Woodward Academy — Local services in Woodward

My daughter was here for only a few months in that time they (staff) were giving my child meds to help her sleep ( she was only approved to take melatonin a non addicting sleep aid and tylenol as needed) without notifying her parent or obtaining consent it was ordered as an "as needed med" even though the med given is used for allergies (benadryl also can be addicting ) and she has none known allergies... had an allergic reaction to this med and this is how we found out this was happening ...there was an investigation about a male staff looking in on her in the shower an allegation they failed to report to me after I made a huge deal about giving my child meds to put her to sleep and she didn't need nor was it approved for anything ...their head personnel told me there was no allegation I reminded him that you needed an allegation in order to conduct an investigation my child repeatedly asked for grievance forms (please tell your children to fill these out it will show what is happening there while your child is in their hands ) she was denied them until I complained for 2nd month n a row staff were not giving them to her when she asked for them ...if your child is there be diligent stay in contact ...my child told me stories of kids who did not have parents on top of things as i was and they are horrible my childs case manager words literally when they decided she could do services outside of the academy now that I was bringing to light the misuse of meds and investigation cover up was " since your not happy with the care she receives here we are discussing discharge back to you " mind you she was court ordered there I did not just take her there ....so my child was released back to me with service in the community to get starter after I told her case manager I'm not happy so you push her out without services she was to complete here ? How about you correct your quality of care for these children ...she then lined up as many as she could to get my child released before we had even started family therapy i was told it was a mandatory aspect for her to leave when we first started instead we were rushed through her discharge papers packet to get her out by the weekend ( I feel this set her up for failure ) now when asked for the investigation or med misuse investigation I have yet to see the outcome one staff was disciplined for med misuse I let them know it was not only her it was a system fail seeing a nurse or doctor had to sign off on a med that my child does not rag get if your a staff her you'll be thrown under the...

About a year ago, I successfully discharged from Woodward Academy. Today, I was trying to find the phone number so I could get in touch with some of my old staff. They are some of my biggest supporters and they are always ready to help when I need it. When checked online, I noticed a lot of negative reviews coming from parents and other parents commenting on not wanting to send their kids there as a result of reading some of these reviews. These parents who are being dissuaded from getting their children help for their behavior need to keep in mind that the parents didn't stay at this facility. Of course, there are one or two stories that have some basis in the truth, but the majority of them come from kids who went to the Academy and just didn't like being told what to do. Many of the kids in placements such as Woodward have a lot of problems dealing with authority (which is one of the reasons a lot of them end up there in the first place). These reviews from their parents are simply a reflection of the stories that their kids have told them. The stories themselves are often exaggerated and twisted in a way that makes the facility and the staff that work there seem awful. I can tell you with absolute certainty that most of these stories are not true. The staff at Woodward do not go out of their way to mistreat kids or put them in restraints for no reason. In fact, the staff use restraints as a last resort. I saw a review by Ben Cornick that said a relative of his was put into an unlawful restraint simply because he was asking too many questions. I will say that the restraints used are legal and every single staff member has to complete weeks of training on how to properly and safely restrain an aggressive youth. In the case of Ben's relative, there are obviously large pieces missing from the story. I would not be the man I am today (I am still in high school, but that's not the point), if it wasn't for the staff...

I was in this program as a teenager, and it was a aweful experience The staff were power-hungry, cruel, borderline abusive and would almost push you to mess up or do something dumb so they could punish you. One time, they forced our entire dorm to do push-ups and nonstop cardio until people were crying or puking—it went on for hours. The living conditions were awful too; roaches the size of a pinky finger were everywhere. I personally witnessed a staff member inappropriately flirting with a dorm mate, and when another kid reported it, she flipped the story and made herself out to be the victim—I saw it all firsthand.

The food was disgusting, and we had just 15 minutes to eat every meal. Showers were limited to three minutes a day. I tried out for multiple sports programs, but never made it into any of them—not because I wasn’t interested or willing, but because I wasn’t good enough by their standards. For a place that claims sports are important for development, it was incredibly discouraging and counterproductive.

This was by far the most toxic program I’ve ever been part of—and I spent a good chunk of my childhood in places like this. To top it off, when I checked in, I had money with me. When I left, they handed me an envelope that had my amount written on it—but it was empty. Someone stole it, and no one did anything about it. This program could actually help kids if they hired competent, compassionate...