State investigators were not fair and impartial in their reports against the controversial KIDS of El Paso County rehabilitation program, KIDS officials say. In their rebuttal to a recent report by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, KIDS officials allege that the agency's investigators intimidated clients when they interviewed them and were not interested in hearing good things about the program. KIDS has been under investigation by the commission since last summer, when an 18-year old man made allegations that he had been held in the program against his will. After a 50-page report issued May 3 - based on a March 22 follow-up visit to the center at 6500 Boeing - commission Executive Director *** recommended that KIDS' license be revoked but said he would accept a rebuttal from KIDS before making a final decision. The follow-up report pointed out client abuse and neglect similar to that cited in an initial report in February. The KIDS rebuttal addressed each violation, sometimes outright denying the charge, other times citing policy changes that correct it and in some cases explaining reasons for the violations. The rebuttal states that the commission's investigator "did not get the full picture" about the KIDS program. “Instead, the client interviews were conducted by staff investigators with the preconceived notion of finding evidence to bolster the staff's earlier report and findings," the rebuttal says. It goes on to say that KIDS officials made incident reports following the investigator's visit. Those reports indicate that KIDS clients felt intimidated by the investigator. "The general perception of those clients interviewed by (the commission) was that the investigators were looking on for negatives about the program and that the questions were slanted to generate only negative comments. “A typical comment was statement by ‘***' that the interviewer has a poor opinion about KIDS and was just looking for facts to back that up.' With regard to allegations physical abuse, the rebuttal says that KIDS officials are unaware of any incidents where staff members "participated in supervised or otherwise condoned the use of physical restraints for such things as not participating in group, not sitting up straight or talking without permission.” It also says that KIDS clients cannot "be isolated, left alone or locked into any room at any time.” The privacy issue also was raised in the commission report. The KIDS rebuttal says that clients are watched closely even when they go to the bathroom during the first phase of the program - as a preventive measure. "Many program participants are suicidal and others will use any privacy to further their habitual drug use," the rebuttal says. "Other clients are bulimic and use bathroom privacy to purge themselves. Therefore, the client's safety and maintaining a drug-free environment must be weighed against the privilege of going to the bathroom alone." KIDS treats people between 13 and 21 years old who have eating disorders, problems with alcohol or drugs, or other behavioral problems.
