Reagan: Restrained Until She Passed Out, Then Locked in a Room

Reagan, an 8 year old girl, was told by a male to go to her bedroom after a minor incident. She refused to go in her room and effectively be alone with the staff member.

She walked down the hall. She threw a foam decoration at another child.

The male staff member grabbed her, restrained her and dragged her into her bedroom.

Once in the room, she seemed to become instantly terrified. She tried to kick and punch her way out of the room. She used her hits and kicks to move the staff member out.

The staff member restrained her again. Reagan tried to defend herself. It did not work.

Eventually Reagan went limp and was unresponsive. Tried to shake her awake. It didn't work.

When she regained consciousness, she attempted to defend herself using protective aggression again.

In response to her attempts to defend herself, a male supervisor gave permission to lock her in the Separation Room. Both the male supervisor and the male staff dragged Reagan to the Separation Room where she was locked inside.

She was not taken for medical care even though she lost consciousness and later complained of pain in multiple areas of her body.

This is how children die in restraints. Reagan nearly died.

Other children have been so scared of being alone with staff, they used violence or bluster to try to not be alone with staff.

Valley of the Moon Children's Home was cited for locking children in rooms when an advocacy group brought the locking in rooms to the attention of the state which had previously approved the practice.
Restraints can only be performed if the child is in, or presents an immediate danger. If throwing foam is an immediate danger to these staff, they must find other work as they are too fragile to work with children.

Decision makers: David Rabbitt for Supervisor Shirlee Zane Efren Carrillo Susan Gorin James Gore Erin Brianne Carlstrom Julie N Combs

Even After Being Cited for Locking Children in Rooms, Staff Still Think They Can Exercise That Option

Valley of the the Moon Children’s Home was cited by the state for using mechanical locks to lock children in rooms, called separation or quiet rooms, on February 25, 2011.

On March 4, 2011 a child we call Nicole was restrained and taken to the Quiet Room. Staff member Antonio Campos’ written report of the incident reads, “Resident was able to stay in the quiet room without having staff to lock the door.”

The only logical inference from Campos’ comment is that circumstances exist under which the door would have been locked and in order for a door to be locked the door has to be equipped with lock.

Just days after being cited for locking children in rooms, staff were able to exercise the option to lock children in rooms.

Why was Nicole locked in a room? She sat under a tree. Staff threatened to "go hands on" which is a threat to use a restraint if she did not comply. She said she would call the police if they did because they can't use restraints in that situation. She was right.

Restraints can only be used when the child presents an immediate danger. Sitting under a tree - that is not an immediate danger.

She was restrained because she refused to go with the staff. They grabbed her and dragged her to the locking room. They say they didn't have to lock her in because she didn't try to leave.

Convicted Pedophile Confesses to Police to Sexually Abusing More than Twenty Children at Valley of the Moon Children's Home. No Charges Brought.

A convicted pedophile confessed to molesting over twenty children at Valley of the Moon Children's Home while employed as a staff member, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department. Santa Rosa Police Sergeant Terry Anderson explained that the convicted child molester confessed to the abuses to detectives in the Santa Rosa Police Department in the year 2000. In the wake of the confession, no charges were brought and no victims were identified.

In an email to a mandated reporter about contemporary abuses in Valley of the Moon, Anderson outlined the confessions and the number of children abused.

“In 1997 the Petaluma Police investigated and arrested McCall for child molest which occurred in their city. During their investigation they learned McCall admitted to a third party he had molested children at the Valley of the Moon Dependent Unit. This information was provided to the dependent unit, and to a Santa Rosa Police detective. It appears the dependent unit stated there had been no disclosures made by any children, however due to the length of time that has gone by I am unable to determine what our detective did to investigate the incident.In 2000 during an initial sex offender registration, McCall told a different Santa Rosa Police detective that he had molested approximately 20 children while working at the Dependent Unit. The detective’s report included the following; 'McCall stated he did not expect any of those crimes to be reported as these victims were either asleep during the molests or were too young to know what was happening'. In 2010, our department received a suspected child abuse report from a therapist about McCall’s disclosure of molesting children at the dependent unit in 1996. A note on the SCAR [Suspected Child Abuse Report] from Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Snetsinger stated 'info already investigated in 8/2000 by Musgrove-victims not identified'.

