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The Huffington Post
Setting the Record Straight About the
Minnesota Teen Challenge
December 15, 2008
By Rich Scherber
We are very concerned after reading
the recent Huffington Post article by Maia Szalavitz, "Obama Drug
Czar Pick Tied to Abusive Christian Rehab Linked to Contributor
Charged with $3.5 Billion Fraud." (December 10th, 2008)
The article presents a very
inaccurate and inflammatory portrayal of Minnesota Teen Challenge
which we would like to address.
Minnesota Teen Challenge is a
leading and respected treatment center in Minnesota, part of a large
network of Teen Challenge centers across the United States. Each
program is independently controlled and autonomous in operation and
methodology. As such, it is entirely improper to attribute alleged
incidents and practices at one center as being common to all.
Minnesota Teen Challenge's beliefs
and practices bear no resemblance to the portrayal in the article.
1. It is important to note that the
federal earmark sponsored by Congressman Ramstad -- approved with
bipartisan support in Congress, including Senator Amy Klobuchar (D)
and Congressman Keith Ellison (D) -- was designated for Minnesota
Teen Challenge's Know the Truth drug and alcohol abuse prevention
program. This program is completely separate from our recovery
program and is entirely non-religious in nature. This widely
respected program has been presented to more than 30,000 junior and
senior high school students across the state of Minnesota.
2. Minnesota Teen Challenge does
not recruit members into the Assemblies of God denomination as a
means to cure addiction. We are an independent 501c3 charitable
organization that is non-denominational in nature and we do not
recruit participants to join any particular church or denomination.
3. Minnesota Teen Challenge employs
qualified licensed chemical dependency counselors and operates a
program licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. We
follow the same rules and procedures for client care as all other
treatment programs in the state.
4. Minnesota Teen Challenge does
not use forced labor backed by the threat of food deprivation and
does not use humiliation or other abusive tactics. All clients are
treated with dignity and respect and they voluntarily participate in
the program. Our program is regularly reviewed by city, county, and
state officials to ensure quality care is being provided. An
independent research study indicated that 83% of those surveyed
rated the quality of our program as "very good" or "outstanding."
5. Minnesota Teen Challenge does
allow its clients to use medications and we do recognize that many
addicts have a co-occurring mental illness. In fact, we employ
nurses to help monitor client's medications and work side by side
with community mental health providers.
6. A 2007 independent scientific
research study conducted by the Wilder Foundation and nationally
recognized researcher, Dr. Patricia Owen revealed that 74% of 2005
graduates had been abstinent in the previous six months.
Additionally, 87% of graduates stated that their circumstances today
would be a lot worse if they hadn't gone through the Teen Challenge
program.
7. Minnesota Teen Challenge does
not engage in illegal discrimination of applicants with differing
beliefs and our application process makes it clear that those with
different or no religious belief are eligible for employment.
8. Our staffing levels reflect the
fact that we operate eight separate residential programs in seven
locations that provide round the clock care with food services,
etc., as well as a respected drug prevention program with a
dedicated staff.
We are very troubled that such an
inflammatory article, beginning with the inaccurate headline, can be
disseminated without the subject of the story having an opportunity
to respond to any questions or concerns.
While we recognize that not
everybody will agree with our religious viewpoint, we hope that we
can all agree that assisting people overcome their addictions to
drugs and alcohol is a worthy goal. We do appreciate the opportunity
to set the record straight.
Rich Scherber is a pastor and
Executive Director of Minnesota Teen Challenge. He overcame drug use
many years ago as a young man after a profound spiritual awakening
that changed his life. He holds a master's degree in Education.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rich-scherber/setting-the-record-straig_b_151091.html
Maia's original post:
Obama Drug Czar Pick Tied to
Christian Rehab Linked to Contributor Charged with $3.5 Billion
Fraud (Updated)
If his opposition to needle
exchange and maintenance treatment for addictions isn't enough to
convince you that Jim Ramstad isn't qualified to serve in Obama's
cabinet as "drug czar," how about an earmark funding a Christian
addiction "program" that uses outdated and abusive tactics and tries
to "complete" Jews? Now add a connection between that program and a
man who is charged with swindling investors out of $3.5 billion
dollars.
That's right. Jim Ramstad was the
sole sponsor of an earmark providing $235,000 to Minnesota Teen
Challenge, a branch of a national anti-addiction group which
believes that recruiting people into the Assemblies of God ministry
will cure their addiction.
Yes, this is the same Teen
Challenge that prompted George W. Bush to de-regulate faith-based
addiction treatment in Texas in 1997. The program couldn't meet
basic education standards required for qualified counselors, but
Bush wanted it kept open.
After he became President, Texas
actually re-regulated faith-based programs when the predicted spate
of abuse and maltreatment that comes with unregulated facilities
rapidly materialized.
Back then, Bush praised Teen
Challenge for its practices, saying that while inside, "if you don't
work, you don't eat." That's right: the program uses unpaid, forced
labor backed by the threat of food deprivation as "addiction
treatment."
Further, according to Teen
Challenge, "Addiction is a sin, not a disease." Consequently, the
program does not allow the use of medication.
