State Of New Jersey To Invesitagte Rainbow Of Hope

We have been informed that the State of New Jersey's Department of Institutional Abuse has taken interest in reviewing our blog. We have also been in direct contact with the Department of Institutional Abuse to answer questions and inform them of the deplorable actions of staff and management at Rainbow Of Hope.

There are currently 9 individuals actively pursuing action against Rainbow Of Hope. Each of us have individually attempted to make Rainbow Of Hope management aware of the conditions that need corrective measures at the facility. Each of us have logged numerous complaints with management and have attempted to properly pursue corrective measures internally within the Rainbow Of Hope facility. However, managers Kevin Cook, Sam Totora and Lisa Polite have continually refused to acknowledge our complaints as legitimate concerns. Since we have received no response or action from Rainbow Of Hope management, we are now pursuing corrective measures with governing agencies. We are also attempting to gain an order to make Rainbow Of Hope's Unusual Incident Reports a matter of public record for review. We also plan to schedule a meeting with Cape Counseling Services CEOs and directors.

We have recently been informed that other agencies that have direct dealings with Rainbow Of Hope have also experienced lack of action when seeking corrective measures with the facility. Contacts at DHS confirm this.

Rainbow Of Hope lacks competent management. This manifests in an unsafe and unmonitored environment for the children. Management has been informed numerous times about the lack of supervision of its staff. This matter has now become a public concern with outside sources in shopping malls paying witness to this act. If it's happening outside the residential facility during community outings, it must certainly be acknowledged that it's happening within the facility itself. This is evident with the complaints of one child choking another, runaways, incidents of self harm, children being provided with an opportunity to barricade themselves in their bedrooms, locking themselves in the bathrooms, removing screens on windows and fleeing while the window alarm system was not armed, children climbing on the roof of the facility and children leaving property and standing in the middle of traffic.

Management and staff lacks proper training in the handling of medical emergencies. They are incapable of providing appropriate treatment. This is even more disturbing in light of Kevin Cook's policy of approving and authorizing calls made to 911. The following example is hereby cited:

A parent notified the former Rainbow Of Hope nurse that she received a call from her child-resident. During this phone call the child-resident admitted to the parent that the child felt unsafe and had suicidal ideations. The concerned parent telephoned the Rainbow Of Hope nurse and reported this. The Nurse, who was currently at the hospital providing appropriate care for a different child-resident, called the group home facility with instructions for staff to call 911 for the suicide threat. As the Nurse also held the role of Senior Medical Officer, staff did as she instructed and the child-resident was taken to the hospital for screening. No suicide attempt was made thanks to this appropriate intervention.

However, Kevin Cook admonished and chastized the Nurse for not informing him personally prior to making the call to 911. When a threat of suicide is made, time is of the essence. Moments lost telephoning management for "permission to call 911" is not only ridiculous and absurd, but could waste precious moments that could result in fatal injury.

How can the children be safe and properly cared for when they are overseen by facility managers who attempt to enforce policies that in fact jeopardize the security and personal well being of the child-residents? If your child threatened suicide, would you want a competent person to immediately call 911 and intervene with timely and appropriate action? Or would you like to learn that your suicidal child was made to wait while telephone calls were placed to managers at home for their approval to call 911? And, how can a manager who is not on site to assess the situation properly make a decision for what is needed at that moment? Folks, this is what we are dealing with at Rainbow Of Hope. This is not safe for the children.