Based on this information it appears the incident was investigated by our department on at least one occasion, and possibly initially in 1997. Because both of the two detectives (from 1997 and 2000) have long since retired, I have no way of knowing details about their investigation,” read the email from Anderson to the advocates.

The pedophile  was arrested for molesting a child outside of Valley of the Moon Children's Home.

Charges were never brought for the victims at Valley of the Moon Children's Home. Some of the children who were abused may still be still young enough that they can bring criminal charges. Anyone born in 1986 (age 28) or later who was abused can still bring charges.

It is unclear what happened with the 1996 disclosure of abuse.

Even after confessions of sexual abuse by a staff member, Valley of the Moon Children's Home failed to background check all of its employees. On April 3, 2013 Valley of the Moon Children's Home was cited by Community Care Licensing for failing to perform criminal background checks on all of its employees.

Foster Change Coalition is working with local non-profits to get help for the victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at Valley of the Moon Children's Home. Any person, adult or child, who needs help because of abuse they suffered at VOMCH can contact Foster Change Coalition. We can be reached at (707) 780-2363 or fosterchangecoalition@gmail.com.

Valley of the Moon Children's Home is an emergency shelter for children who have been so severely abused or neglected that they could not stay in their homes. Their license forbids them from taking children who are a danger to themselves or others. It is owned and run by Sonoma County Department of Human Services. It is fully staffed by Sonoma County Department of Human Services employees. Community Care Licensing, a state agency, is charged with overseeing its safety.

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Thank you reading our flyer and taking the time to check us out. We believe you. We lived the abuse too. You are not alone. We will keep your story confidential.  Your courage and effort will help stop the abuse.
 
Check out this blog or contact us today. 
 

Call or Text: (707) 780-2363

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Valley of the Moon Children's Home Abuse Machine

9 Year Olds Trying To Kill Themselves While Locked in Room at Valley of the Moon Children's Home

Close Valley of the Moon Children's Home and Stop the Abuse

How Abuse at Valley of the Moon Children's Home Happened

How Much Does VOMCH Cost: $26,000 Per Child Per Month

"Staff Always Hurt Us" - 11 Year Old Resident

I Want to Die - What Resident's Say

Tree of Outcomes at Valley of the Moon Children's Home

What do residents say? I would rather die than be at VOMCH.

The Great Almost Escapes - Doing Anything to Get Away From Valley of the Moon Children's Home

Children at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home go to great lengths to escape the facility and from being locked in rooms. The range of behaviors are indicative of the desperate situation in which they are living.

Children who try to leave the facility are generally restrained, dragged back into the facility and locked in a room or hallway by either mechanical lock or staff barricade.

Crawling Out of Windows: When staff stand in the way of a child trying to escape through a door, children will often try to squeeze out of the window.

After trying to escape, being put in the locked Separation Room cell by use of repeated physical force, and released, Maya was told she would be subjected to increased monitoring and isolation as punishment. Maya tried to escape again, this time through the window.[1]

Breaking Windows: Children use trashcans, toys, and various other items to try to break the window in order to pass through the hole and escape the facility.

Gwendoline was afraid of being alone with a male staff member. She asked that he open a curtain so they could be seen by other residents. He refused. She tried to escape but he stood in front of the door. She tried to push out a window but he told her to stop. She went into the room, grabbed a garbage can and tried to use it to break the window out so she could escape.[2]

Faking Suicide Attempts: Children have faked suicide attempts when locked in a room for an extended period of time. An attempted suicide forces staff to open the door and the child make good an attempt to escape.

Maya attempted to crawl out of a window, and was restrained and placed in the locked Separation Room cell. She began to bang her head against the window, and, realizing that this was not enough, she started to tie her shoelaces around her neck. Maya was taken to the hospital for observation.[3]

Faking Mental Illness: Children know that certain kinds of mental illness symptoms cause staff to call the police for a psychological evaluation. As such, children use the symptoms to compel the staff to call the police so they can escape the facility.

