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Industry professional describes Greco's murderers as "warehoused"
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by Rhonda J Mangus | June 13, 2009 at 06:53 am
865 views | 34 Recommendations | 17 comments
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Industry professional describes Greco's murderers as "warehoused"
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An Industry School professional has described Renee Greco's murderers as "warehoused".
Greco, a 24 year old Buffalo native, was beaten to death while she sat at a table playing cards in a Lockport, NY group home for troubled youth where she was employed as a youth counselor. Group residents Anthony Allen and Robert Thousand have been charged with Monday's murder of Ms. Greco.
Anthony Allen was recently released from the state school at Industry. That's where he met alleged accomplice, Robert Thousand, who’d been in the sex offender program. He was being treated in the mental health ward.
A professional at Industry who had worked with both teens, said, “They were just warehoused here and released when their time was up…the kids don't have to make progress and they know it."
The New York Office of Children and Family Services would not comment about either suspect. They cited privacy concerns.
Yet counselors at Industry questioned whether either had met the proper goals to be released from the secured facility into a step down program…especially a program not geared toward potentially violent offenders.
"These are dangerous kids that need to stay in secure programs and not be put into group homes because it's cheaper," said the man familiar with both teens.
The Office of Children and Family Services denied there has been any change in policy for state run facilities, but confirmed that halfway houses save counties and taxpayers considerable money--about $15,000 per bed, per year--versus $200,000 at Industry.
Some argue that the trade off comes at the expense of safety and security.
Recently Renee Greco told friends she was so concerned about working alone at night that she was on the verge of quitting.
One employee at Industry backed out of an interview with 13 WHAM News saying the state threatened disciplinary action for anyone who spoke out.
A state spokesman said some employees are disgruntled because facilities are being downsized or closed.
Olean state senator Catharine Young is still calling for an investigation and will seek the removal or forced resignation of New York State OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion if there are indications that Allen and Thousand should not have been placed in a group setting.
On Monday, State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin (R-Clarence) and State Senator George Maziarz (R-Newfane) have a meeting scheduled with OCFS Deputy Commissioner Bill Getman in Albany to review OCFS/New Directions staffing and youth placement requirements. "Their questions for the deputy commissioner are virtually identical."
Child Protective Services is also in Lockport conducting its own investigation.
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Rhonda J Mangus
North Tonawanda, New York, United States
Recommendations (34)
Suranee
Ratnapura, Sri Lanka
Paschen
Narita, Chiba, Japan
Roy C
Vancouver, Washington, United States
Amy Judd
Vancouver, Canada
QueensHart
boston, USA., United States
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harringtola
Town-send, Massachusetts, United States
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (17)
at 07:16 on June 13th, 2009
at 07:24 on June 13th, 2009
Thank you for reading and for the recommendation, Amy! I think your comment was 'lost' however:).
at 07:30 on June 13th, 2009
Terrible story of modern bureaucracy and its narcissistic elite causing tragedy.
at 07:34 on June 13th, 2009
Roy C, "Terrible story of modern bureaucracy and its narcissistic elite causing tragedy." In more ways than just this one, unfortunately!
Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation.
at 07:58 on June 13th, 2009
.
at 08:11 on June 13th, 2009
Hi, Paschen! Another 'lost' comment:). Nevertheless, thank you for reading and recommending this story!
at 09:00 on June 13th, 2009
another example of our broken peanal system.:(
at 17:19 on June 14th, 2009
And then some, Spydermonkey (as Roy mentions above). Thanks for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation!
at 10:32 on June 14th, 2009
Seems like both of these guys were way to violent and unpredictable to have been in this type of group home situation. Seems like psychological evaluations were either not done or ignored.
at 18:30 on June 15th, 2009
Actually, I'm not sure of the accuracy of the individual who worked with these two boys at Industry, because I worked with one of those boys for a bit over a year up to June of last year. He was not in placement for violent offenses and did, in fact make significant progress at our placement (after completing his "warehousing" phase at industry, if thats what they like to call it) before he left to step down last June. This incident is, in fact, tragic beyond rationalization but making it seem like these boys have been aweful their whole lives and were destined for nothing but evil isn't honest or accurate and it doesn't help us heal after this incident. Obviously thing's didn't go the way they should have, but please don't second guess people who are working so hard to make changes in these boys lives. The system isn't perfect and no system ever will be but there are a lot of amazing people doing a lot of amazing things in the lives of these troubled youths. And many of these youth make significant and lasting change because of it. If you want to get involved, every one of these agencies could use more help from caring people to provide more positive role models in their lives.
at 05:47 on June 17th, 2009
Lucas, thank you for reading and commenting. I don't agree however that anyone is second-guessing here. There clearly have been numerous problems, in what has been referred to as "an intensively secretive culture" within NYS OCFS.
Additionally, it is also my opinion that the system isn't perfect, not because it can't be, but because "cultures" such as those that exist in NYS OCFS have been permitted to continue with no accountability.
at 10:59 on August 13th, 2009
Ms. Mangus, you are absolutely correct in your analysis of the culture and mentality of the ocfs shot-callers. Anyone who works for ocfs and who is bold enough to speak out, is subject to disciplinary action/termination. Commissioner Carrion and her "cronies," don't want the general public to "really know" what's going on in the various state-run facilities, as it would make transparent, all her flawed and skewed policies. She needs to be criminally liable for her incompetence!
at 17:18 on June 14th, 2009
harringtola, good to 'see' you around. It appears so. 'We' will have to wait for the investigation results. Thanks for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation!
at 20:02 on June 14th, 2009
One of the reasons such a high burnout for counselors and psychologists. Being around
deeply wounded and full of rage can "suck" your energy away.
They are lost boys. We walk past them everywhere.
Thanks Rhonda for showing this news.
at 05:48 on June 17th, 2009
You are very welcome, QueensHart! Thank you for reading, commenting, and for the recommendation!
at 08:31 on June 15th, 2009
Depending on the fly-on-the-wall account of what consequentially transpired at that card table- there are a myriad of "truths" that can be stated about this tragedy.
One thing that social workers (degree and non-degree) administer early on is the ability to perform veritable mental martial arts on a "client".
They are to verbally/semantically "hold you down" while venturing down a psychologically "new " rapport with the client. A health-ier path-ology.
The victim may have been using the unassuming past-time of a card game to revisit a clinical "venture" only in the wrong setting. It clearly wasn't safe.
The victim may have not gone down the path I described.. I wasn't there.
However everything taking place in a group home is clinically "happening" or progressing.
If it is a healthy group home.
There are plenty of group homes that are not healthy group homes.
On a parting note, think of all the funding that was rolled-back from traditional but evolving (with population growth) outreach and divirted to "faith-based" programs that were not held accountable for having degrees. -Only that they "held the faith".
All the young boys of 2002s nationwide outcry against priests "held the faith" too.
*This isn't a bash against any one faith as it is the electoral process for presidents matched with skyrocketing population growth. As human beings, we still see a leader as a "king" or "queen" in the sense that they should take care of what ails us. They don't. They can't. They won't.
at 23:31 on June 16th, 2009
This is really a bad news.Well we are waiting for the investigation results.this is really a nice post showing how someone can brutally murder..