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February 26,
2005
Majestic Ranch:
A Living Nightmare for Kids
(for educational & informational purposes only;
full report available upon request to government officials and
attorneys)
A report about .
. .
. . . the
deplorable conditions for children confined at Majestic Ranch, a
privately owned and unlicensed residential facility in Randolph,
Utah;
. . . the failure
of child welfare agencies and law enforcement officials to properly
investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect at the facility;
. . . the need for
immediate governmental action to insure that evidence is preserved
and witnesses are interviewed, including all children currently
housed at Majestic Ranch, recent former residents, and current and
former staff;
. . . the huge gap
in current law which allows facilities such as Majestic Ranch to be
unlicensed and to escape unannounced and routine inspections by
child welfare agencies.
The full report is
available upon request.
While this report
raises serious concerns that more than 60 children at Majestic Ranch
are at risk of ongoing abuse and neglect, it does much more than
that. It calls into question the resolve of the State of Utah to
protect vulnerable children within its borders and the ability of
government agencies to respond effectively when evidence of child
maltreatment is presented to them.
• • •
Jared Quick
Jared Quick signed
an Affidavit on Feb. 24, 2005 about his observations and knowledge
of the conditions at Majestic Ranch. (See Affidavit of Jared Quick.)
Jared worked at the ranch from July 2004 to January 2005.
Intimidating
disposition
Wayne is a very
large man, about 6’7” to 6’8” so a lot of people are intimidated by
him, especially the children. Jared told Wayne he did not intimidate
Jared which made him madder. Jared has seen Wayne Winder grab
children by the backs of their necks and drag them on the ground.
Jared has seen Wayne chase children, drag them, throw them to the
ground, and perform unnecessary and harsh restraints while they were
lying on their stomachs.
Jared was fired by
Wayne Winder for reading a book Wayne has a very bad temper and was
having a bad day. He took it out on Jared. Wayne admitted that he
fired Jared because of his temper and has asked that Jared come back
to work. Jared refused.
Dangerous
restraints
Majestic Ranch
claims they practice the Mandt System for restraints. Jared did not
receive any formal Mandt System training. The only training he
received was first-level training that was given to him by Wayne
Winder. It was very informal and he allowed staff to use books to
take the tests. Jared did not learn anything that helped him in
restraining children during Wayne’s training. Wayne never brought in
a professional trainer to train staff on any level of the Mandt
System because he said it was too expensive.
Children at
Majestic Ranch are restrained often. Many times they are restrained
for the wrong reasons and not as a last resort as they are intended.
Some staff and management abuse the use of restraints.
Children as young
as 7 and 8 are thrown to the ground, while others are so accustomed
to being restrained that they willingly lie down on their stomachs
and pull their arms and legs back in preparation for the restraint.
There were many
times when Jared knew other forms of discipline or redirection would
have stopped the child’s negative behavior. Restraints at Majestic
Ranch are overused, are not performed properly, and are dangerous to
the children.
All restraints that
Jared has witnessed and performed have been done with children lying
on their stomachs. They are then put into the hog-tied position.
Their hands are placed behind their backs, wrists touching. Their
legs are pulled back and must touch each other but they cannot be
crossed. Their legs are then pushed down towards the child’s body,
bent at the knees. If the child resists or if the staff is in a bad
mood restraints can get out of hand.
Jared has seen
pressure applied to children’s legs by large men sitting on the
child’s calves and on their backs. He has seen two large men at one
time sitting on a small child’s body; one on his legs, another on
his back. He has also seen them pull their arms backwards and
upwards, causing severe pain. Children who are restrained in this
manner cry in pain. Most restraints lasted 5, 10, 15 minutes. He has
seen adult men sit on children for that long. If the child kicks or
resists staff are told to continue with the restraint.
Jared has seen
grown men, in anger, pull children’s arms back until their hands
were touching the back of their necks, putting pressure on the
child’s arms during restraints. A 13-year old, small-built child’s
shoulder was dislocated during a restraint. He was not taken to a
doctor for a couple of days and then was given a brace.
