the
same school owner

On multiple occasions throughout his stay in
the school, victim was locked in a bathroom
and a closet and forced to sleep on a shelf as
punishment”

As if referring to Whitmore when parents had already informed her of abuse and a criminal investigation wasn’t bad enough, Sue Scheff continues to defend (archive) Whitmore Academy. Instead of taking responsibility for her actions, however, Sue Scheff resorted to defaming the very parent who tried to warn her of the abuse, a pattern of behavior that seems to be systemic against her critics, with targets including this very blogger.

Breaking Sue Scheff News From ISACcorp.org: Harbor Oaks and Sue Scheff

Harbor Oaks Boarding School – North Carolina

Harbor Oaks is a Christian boarding school located in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The owners are James and Patricia Jones. The facility uses the Accelerated Christian Education (A.C.E.) workbook curriculum provided by School of Tomorrow. School of Tomorrow requries that just one person in an entire school be “certified” to use the curriculum. However, this certification is NOT from any state agency. It is issued by School of Tomorrow.

This enables schools to use the curriculum without having any certified teachers.The status of the “teachers” at Harbor Oaks is still in question. ISAC has received complaints against Harbor Oaks alleging inadequate education, false advertising, unqualified staff, lack of supervision, and physical abuse. Sue Scheff, owner of Parents Universal Resource Experts (PURE), reportedly receives payment in exchange for referring families to Harbor Oaks.

ISAC has learned that Scheff’s daughter, Ashlyn Jockell, is employed by the facility. The Madison County Department of Social Services has substaniated a report for neglect at Harbor Oaks. The findings include: lack of medical care, lack of mental health care, and improper supervision. Anyone with information about Harbor Oaks is asked to contact ISAC immediately. Updated September 30, 2007 Letter About Harbor Oaks Official Finding of Neglect

Source: http://www.isaccorp.org/documentsam.asp#harboroaks [Editor’s note ISACcorp is no longer in operation]

Tough Love and Free Speech

How a ‘child advocate’ gamed the media Republished From Reason Magazine with Permission of the author. Original here. Maia’s Huffington Post comment on this article here. Maia Szalavitz | August 24, 2007 Sue Scheff has some serious chutzpah. Portrayed by ABC News, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes as a beleaguered mom running a small business to help parents find treatment for troubled teens, Scheff’s been telling reporters about a service called Reputation Defender, which she says allowed her to triumph over a bunch of rage-filled Internet cranks. Scheff says these vengeance-seeking wackos nearly destroyed her, an innocent businesswoman, with a series of libelous comments posted on online discussion boards. They had called her a “fraud” and “con artist,” she says, and claimed that she was referring teens to tough love programs that then abused them.

What none of this media coverage mentions is that a few years back, Scheff was sued for the same types of comments now directed at her—highlighting the abuses of a “tough love” rehab center (in this case, one of Scheff’s rivals). At the time, she framed the suit against her as an attempt to squelch her free speech.

Continue reading Tough Love and Free Speech

Isabelle Zehnder – Advocate or Sue’s Marketing? – Part I

Although with the recent publicity and rumors surrounding Sue Scheff have apparantly provoked Isabelle Zehnder of CAICA to distance herself, the relationship between the two in the past has been well documented, including in the words of Zehnder and Scheff themselves. Like Sue Scheff, on the surface, Isabelle Zenhder appears to be a legitimate advocate. Her website includes comprehensive information about the dangers of programs.

What most people don’t realize is most of that comprehensive information is copied verbatim from other sources without their permission. This, by itself, wouldn’t be much of a concern. What does concern many, however, is that Isabelle Zehnder refers kids to programs through Sue Scheff. Continue reading Isabelle Zehnder – Advocate or Sue’s Marketing? – Part I

Sue Scheff Lies About Being Sued

On August 14th, On one of her many cross-linked spam blogs, Sue Scheff wrote the following, denying that there is a lawsuit against her and Focal Point Academy:

“I have read claims, Blogs, and horrific postings about my organization and myself being served a lawsuit – this is not true. Neither myself nor the other defendants listed on what they are posting have received any such lawsuit. If there is a lawsuit, we certainly don’t know about it and you would think the defendants should have it?

This is a further campaign to discredit me which has recently escalated since I will be on 20/20 i-Caught this evening” [hyperlinks added]

Continue reading Sue Scheff Lies About Being Sued

What Sue Scheff Uses Reputation Defender to Censor

Sue Scheff often refers to herself as an “advocate”, claiming that she just wants to help children. Sue Scheff uses the slogan “parents helping parents”, publicly stating that the purpose of her organization is simply to avoid the dangers of abusive programs. Critics, however, question her commitment to the welfare of children, her honesty, and the ethics with which she conducts her business. Continue reading What Sue Scheff Uses Reputation Defender to Censor

Green vs. Focal Point Academy and Sue Scheff

Regarding Focal Point Lawsuit: Read the full complaint here. Recently, A lawsuit was filed By the Green family in Broward County Florida against both Sue Scheff and Focal Point Academy. It is alleged that Sue Scheff fradulently misrepresented her relationship with Focal Point Academy on many matters. for example:

“20. In April, 2006, Scheff also represented that she was not a licensed educational therapist, and therefore was not paid for her work, and that she was only making referrals based on the interests of the children. 2I. Scheff in no way disclosed that she was being paid for referring R.G. and others to Defendant Focal Point on a per-child basis. Contrary to Scheff’s misrepresentations, Defendant Horlacher later disclosed that Focal Point Academy pays Scheff money for each student she refers to the school.”

Continue reading Green vs. Focal Point Academy and Sue Scheff