Question

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
I visited my son yesterday at the juvenile prison. I asked him if he had gotten the letter letting him know that the allegations of staff neglect which led to my son sustaining bodily injury were found to be true. He said that he had. He then informed me that one of the staff, who was on duty that night, asked him to write a statement to the effect that he , the staff member, was not involved in the incident. The staff member wants him to do it on camera and to say that it was all his idea and that he was not coerced into doing it.

Is it just me or does this strike anyone else as being shady? My question is should I report this? I am afraid if I do that he will be retaliated against more than he has been over this incident. I tried to talk to him about it and he just Sensory Integration Disorder (SID) if he doesn't do it he will be even more of a target.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Sounds shadier than a big oak tree in the sun. Having said that, your son knows best how to survive in his environment.

So sorry for this.
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
That sounds really shady to me. And, I can see your point about him being retaliated against too. Can your son be moved into another area of the JV prison or is he stuck where he is? Is there an attorney or someone outside of the actual prison you can talk to about this? What a pickle to be in. Your son is in a system which has it's own hierarchy and corruption which is not the same as it is out here..........he has to be the one to survive inside those walls and yet what the staff member did is clearly a violation of any kind of ethical behavior. If you step in the staff member can simply deny the accusation and then your son may be in jeopardy as he says. What an awful place for YOU to be.
 

GuideMe

Active Member
I'm just curious, when does he get out? Also, if he signs the papers, maybe he won't be a target anymore and they'll leave him alone.
 

GuideMe

Active Member
I just read your history Pasa so I could get to know you better. Your difficult child and my difficult child sound a lot a like with the rages and we have/had similar situations. If my difficult child was a boy, she'd be just like him. Luckily, she doesn't do anything illegal. He is way too young to be getting into all that legal trouble. I'm so sorry.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
How old is your son? If he is still legally a minor in your state then whatever he signs without parental or legal representation is irrelevant. I'm not familiar with the juvenile system, but within the adult State level facilities here (I'm an employee) for a staff member to do something like this would be cause for disciplinary action. We have investigators to handle this and for an employee involved in the situation, allegedly or otherwise, would be a serious conflict of interest.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
Jabber, He just turned 18. He is cognetively impaired. He gets beat up T least once a week by the unit boss, another kid, who runs the show. He sends himself to security just to be able get away from this kid.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
The staff use this kid to discipline anyone who steps out of line. The whole operation is questionable at best. The entire juvenile justice system in Texas has been under investigation lately. There have been too many juveniles who have suffered serious injury and death due to injuries while in custody. His unit has been reported several times. the response is to move staff around. It is the same staff different day.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Thst is WAAAY out of line! If a staff member had tried something like that where I worked. they'd be fired so fast they wouldn't know what hit them!
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
Thats not good. I remember when Missouri doctor had offenders in Texas. It was a nightmare with a ton of law suits. Sounds like you need to get with other parents and start a class action law suit. Its been my experience, after working 22 years in adult doctor, that Corrections wont change how they do things until it becomes too costly to continue to do it that way.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
Is there an Internal Affairs officer in this institution? If there is, that's who should handle it, if you could trust them. Just out of curiosity, is this facility run by the state or by one of the private companies that contract with the state to manage some institutions?
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
It is state run. The investigation was handled by an external agency. I feel like it needs to be reported. I am concerned about the back l lash. I'm a bit concerned that he had not called today. I have a bad feeling about all of this.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
If it was investigated by an outside agency, there should be no need for you to report it again. How did the incident come to the attention of the investigators?
 

Albatross

Well-Known Member
This is way over my head, Pasajes. But if that is what happened, it is indeed shady and I think it needs to be reported. I am so sorry you are in this position.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
I reported the " neglect to provide protection while on a safety plan" allegation and so did another staff member. One of the co's on duty that night has asked my son to write a letter to the investigator saying that he , the co, was not involved in the incident. There were cameras that caught it all on tape. he should not be talking to my son about the incident or the investigation period.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
It was highly inappropriate for him to have asked that of your son. I would make whoever is in charge aware of it
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
My concern is that there will be retaliation by staff once it got out. They won't know that he is not the one reporting it.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
If it were me, I would report it to either the warden/supervisor of the institution or whoever is directly over that person. In our system that would be the Commissioner of the Dept. Of Correction. If the higher-ups are aware of it, it makes retalliation very difficult and the individual will be dealt with. They take those things very seriously.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
I think the reality is that your son is in a place where retaliation is no worse than what could happen if he pisses someone off.

Can you live with yourself if he gets hurt by these people because they sense he is weak and unwilling to fight them.

The opposite is can you live with him getting hurt by the people if you turn them in.

Reality is it could go either way but protecting a child with disabilities is always a good thing. These people can not be allowed to continue this way. Making them pay financially is probably the only way to make a change. Turning them in can make that happen.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
Thank you for your thoughtful answers. I have spent two sleepless nights thinking this through. I will be calling the commissioner this morning.
 
Top