For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spirtual wickedness in high places ---Ephesians 6:12.
New Info *** March 12, 2000 ***
for the Greeneville, Tennessee Area:
Outdoor
$kills and Experience are a Plus.
Omni Visions, Inc. is advertising in the
March 12, 2000 edition of the Johnson City Press for a
"Resource Coordinator" to be working within the Greene County,
Tennessee area. The Omni Visions, Inc. classifed ad is seeking the ideal
candidate with a "...minimum of a bachelor's degree in a related field
and experience with children and youth." This advertisement is published
less than a month following the February 16, 2000 Associated Press article
by Angela K. Brown, 'Agency acts after teen dies', as published within
the Johnson City Press wherein Omni visions, Inc. President James
M. Henry is quoted as stating that he had "...suspended the programs while
a state investigation continues..." into the January 2000 death of
17-year-old Omni Visions, Inc. ward Adora Grae Stout during a winter
outdoor "boot camp" experience.
Does this classified advertisement by
Omni Vision, Inc. mean that the current state investigation is now complete
and that finally the details of the state investigation will be made
available to the public?
State says juvenile boot camps
not allowed;
action may be taken against child welfare agency
By the Associated Press
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The state may take action against a child welfare agency if it was running a boot camp when a teen-ager died, officials say.
The state contracts with various agencies to provide services for the 12,000 children in state custody, but boot camps or other punishment-based programs are not allowed, according to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
Omni Visions Inc., an agency that works with foster children, was using a Johnson City campground when 17-year-old Adora Grae Stout died last weekend. Local authorities termed it a “boot camp” because of the tents and activities there.
“We don’t contract for or use boot camps ... because they’re very controversial,” said Lisa Faehl, director of resource management for the state Department of Children’s Services. “If they (Omni Visions) violated an aspect of their contract, we could (take action).”
Authorities were called Jan. 8 to Buffalo Mountain Camp, where a teen-age girl appeared to be in cardiac arrest, said Washington County Sheriff Fred Phillips. Stout was taken by medical helicopter to a local hospital, where she died the next day.
Phillips said it appeared only one other teen and two adult supervisors were there at the time, but said he could not comment on what they were doing.
An autopsy was ordered after Stout’s cause of death was listed as “suspicious, unusual or unnatural,” District Attorney Joe Crumley said. Results will not be available for several weeks.
Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the case, have declined to comment.
In a statement, Omni Visions president James M. Henry expressed “sympathy to all the individuals that have been affected by this situation.” He said he could not comment on the incident but that his agency is cooperating with the TBI.
Phillips and Crumley said they had never heard of Omni Visions before Stout’s death.
But Faehl said Omni Visions has “ an excellent record” and has maintained licensing requirements with the state, which does three different checks annually on such agencies.
Omni Visions was founded in 1991 and has administrative offices in Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. It provides therapeutic foster care and other family support services to about 400 children across the state. Programs are developed based on a child’s individual needs, according to the statement by Omni Visions.
“They’re one of our most creative agencies,” Faehl said.
Stout, a dark-eyed, dark-haired beauty, was buried Thursday at Mountain View Cemetery in Bristol. About two dozen flower arrangements surrounded the white casket covered in pink roses and white carnations.
The Rev. Elmer Beaver, who delivered the eulogy, later said the teen had attended his church in Mosheim several years ago with her foster mother. He said he did not know how long or why she was in foster care.
Linda O’Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said it’s too early to tell if Stout’s death was related to activities at the camp. O’ Neal said a 1998 survey shows 95 percent of children in state custody are safe [therefore, 5% or 600 of these children are in danger by state provided estimates].
“It is very tragic and very troubling any time a child dies ,” O’Neal said.
Injustice Busters:Home of the $10 Million
Dollar Lawsuit
Children Injured
By Restraint & Adversives.
Accused:resource page for those falsely
accused of sexual and/or physical abuse.
The Unilateral Foundation For
Human Rights (UFFHR).
UFFHR National Command
Center.
False
Allegations of Abuse and Neglect
Legal Information Institute-Law About Children: An Overview.
Victims of Child Abuse-
Agency Abuse-Judicial Abuse
Children's Rights Advocacy:
E-mail the Tennessee House of
Representatives-
E-mail the Tennessee House of
Representatives-
E-mail the Tennessee House of
Representatives-
E-mail the Tennessee Senate-
E-mail the Tennessee Senate-
Letter to the Editor:
Kingsport Times-News.
Post to the VillageVoices message
board.
Letter to the Editor: Bristol Herald Courier
Letter to
the Editor:Knoxville News-Sentinel
Letter to the Editor: The Tennessean.
Tennessean.com-Open Forum Discussion Board.
Very "Anti-Social Worker" Yet?
Child Abuse Information Resource Links
Tennessee Death Camp Watch Group 1.
Tennessee Death Camp Watch Group 2.
Tennessee Death Camp Watch Group 3.
Tennessee Death Camp Watch Group 4.
Tennessee Death Camp Watch Group 5.