Ygritte tried to be alone. When staff would not let her, she ticked all the boxes to indicate that she was suffering from voices in her head and wanted to hurt people. She reported to both the Valley of the Moon Children's Home staff and a police officer that she was indeed hearing voices, so she was transported to the hospital for evaluation. After arriving at the hospital, she said that she made up hearing voices, was not interested in hurting people so that she could get away from Valley of the Moon Children's Home, and the staff there.[4]

Faking Injury: While locked in a room, children try to convince staff that they are injured to force staff to open the door so they can take advantage and run out.

Jamie was locked in the locked Separation Room cell for 25 minutes. During that time she picked at her scabs so that she could smear blood on the walls to seem more injured than she was. Staff did not come in to check on her.[5]

Serendipitous Advantage: Children use a change in circumstance which take them outside the locked areas in order to escape. The most common example of this is running away between Valley of the Moon Children’s Home School and Valley of the Moon Children’s Home’s living area.

Levi was told to leave the classroom because he was misbehaving. When he got outside, he took the opportunity to escape.[6]

Climbing Fences or Gate: The fence which runs around the facility is locked by a mechanical lock. Children try to climb it to escape. Even after they are pulled off over and over again, they continue to attempt to climb.

Tommy told staff that he was going to get out of the facility one way or another. He ran for the fence and tried to climb. He was restrained to prevent him from escaping.[7]

Use of Bluster: Children throw items, scream, yell, and generally raise a fuss to force staff to move or back away, gaining access to an exit.

Madison was attempting to leave the gated area, but staff members blocked her path. In an attempt to get by them, Madison pushed and blustered at them to get them to move out of her way. As soon as she tried to climb the fence, the staff grabbed her and after a physical confrontation, she was locked in the Separation Room cell until she gave up.[8]

Protective Aggression: Generally children only devolve into protective aggression when other forms of escape were exhausted.

Nicole walked out of the school and sat under a tree. Two male staff members told her to get up and go to the facility with them. She refused. They repeatedly threatened to physically restrain her and force her back to the facility. She told them that if they did, she would call the police. They grabbed her and put her in a transportation restraint in order to take her to the Quite Room/Separation Room – a room with a locked door. Nicole immediately attempted to defend herself from the attack by kicking the staff. She was dragged into the room and not permitted to leave.[9]

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[1] Maya is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 5322­6390

[2] Gwendoline is the name we gave this child. Incident report 5787-6935

[3] Maya is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 5322­6390

[4] Ygritte is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 7065­8365

[5] Jamie is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 5833-7013

[6] Levi is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 5730-6875

[7] Tommy is the name we assigned this child. Incident report 6732-7989

[8] Madison is the name we gave this child. Incident report 5667­6814

[9] Nicole is the name we gave this child. Incident report 5804-6953

Running Away: Stacy and Adrian Could Not Leave

In seventy-seven of the incident reports for restraints we reviewed at Valley of the Moon Children's Home, children were restrained to prevent them from existing the building or facility or from running away.[1]

One of the most common reasons why children runaway from home is sexual abuse, or other abuses in their home. Running away is an indicator of sexual abuse.

34% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported sexual abuse before leaving home and 43% of runaway youth (girls and boys) reported physical abuse before leaving home. 80% of runaway and homeless girls reported having ever been sexually or physically abused. [2]

Adrian, after being told to sit for dinner, decided to leave the facility, and exercising his right not to be locked in the facility. He ran outside, climbed the locked fence, and started running toward the highway. He was grabbed by a male staff member, and then dragged back to the facility by three staff members.[3]

Stacy made an attempt to climb the fence to run away. While attempting to climb the fence, she was restrained and taken to the Separation Room, a room with a lock.[4]

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[1] 77 does not include the missing 2011 documents. We estimate the number is closer to approximately 85 running away incidents.

[2] Molnar, B., Shade, S., Kral, A., Booth, R., & Watters, J. (1998). Suicidal Behavior and Sexual / Physical Abuse Among Street Youth. Child Abuse & Neglect. Vol. 22, NO. 3, pp. 213-222 via http://www.1800runaway.org/learn/research/third_party/

[3] Adrian is the name we assigned to this child. Incident Report 5619­6769

[4] Stacy is the name we gave this child. Incident Report 5774­6921

Phoenix and Fear of Being Alone in Bedroom with Staff

One of the most potentially sexually exploitative areas in a home is the bedroom. As such, we should expect to see children who are experiencing imminent fear of being sexually abused, react strongly to being alone in bedrooms with staff.