Children were
sometimes made to shovel manure. If they refused or otherwise
misbehaved they were made to sit in the manure for extended periods
of time until they decided they would resume shoveling.
On 3-4 occasions
Jared saw children who were restrained in the manure. These
restraints resulted in manure getting into the children’s hair,
face, ears, and mouths. I have seen children forced to remain in
that position, with grown men sitting on their legs and backs, for 5
to 15 minutes at a time.
Isolation room
During
Intervention/Isolation, children are taken to a basement with one
staff member. The door is locked and the staff wears a key around
his neck. The children eat, shower, use the bathroom, do school
work, and sleep in that room the entire time they are in isolation.
Mattresses were
placed on the floor. They have no contact with other children or
staff. The windows are screwed shut so they could not get out if
there was a fire in the middle of the night. It was basically a
lock-down area. The most I saw in there at one time was 3 children.
Punishment
Another form of
discipline was called ADAPT (All Day Alternative Physical Training)
which was used for children who misbehaved. There were a wide range
of reasons children were sent to ADAPT.
While they were
there, they were forced to sit on crates in the snow. They were sent
out in the clothing they were wearing at the time, which in some
cases would mean a pair of shorts and hooded shirt. Some children
sat out there for 3 hours or more. Children were sick often with
colds and fevers.
While in ADAPT
children were made to shovel manure, shovel snow, or perform other
physical manual labor. The length of stay in ADAPT depended on what
they did wrong, but the allowed amount of time was from 6:00 a.m. to
10:00 p.m. Children routinely were restrained while they were in
ADAPT.
Psychological
issues
Jared felt that
many of the boys he worked with did not need to be in a program. It
appeared that some of the children who were there had parents who
did not want them. Some had anger problems and issues but none
deserved the treatment they received at Majestic Ranch.
Many boys who were
fine when they arrived finally snapped from the pressure, sadness,
and pain.
Some children tried
to commit suicide by drinking cleaners or by cutting themselves.
Some had ADD, some were bi-polar. Many took strong medications.
Unlicensed
dispensing of medication
Staff were given no
training in disbursing strong prescription drugs. Shift leaders were
the ones who were supposed to distribute the medications but they
were not always available to do so. Jared had disbursed medications
during those times. There was no nurse on site.
Lack of medical
care
The children were
sick often, more than normal children. When children were injured or
sick they were not taken to a doctor right away. There were many
occasions when children never got medical attention for illnesses
and injuries when they should have.
Unsafe and
unsanitary conditions
The windows were
nailed shut in the dorms which was a fire hazard. There was a mouse
problem in the kitchen. The sewage backed up at least once a day.
Though it was frozen when I left you could still smell it. Sewage
overflowed onto the ground daily.
Child labor
Children had to do
work for owners Dan and Donna Peart. They were made to (1).paint Dan
and Donna’s cabin, (2) clean around the Peart’s houses, and do other
chores. Children had to do all the work around the facility.
They had to do
their own dishes. It was not sanitary. They washed them in a bucket
and rinsed them off. They didn’t change the water sometimes for the
60 kids that were there. They then dripped dry. Children were the
ones who cleaned the bathrooms. They also worked on the ranch
cleaning lambing pens, and going on the sheep trail.
Brittany Painter
Brittany Painter
signed an Affidavit on Feb. 24, 2005 about her observations and
knowledge of the conditions at Majestic Ranch. (See Affidavit of
Brittany Painter.)
Brittany worked at
the ranch from September 2002 through December 2004.
Child labor
There were piles of
dead animal carcasses in different locations on the ranch. There was
a huge "bone yard" filled with dead cows, sheep, dogs, pigs,
chickens, and more. When children signed up for work duty they had
no idea they would be asked to move these maggot-infested carcasses
from these piles and place them onto a large truck. They then had to
get onto the truck and throw the carcasses onto the bone yard. If
they were able to do this without throwing up they were given a
soda. Children came back covered in blood and dirt.
Most of the time
there was not enough staff to take these children to shower so they
had to stay in their blood-covered clothing for hours until they
took their shower at bedtime.