Beyond this, it humiliates and
attempts to "break down" people with addictions, using techniques
that I have covered extensively elsewhere that are known to do more
harm than good.
Since half of all addicts have a
co-existing mental illness which often requires medication, banning
it is not exactly evidence-based practice. And since there are
medications that can help treat particular addictions, this is even
more absurd. Given that Ramstad sponsored a bill to change the name
of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the National Institute on
Diseases of Addiction, it is deeply troubling that he'd support an
organization which views it as sin.
But his ties to Teen Challenge seem
close. Here's a photo of him at a benefit* for Petters' foundation,
which has given large donations to Minnesota Teen Challenge. He's
standing next to Tom Petters, the campaign contributor now charged
with bilking investors out of billions. Minnesota Teen Challenge was
one of Petters favorite charities--and it has been hit hard by
Petters' fall.
One wonders, however, why it needed
260 staff members to serve 400 clients annually.
Ramstad almost certainly knew
nothing of Petters' fraudulent dealings--it's impossible for a
politician to know everything about every contributor.
But his support for Teen Challenge
shows a disregard for evidence-based treatment and either a
willingness to abandon his deeply held beliefs about treating
addiction as a disease or a failure to investigate what kinds of
programs he funds. Neither possibility reflects well on his
qualifications to serve as drug czar.
Obama has said that he supports the
use of faith-based services where evidence exists that they are
effective. Though Teen Challenge makes the usual anecdote and flawed
research-based claims of high success rates, in fact, its approach
is completely contrary to almost everything we know about what makes
addiction treatment work. It seems unlikely, then, that Obama would
favor it.
Also, unlike Bush, Obama does not
support allowing faith-based groups to discriminate against members
of other religions in hiring. Teen Challenge admitted in
Congressional testimony in 2001 that it does this--and that it had
successfully converted some Jews who entered the program, using the
offensive term "completed Jews" for such converts.
Given that Ramstad has spent much
time and energy seeking compassion for recovering addicts and
championing the idea that addiction is a disease, not a moral
problem, it is astonishing that he would fund and promote Teen
Challenge. The fact that he does suggests--just like his opposition
to needle exchange--that he does not know how to carefully evaluate
data and vet addiction programs. President-elect Obama, are you
listening?
[Much thanks to Ken Avidor of the
Dump Bachmann blog for alerting me to this story]
P.S. Mainstream media where are
you? A $3.5 billion fraud case isn't a national story?
*This originally read that the
benefit was for Teen Challenge-- it was for Petters' foundation,
which funds Teen Challenge amongst other causes.
UPDATE: 12/12/08:
Minnesota Teen Challenge has
complained about my coverage of their organization and its
connection to the Teen Challenge national organization and its
practices. Their response is here. They basically say that they do
not use the practices I've reported in here relation to the national
organization.
Minnesota Teen Challenge says that
it is independent--but here is its listing on the national teen
challenge website:
Minnesota Teen Challenge also says
that it does not recruit into the Assemblies of God Ministry--but if
you go to the national website of the Assemblies of God, look under
"adult ministries," you will find Teen Challenge listed as one of
their ministries, with a direct link to the national teen challenge
website, which, of course, links the Minnesota branch.
If Minnesota Teen Challenge is
truly an independent organization that does not attempt to convert
participants to a particular form of Christianity, why does it use
the same name as an organization that does and allow them to claim a
link on their national website?
If it is independent, why does it
start its history like this, with the same founding story as the
national group?
The application form for Minnesota
Teen Challenge is very explicit about the Christian, faith-based
nature of the program.
Here is a quote from Minnesota Teen
Challenge's own newsletter [pdf] from 2001, "On October 3, 84
Minnesota Teen Challenge students were baptized, publicly confessing
Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal savior. They were bound by
sin, but each one has been transformed by the power of Jesus
Christ."
That same issue contains an
interview with a Teen Challenge participant who says he was
previously a member of a Satanic cult. Here are a few excerpts:
Q: Which Halloween experience was
the scariest?
A: "Different moons require
different sacrifices. One Halloween, we received a letter from the
head church in San Diego with blood and a crow's foot on it. This
meant that there had to be a human sacrifice. The leader of our
group walked over to an older, unimportant man and handed him a
knife, saying:'You know what you need to do.' The man took the knife
and split his stomach open, letting his intestines spill out on the
ground. He screamed in agony, and as he fell to his knees he cried
out, 'Satan, take me home!'
An editorial in the same issue
says:
This Teen Challenge student's
testimony of involvement in the occult is not an isolated
incident...One of the goals of the Satanic church is to make evil
cute and cuddly. They are accomplishing this goal through games such
as Pokemon, Dungeons and Dragons, Majick, and Ouija boards...Much of
what our society reads, watches, and listens to is demonically
influenced. Teen Challenge combats these lies in the Name of Jesus.
Many national organizations have regional variations. But these
excerpts suggest that Minnesota Teen Challenge participants are not
exactly being given mainstream drug education and that their
counselors and newsletter editors may have some difficulty
distinguishing between truth and teen exaggeration.
Finally, if Minnesota Teen
Challenge is as different from the national organization in
philosophy and practices as it claims to be, why on earth would it
use the same name?
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