As a matter of policy, staff commonly drag children to their bedrooms as punishment and a method of control. Children at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home were locked in their bedroom by use of force, threat of force, barrier or other threat of harm 95 times. In 68 of the incident reports, children tried to escape their bedroom while trapped inside. Grace, a small girl tried to escape over twenty times but was not allowed to leave.[1]

When staff use force to drag a child into a bedroom and to keep the children in their bedroom, they are putting children at high risk of sexual exploitation and children react as they would if they expected immediate sexual aggression. Children use physical violence once they are trapped in the room to make themselves an unattractive target for abuse, or to prevent staff from entering, or to get staff out of the room. This act of protective aggression is usually what staff use to justify another series of restraints against the child.

Phoenix was told by a female staff member to take a time out in his bedroom. As soon as he got to his room, he began to throw things around his room; blustering to make himself an unattractive target. He ran out of his room and left the building. He made repeated attempts to climb the locked fence but staff pulled him down. He was put in a more restrictive restraint until he submitted to staff’s demands. [2]

Children of all ages and sexes have had exaggerated reactions to being alone with staff. Protective aggression across gender through five years indicates a widespread fear, not an issue with a particular child.  It is a pervasive, long-lasting fear created by the situation children face at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home.

It is possible that this reaction is not because staff are exploiting a child’s abuse history, but that it is a response to ongoing sexual abuse in the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home. A child would not have to act out with protective aggression against only the staff member who is sexually abusing her in order for her protective aggression to be a warning sign of sexual abuse. A child would only have to have knowledge that a staff member is willing to use sexual abuse in order to be afraid of any other staff member. 

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[1] Grace is the name we gave this child. Incident Report 5622-6772

[2] Phoenix is the name we gave this child. Incident Report 5045-6076

Gwendoline and Fear of Being Alone with Staff

When a child demonstrates an unexplainable fear of being alone with a person, it can be a warning sign of sexual abuse. This fear can be of a specific person, or an entire group of similar people[1]; like all staff.

One hundred-seventy-nine times, isolation with staff caused sudden, acute changes in children’s behavior or increased distress which often devolved into the use of restraints by staff.[2] Children often tried to talk, yell, bluster, or runaway, before they used protective aggression.

Gwendoline[3] was alone with a male staff member. She asked to open a curtain into another room where other children were present. The male staff member refused. Gwendoline began to bluster and threaten to runaway. She became increasingly more distressed. She put on her shoes and tried to escape through a broken window. When that failed, she went into the living room, grabbed a garbage can and tried to throw it through the window. The male staff member put Gwendoline in a restraint and dragged her to her bedroom. A supervisor arrived to the bedroom. Gwendoline told the supervisor that she was afraid of male staff member.

Gwendoline sought a non-violent way to escape being alone with the male staff member by opening the curtain. She took action to run away. She was not misbehaving, she was expressing terror at being alone with a staff member.

This is not to say this staff member sexually abused Gwendoline but Gwendoline is experiencing fear of being alone with staff and that is a warning sign of sexual abuse.

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[1] Committee for Children http://bit.ly/1mwRRwd

[2] 179 does not include the missing 2011 documents. We estimate the number of isolation related incidents is approximately 195.

[3] Gwendoline is the name we gave this child. Incident Report 5787-6935

Luke and Fear of the Shower

Children who are being sexually abused often actively resist taking off their clothes, even for appropriate activities like bathing. They demonstrate avoidance behaviors, including misbehaving and attempting to redirect. Such behaviors are detectable warning signs of sexual abuse.

A demand by staff that a child take a shower was a common precipitators of restraints at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home. Twenty-nine times, physical restraints followed after a child being told to take a shower or bath because a child had an extreme reaction to the order to shower.[1]

After being asked to take a shower, the children quickly devolved. In some cases, they would run around the facility, try to run away, throw things at staff, and erect barricades made of toys or other materials. When the passive actions did not work, the child resorted to violence to prevent taking a shower.