Abusive
practices
Some staff members
made children sit in manure as punishment. If they refused to sit in
the manure the staff physically tried to get them to sit down. If
they would not cooperate staff was instructed to restrain them at
that point. During restraints children were thrown to the ground, in
the manure, at times with their faces in the manure. The children
talked about the restraints and showed staff the manure all over
their bodies. There was usually not enough staff to take the
children to shower so they would have to wait to shower until the
evening, often with manure on their bodies and clothing for hours.
Stark
deprivation
Children were told
they were there to work on their issues and problems. Children as
young as 7 had no dolls, no stuffed animals (only very few
upper-level children had stuffed animals, and they were limited to
two), no toys, no outdoor play equipment, no bicycles, nothing.
There were several games but children were rarely allowed to play
with them. They had virtually no fun activities for the children.
Children appeared
miserable at Majestic Ranch. For fun upper-level children (and there
were not many) were allowed to go to church. Sometimes, during the
summer those children were allowed to ride the horses once a week.
As a privilege they were given work detail such as painting the
owner's cabin, etc. It was considered a privilege because they were
allowed to eat normal food like pizza after they worked. There was
nothing fun for lower-level children except to watch a movie once in
a while. Some staff tried to make things fun for the children but it
was not part of the program, just something we did on our own
because we felt sorry for the children.
Runaway secrecy
One night two girls
climbed out a small window. They stole Dan Peart's truck, drove to
Woodruff and got caught. The Pearts' told everyone to keep it quiet.
Wayne Winder told everyone that one of the girls was sent to
Tranquility Bay in Jamaica, another WWASP facility (he threatened to
send children who misbehaved to Jamaica where, he said, they have no
child abuse laws,) and that the other girl was moved to Cross Creek,
again another WWASP facility. If any child is caught discussing the
situation they suffer consequences.
Lack of
psychological treatment/training
Not only was
Brittany not told about problems children had when they came into
the program, but she was not trained to deal with them.
Some of the
conditions that Brittany was aware that children suffered from
include: (1) bi-polar; (2) suicidal; (3) extreme depression; (4)
killing animals; (5) ADDADHD; (6) run-aways; (7) drug addicts as
young as 11 years old; (8) sexual abuse, molestation, and rape; (9)
children with bed-wetting issues, usually as a result of sexual
abuse; (10) self- mutilation; (11) alcohol syndrome; and (12)
mentally challenged. Brittany was in no way trained to deal with
these serious issues. Therapy was provided only to those whose
parents paid an additional fee for the children to see an outside
therapist. Out of all the children at the facility, only six or
seven of them went to therapy every week or two.
Lack of medical
treatment
On many occasions
children were hurt or sick and they did not receive immediate, if
any, medical treatment for their conditions.
Brittany and other
staff told Director Tammy Johnson one of the girls had a bad rash
with huge sores on her legs, arms, and buttocks. Tammy diagnosed the
rash as eczema without taking her to the doctor. After repeated
complaints from staff she was finally taken to a doctor where she
was diagnosed with scabies.
Unlicensed drug
dispensing
There was no
on-site nurse to administer drugs or to monitor the children's
health. There was no other on-site medical staff or psychiatric
staff. Supervisors distributed medications. If the supervisor was
busy then any other staff could distribute the medications to the
children. There were medications such as Zoloft, birth control
pills,
Lexapro, sleeping
medications, and more.
Unsafe and
unsanitary conditions
Thirteen or more
girls are forced to share one bathroom. There was not enough hot
water for all of the girls to shower so many showered in cold water,
even during the winter months when temperatures fell well below
freezing. Sometimes there was no running water at all in the girls'
dorm and they had to go to other dorms to shower.
When Brittany first
started working at Majestic Ranch, the girls lived in a decent dorm.
Then all of the girls were moved to a stinky basement. After two
girls tried to run away they nailed or screwed the windows shut. It
would have been nearly impossible for the girls or the staff members
to get away in the event of a fire. They finally bought a used
mobile home and the girls moved in there. The windows were nailed or
screwed shut again.
