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The Transport
/ Escort Question?
By Danny H. Behymer
Director of Operations,
USA Guides
USAguides@charter.net
The
parents have done their research; they have worked closely with the
counselors, pondered over their children and their welfare, and hoped
that they have made the right decision to seek professional help for
their child. The parents are relying on the counselor and school to
give them the guidance they need. They may also be relying on the
recommendation of an educational consultant, who has the training,
has visited schools, and has conducted the interviews and tours. As
a result of the parents’ research, sometimes they decide to use a
professional transport company to help their resistant child safely
arrive at the next school or program.
Has the same research been conducted on the transport company as
has been done on the School?
There are well over twenty transport companies all across the country
from which to choose. Some are run from home offices as a family business
and others from commercial offices as corporations. Both can be good
choices.
What is important is their experience and professionalism, and there
are some the main points to consider when determining what is a reputable
and professional transport / escort company. It is easy to sometimes
overlook simple details that are often taken for granted. For example:
what business background do the principals of the company have; do
they have any prior experience; and, what is their training and their
ability to train others?
Then, there is the staffing: are the people who actually conduct the
transport trained, and in a comprehensive ongoing training program?
Training at a minimum should consist of a combination of both classroom
training, and on the job training with an experienced individual who
has completed at least twenty transports and is at least 25 years old.
While there is no industry standard or legal requirement, common sense
and experience has shown this to be effective and historically has
proven to be successful. Each company may have their own effective
approach; the real question is what experience does the company have,
and what training do they provide their staff?
There are several training programs available to transport companies
that have highly successful results such as the “Mandt” system, the
Crisis Prevention Institute system, and the P.A.R.T. method, all based
upon solid education and continual training programs that are easily
accessible to any transport company. It is important to choose a company
that utilizes some well-known, established training method.
We live in a highly litigious society, yet the need for liability insurance
is commonly overlooked. We all know that regardless of whether a lawsuit
is based on fact and has validity, or is completely frivolous, all
who can be named will be named; it is a common practice of the legal
community to find all the pockets they can. The following considerations
are dependent upon the individual states’ insurance regulations and
the individual insurance companies.
According to my survey of five large national insurance companies and
three law firms in different states, they all agreed that: if the general
or professional liability insurance is not specifically written for,
with a binder stating, that the policy covers the transport/escort
of individuals (teens /adolescents), then they are not properly covered.
Without the specific language and binder, in essence transport professionals
have no real protection against liability claims that may be uniquely
associated with the transport, such as alleged injury, neglect, or
physical and/or sexual abuse. The insurance that many transport companies
have is in reality designed for more of a retail type establishment
where someone trips and falls, and not that of a transport company
moving a teen across country.
Also, it is important that the individuals who are actually conducting
the transport are employees and not independent contractors. Independent
contractors are required to provide their own insurance and are more
than likely are not covered by the employing company’s insurance! Make
sure that whatever company is used has a staff who preferably are employees,
not independent contractors, and have the correct liability insurance.
The reason that the majority of transport companies do not have the
correct insurance is two fold. The first reason is cost; having the
binder added to specifically cover the transport of a teen or adolescent
will increase their premiums two to three times that of plain vanilla
liability insurance. Secondly, such exclusive coverage is very difficult
to obtain and will require the transport company to undergo a rather
exhaustive background investigation by the insurance company. If the
company is not at 100% competency and possess a comprehensive training
and business plan, they will not receive the coverage. This alone
is probably the best major indicator of the professionalism of a transport/escort
company.
If you are a consultant who uses a company on a regular basis, then
ask them about listing you as a co-insured on their insurance; you
can never have enough protection. If the company is run professionally,
then they should have no problem with this request.
When conducting research for this article for instance, one escort
company thought to be reputable and well established was found to be
operating without a business license for the past five years! Because
they had existed for over ten years, no one thought to check on them
to see if they had a valid business license, or liability insurance.
The frightening thing is they are still operating with a staff of over
15 independent contractors, none of whom have individual liability
insurance. They are a law suit in the making just waiting for the
right catalyst. If nothing else, the existence of situations
like this will hopefully bring about some regulation to the transport/escort
industry.
There is no real current regulation in the transport industry other
than the state of California, which has the Trust Line Registry. Here
is an excerpt from the law in California:
California Health & Safety code section 1596.653 which outlines
criminal liability for non compliance.
“All employment agencies (nanny and baby-sitter placement agencies)
are required by law to register their caregivers with TrustLine upon
placement. Transport Escort Services also are required by law to
register the individual(s) transporting or accompanying the minor with
TrustLine. Transport Escort Services transport minors across state
lines to residential facilities with permission from the minor's parents
or legal guardian.”
Basically the law outlines the requirement that the individual, not
the company, is to complete the registration process. It is very important
that the company has complied with this process each time they go into
the state of California. If they have not registered, they are violating
the law! This is a direct reflection on the consultant, in the eyes
of the parents, should a problem arise.
Other points to consider in choosing your transport company;
- Do
they have a well written “permission form” for the parents or guardians
to sign?
- Are
they willing to disclose their pricing structure and give the
parents a written cost estimate prior to any transports taking
place?
- Do
they always work in teams of two and have a female present whenever
transporting a female teen?
- Are
the managers of the company willing to come and meet with
you at any time so that you can have the opportunity to develop a
one on one relationship with them?
- Are
they easy to contact by a national toll free phone line and
email, what is their response time to calls and emails, (a good
indicator on how responsive they are to parents.)
- Do
they have a well designed and informative website?
- Can
they respond the same day to urgent requests?
- Do
they have employees in multiple states, and do they have
multilingual capability?
- Ask
to see their reports regarding the transport, and internal
record keeping capabilities; can they produce professional reports
and statistical data?
- Do
they have any special software program or use technology to
enhance their abilities?
- Does
the staff have any special training such as first aid or CPR?
Asking
a few questions about experience, training, business practices, employees,
and insurance will only take a short time and it will give you an
excellent indication if you have chosen professionals to represent
you.
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