Luke, a seven year old boy, was told by a female supervisor to take a shower. [2] Luke walked away and tried to avoid taking a bath. He tried to convince staff to let him play foosball. When he was told no, he said “I’m not going to take a fucking bath.” He escalated. He ran outside and tried to escape the facility but children are locked in using a locked gate. He tried climbing the locked gate. Eventually Luke re-entered the facility and jumped up on a counter. Staff pulled him down, accidently dropping him on his face on the counter, injuring him. He had to go to the hospital.

It seems Luke was just one of many children who were so terrified of taking a shower or bath, they took vehement measures to escape it.

 

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[1] 29 does not include the missing 2011 documents. We estimate the number of shower or related restraints is approximately 33.

[2] Luke is the name we gave this child. Incident Report 5928-7089

Alicia and her Sexual Abuse Red Flags

Children at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home have expressed warning signs of sexual abuse for years; warning signs which went unrecognized by Valley of the Moon Children’s Home and Community Care Licensing staff.

Children from abusive homes are targeted for abuse because it is easy to dismiss warning signs of sexual abuse as signs of previous abuse. Children who have been abused are often seen as less credible if they report abuse because of their previous abuse history. Predators exploit this masking and marginalization of victims to victimize them more.

Valley of the Moon Children’s Home’s history of explicit sexual abuse and undetected sexual abuse make it negligent to dismiss the sexual abuse red flags of children in the home.

Common signs of sexual abuse include inappropriate sexualized dress, inappropriate sexual behavior, incontinence, bed wetting, extreme reactions to being alone in a sexually compromising position, and running away.

Three-hundred-seventy-five sexual abuse warning signs were identified in the physical restraint reports. Warning signs included refusing to take a shower, extreme behavior when alone with staff, attempts to escape being alone with staff, running away, and children expressing that they are afraid of staff as warning signs of sexual abuse.[1]

Alicia: Alicia, a small child, wet her bed.[2] She moved furniture in front of the hallway door to prevent staff from entering her room. She was naked from the waist down and was being supervised by a male supervisor. When female staff member arrived, Alicia was rubbing the genital area on a doll and dancing naked on a counter. The female staff member instructed Alicia to take a bath and she complied, but during the bath Alicia continued to show signs of distress, using self-soothing techniques like talking to herself.

After the bath, the female staff member told Alicia to go get dressed. She refused to leave the great room and go to her bedroom alone with staff. She ran about the facility, talking to herself, and laughing indiscriminately. When she ran into another child's bedroom the female staff member followed.

Alicia became extremely agitated and used protective aggression to escape being alone. She kicked and hit at staff to get her to back out of the doorway. Another female staff member arrived to assist. Instead of leaving Alicia alone, she was put in a team restraint for 10 minutes. When she was released, she lashed out at the staff who restrained her by throwing books. The male supervisor authorized locking Alicia in the Separation Room. Alicia was restrained again, this time an escort restraint, and put in the Separation Room. The lock was engaged. She remained there for an extended period of time.

Alicia exhibited at least seven warning signs of ongoing sexual abuse. Her story not unique and it is irresponsible to ignore the warning signs. 

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[1] At the time of this report, the restraint incident reports from August 27, 2011 – December 2011 are missing. Foster Change Coalition spent over a year attempting to gather all the reports but Community Care Licensing has yet to provide them. 376 does not include estimates from the missing 2011 documents. With the August 27 – December 31, 2011 the total sexual abuse red flags is estimated at 410.

[2] Alicia is the name we gave this child. Incident Report number 5837-6984

Direct Accusation Against Supervisor

A male supervisor was directly accused of rape in the incident report for Stella.[1]

Stella tried to escape and was restrained. She was locked in the Separation Room with the male supervisor. She said directly, the supervisor "is a rapist.” She tried to kill herself.

This was written into the restraint incident report which was eventually submitted to Community Care Licensing. No staff at Valley of the Moon Children’s Home, nor at Community Care Licensing filed a report or contacted the police after this direct accusation. It went uninvestigated. One of our advocates contacted the District Attorney’s office about this incident by phone, and post and never heard back.

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[1] Incident report is for Stella 5330-6399 and incident report  5318-6386 is the same child, same day, events leading up to this incident.