The kitchen was
filthy. Food was mishandled and children were fed cross-contaminated
meats. When the dorms were full a child's bed was moved into the
kitchen for about two weeks.
The dishwasher did
not work well so children had to wash their own dishes in a tub of
soapy water shared by a lot of children. The dishes were not cleaned
to food handler's standards because an extra rinse with Clorox was
not done. The kitchen ran out of hot water before the dishes were
done so they were being cleaned in cold water. The kitchen staff
complained that the dishes were not properly cleaned.
Poor food and
nutrition
Children were given
only one glass of milk per day. If they complained they were warned
they would receive powdered milk instead. They were fed a lot of
Cisco canned foods. They were fed mostly packaged, unhealthy foods.
Two cooks, Karette
and her husband, did not feed the children healthy foods and often
the children were hungry. Many times children were given only a
sandwich and they were hungry for hours. They gave children
hamburger that was still raw in the center and chicken that was not
thoroughly cooked.
Child labor
Children are forced
to do their own laundry (there was only one washer and dryer in the
girls' unit that was broken most of the time). The dishwasher was
not large enough to accommodate all of the children's dirty dishes
so children were forced to wash their own dishes. Children are
forced to clean their own living quarters. There is no cleaning
staff.
As a privilege
upper level children are allowed to clean Dan Peart's personal cabin
and to paint his cabin. As a reward, they are allowed to eat
"normal" food.
Children go to herd
sheep on sheep trail with Peruvian men who live on the ranch as well
as one staff member. They are gone for a day or two and sleep in the
mountains.
Brittany witnessed
boys having to herd sheep in the hail, rain, and mud.
If someone official
came to visit the facility the children were made to deep-clean the
facility and to make sure everything was spotless.
Karleen Farnsworth
Karleen Farnsworth
signed an Affidavit on Feb. 21, 2005) about her observations and
knowledge of the conditions at Majestic Ranch. (See Affidavit of
Karleen Farnsworth.)
Karleen worked at
the ranch for three weeks in January 2005 and quit when she could
not tolerate the conditions there any longer.
During her short
stay there, Karleen witnessed child abuse and neglect, animal
neglect, and unhealthy living conditions. Her past employment
history with the Utah Youth Corrections, and her training with that
agency, alerted her to the fact that Majestic Ranch was a bad place
for children to be and a bad place for employees to work.
With the facts she
knew about abuse and neglect, Karleen called Craig Barlow in the
Attorney General’s office. He told her to call Debbie Kurzban in the
Department of Licensing which she did. She also called Ken
Stettler’s office and was told by an employee to call Child
Protective Services in Logan.
Karleen then
reported the child abuse and neglect to CPS in Logan but never heard
back from them again.
Karleen disclosed
the following facts in her Affidavit.
Staff
dissatisfaction
During her last
week on the job, Karleen was told by her shift leader and the
supervisor that several unhappy staff members have walked off the
job and demanded better working conditions, better food and water
for the children, better medical treatment for the children, and
better housing for the staff. Management threatened to turn in the
staff for child abandonment if they left, and some staff stayed as a
result of that threat.
Mental health
concerns
Karleen was
required to work with a wide range of children at Majestic Ranch,
from kids with no prior reported problems at home to children who
had previously been in a mental institution. Some of the girls were
bi-polar and others suicidal. Others suffered from abandonment
issues, post traumatic stress disorder and night terrors.
This information
really makes one wonder why Majestic Ranch is not required to be
licensed as a mental health facility by the State of Utah.
Karleen reports
that most of the girls suffer from sleep disorders. In the 10 to 13
year-old dorm, girls routinely woke up screaming in the middle of
the night, some with night terrors and others with nightmares.
Unusual
punishments
Karleen’s affidavit
goes into great detail about unusual punishments and practices which
endanger the health and safety of the children. For example,
children who have too many consequences or even just a “bad
attitude” are made to stand outside on a milk crate for extended
periods of time in sub-freezing temperatures.
