the sordid relationship between judges and private youth care facilities

Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash.

The above article is interesting because I have heard similar allegations regarding the state of Texas, Mississippi, Florida, and the homes founded by the late Lester Roloff.

Judges have sent youth to Roloff homes because they were private, bible based, etc. However, I have heard accusations that Texas judges might also have accepted kickbacks for sending kids to private Christian girls and boy's homes. Remember, some of these homes have charged anywhere between $1300 and $1800 per child. The outsourcing to 'private industry' means tax payer's dollars are at stake. Haven't read one single article or heard of a case that made the light of day about this until now.

The facilities mentioned in the above article aren't 'Christian homes', per se, but the concept is still there. In one case, a girl wrote a myspace page criticizing her principal, and the judge sent her to a private facility for THREE MONTHS!

Get that? Three months for having an opinion that she shared on the web?

There are girls, and boys, who have been abused, beaten, and persecuted in Christian homes for offenses no harsher than having the wrong record album or CD in their possession. They cry, "We didn't do anything---honest!"

Okay, adults out there? How many times have you heard that plea regarding other things and rolled your eyes?

In the eyes of the average fundamentalist moral authority, most teens are guilty until proven innocent.

And you wonder why youth is in silent rebellion? You wonder why they're rejecting you? You wonder why Wiccan and Atheism are suddenly becoming en vogue?

Consider the sordid relationship between judges and private youth facilities.