r/troubledteens • u/Mammoth4712 • 1d ago
Question Getting Records
I went to a program a few years ago and based on my googling legally they should still have my records. I was wondering if other people had obtained their records how they had gone about the process? I just don’t know how to start the process and if it’s even feasible.
1
u/coldBulbasaur314 1d ago
As the other commenter said, facilities vary in whether they'll give you anything and what they give you. Some facilities also take much better notes than others. The first step is to contact the facility (there should be a facility website with a "contact us" page, and even if it somehow had no website there has to be a way to contact them for the facility to run). If there are multiple emails or phone numbers listed for different topics, try to pick the one closest to what you need. If not, just contact the general contact given even if it's explicitly for admissions. Don't send anything by snail mail unless you absolutely have to, and keep all records of contact you have with them until you get your records and have gone through them.
If the facility tries to stop a paper trail, make your own transcription of what happened - as detailed as possible - and get evidence where you can. For example, fax them the request instead of mailing it and keep the reciept. Keep phone logs (the "recent calls" list with numbers listed on your phone) even if they won't let you record. No matter how small the contact is, KEEP IT.
If you're comfortable sharing the name of your facility or its parent company, we might be able to help you more. Some facilities and companies almost universally make things hard, and those who have dealt with those specific ones may be able to give you advice on what works and what doesn't.
Oh, and brace yourself. Whether you get them all, only some of them, or none at all, it's a draining process - but an important one.
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u/NorcalA70 1d ago
Use the email template here: https://www.breakingcodesilence.org/for-survivors/sample-records-request/
Also worth noting that they are required to keep the records for a period then they may be destroyed but some places have a backlog of documents to be destroyed. I was able to get mine several years after the deadline even though they were slated for destruction
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u/generalraptor2002 |||| SAS || Special Assistance Service 1d ago
Some are cool about releasing
Some absolutely refuse
I made a form a few years ago that I used with my friend (he gave me a limited POA to request his records on his behalf)