Children who refuse
to shovel manure are made to do so with their bare hands.
Lack of
nutrition
Nutrition is
lacking. Children are fed a minimum amount of poor quality, high
card foods. Most foods are packaged or canned. Children are served a
bare minimum of fresh vegetables and fruit.
Inadequate
medical attention
Karleen’s affidavit
also discusses the lack of prompt and necessary medical attention.
For example, an outbreak of scabies has not been properly dealt
with.
Food and water were
making the children sick with vomiting and diarrhea. Staff bring
their own food and water to avoid serious stomach problems.
One boy had rotten
teeth and one tooth fell out. In the three weeks Karleen was there,
he was not taken to a dentist.
A girl suffered
from severe knee pain for the entire time Karleen was there. She was
never taken to a doctor.
Another girl’s
glasses were broken for a month and she was never taken to an
optician to get new ones.
Unlicensed
dispensing of medications
There are many
children at the ranch who are taking medications on a daily basis.
The medications are administered by staff who do not have any
medical license. For example, a 19 year old female staffer routinely
dispensed medications.
Some children
complained they were being given the wrong doses of their
medications. When Karleen was at Youth Corrections, unlicensed staff
were not even allowed to dispense aspirin.
Animal Abuse and
Neglect
When Karleen
approached a dog to pet it, the children told her not to touch the
dogs or they would be shot. Karleen was told by her shift leader
that someone in a high management position shot sick animals in
front of the children.
Weanlings are made
to stand tied with no water access, making them at risk for
strangulation and dehydration.
The donkeys have
overgrown hooves that are curled at the tips and the mature horses
have overgrown hooves.
Child labor
Children, mostly
boys, are forced to work outside after dark shoveling snow in the
freezing cold.
Girls are forced to
clean the owners personal guest house which is located across the
facility.
There is no paid
cleaning staff. Children clean classrooms, the kitchen, their dorms,
the bathrooms, and do their laundry. They do their own dishes in
dirty water. There was no sanitation system while Karleen worked at
the ranch.
Unsafe
conditions
The windows in the
girls’ dorms were screwed shut and there was no smoke detector in
one of those dorms.
Staff are told to
sleep with their beds blocking the door so the children will not
escape at night, thus posing a hazard in case of the need to quickly
escape in case of a fire.
There is only one
bathroom for 12 or more girls and the door is always propped open so
there is no privacy.
Bedding is not
cleaned on a regular basis. Some of the bedding had not been cleaned
for over a month.
The cook does not
wear a hair net or use gloves in the kitchen when handling food.
Conditions in the kitchen are unsanitary, with details provided in
Karleen’s affidavit.
The children are
not allowed time to wash their hands before meals.
There are dead
animal body parts around the yard.
Brainwashing
Karleen witnessed a
15 year old girl who ran visualization exercises for the children.
As she was playing music, she would tell the children to visualize
their families leaving them because they were bad children. This
caused all of the children to break down in tears.
The girl who ran
this visualization process would sometimes pick on a specific child
and make them feel bad. In one case, she asked the victim of sexual
abuse to visualize the episode and to imagine what she could have
done to have prevented the molestation. This process caused the
sexual abuse victim considerable trauma.
Karleen’s affidavit
gives numerous other examples of this visualization process being
used to manipulate the children and to make them feel bad about
themselves.
Raw sewage
At the time Karleen
was on staff, there was a problem with raw sewage on the premises.
It was frozen and not visible, but could be smelled from the water
tap.
Sara Concetta
Sara Concetta
signed an Affidavit on Feb. 21, 2005 about her observations and
knowledge of the conditions at Majestic Ranch. (See Affidavit of
Sara Concetta.) Sara worked there from Sept. 21, 2004, to Feb. 11,
2005.
Last minute
cover up
Just prior to her
leaving, children told her that Wayne Winder got notice that the
Fire Marshall was coming for an inspection. Winder was seen putting
up smoke detectors and making corrections to bring things up to code
in advance of the inspection.
Just before she
quit her job, children told her that Winder had made them come into
his office and asked them to fill out a form which inquired as to
whether they felt threatened at Majestic Ranch or by him personally.
Some of these
children told Sara that they said no because they were afraid if
they told the truth – that they were afraid of Winder – there would
be consequences.
Abusive
practices
Sara witnessed a
staff member engage in an abusive restraint of a child. (Details are
in her affidavit.) She believed that if the staffer had been given
proper breaks, this would not have happened.
Staff are with the
children 24 hours a day and are rarely given time away to gather
themselves together for a mental health break.
On her first day on
the job. Sara saw two boys being forced to shovel manure. One of
them protested and was then thrown into the manure pile with his
face into the manure.
There were three
boys not long ago being held in an intervention room for punishment.
The windows were screwed shut and the door locked. A staffer kept
the key around his neck.
There would have
been no way for the boys to escape in case of a fire if the staffer
was in another part of the facility at the time.
Under staffing
and lack of training
The children are
placed into teams. Each team is supposed to have two staff members.
But due to staff shortages, there is only one staff member per team.
People who are
hired are not required to have prior experience working with
children. Background checks are not completed until the staff has
been working with the children for several weeks. There is virtually
no formal training for staff.
Inadequate
clothing and hygiene
The children do not
receive adequate clothing even though the parents are paying
thousands of dollars per month for the program. Dirty clothing is
often worn because of inadequate laundry facilities.
No classroom
instruction
There is no formal
classroom instruction per se, even though this is supposed to be a
boarding “school.” Everything is done on an “independent study”
program instead of lectures and classroom discussions.
Medical neglect
One girl had
scabies. It was reported by staff but she did not receive medical
attention for three weeks. She was in considerable pain because of
the delay in treatment. In the meantime, due to lack of proper
medical practices, several other girls came down with scabies.
Unlicensed drug
dispensing
Staff were required
to dispense medications to children even though they were not
licensed to do so.
Sara consulted with
an attorney who advised her that, since there were so many children
with serious psychological conditions and who used strong
medications, there should be a licensed nurse at the facility at all
times.
Sara felt that
management was requiring staff to break the law by dispensing
medications.
Raw sewage
The septic tank
backed up and raw sewage was flowing on the property. Staff and
children had to walk over it in order to get from one place to
another.
Lack of good
nutrition
The food is
disgusting. Meat is served which is bloody and raw. Milk is diluted.
Walls in the kitchen are filthy. Cooks do not receive training. The
children are not given enough to eat and often go to bed hungry
Conclusion
The facts contained
in this report are only the tip of the evidentiary iceberg.
Other staff were
interviewed but were reluctant to sign affidavits, probably due to
fear. Nonetheless, their verbal statements more than corroborated
the facts in the affidavits that were received This report, and
supporting documents, raise serious questions about the failure of
child protection agencies in Utah to protect the children at
Majestic Ranch and to conduct a proper investigation.
Why have not more
staff members and former staff members been called by these agencies
for interviews?
Why were the
children not interviewed when law enforcement went to the ranch to
inspect it?
Was Majestic Ranch
tipped off about the impending inspection, and if so, were any of
the agency personnel responsible for giving the tip?
Why have the
parents of these children not been notified that CPS was given
evidence of abuse and neglect?
What will it take
for the Utah Attorney General to prosecute?
The report also
raises questions about why Utah law does not require facilities such
as Majestic Ranch to be licensed and subject to unannounced
inspections.
Finally, any
reasonable person reading this report will wonder when the law will
be strengthened to protect children entrusted into the care of a
private business.
There is a need for
official intervention into this unacceptable situation in Utah. With
the help of the media, the public will learn about this scandal and
hopefully will join in this demand for reform – for the sake of the
children.
The State of Utah
should have a duty to notify parents when it receives information,
especially from staff or former staff of a facility, that conditions
at the facility are abusive or harmful to children. This is
especially so when child protection agencies are aware that parents
are being required to stay away and not communicate with their child
for three to six months or even longer if it takes the child longer
to reach an upper level in the system.
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