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2005 News Stories
Just from reading the excerpts from these
stories you will see why regulation and reform are essential.
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Missoula Independent
September 22, 2005
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Spring Creek Lodge
Montana
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Escape in
Sanders County
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Link to
Story |
Missoula Independent --
excerpt: On the evening of
Friday, Sept. 9, a 16-year-old boy was found approximately 30 feet below the
lip of a cliff above the Clark Fork River west of Thompson Falls. The boy
was a student at Spring Creek Lodge Academy, a specialty boarding school in
Sanders County and member of the World Wide Association of Specialty Schools
and Programs (WWASPS). Two sources close to Spring Creek told the
Independent that Adrian Sanders was being transported from Spring Creek to
an associated facility in Jamaica when he escaped his teen transport
service, Second Chance Transport of Thompson Falls. He was later found by
search and rescue personnel below the cliffs behind the Rimrock Lodge motel,
one mile west of Thompson Falls on State Hwy 200. He was transported to
Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains. The level of secrecy surrounding even
minor details related to the incident is startling. Officials at the Clark
Fork Valley Hospital refuse to confirm whether the boy was ever a patient. A
Thompson Falls Volunteer Ambulance official refuses to comment on whether or
not the ambulance company even responded to the incident. The local sheriff
says there was no investigation into or documentation of the incident other
than an EMS/Fire initial dispatch report, which includes 18 lines of
frustratingly vague narrative of the response to the incident. The private
company responsible for transporting Adrian Sanders refused to comment other
than to say that their charge suffered a “minor concussion” and that
everything “turned out fine.” Neither Spring Creek Lodge’s director nor the
school’s principal returned phone calls regarding the incident. Tom
Eggensperger, president of the Thompson Falls Volunteer Ambulance (and
editor and publisher of the local newspaper, the Sanders County Ledger) also
refused to provide any information on the call. Eggensperger additionally
refused to confirm that the ambulance service responded to a call at the
Rimrock Lodge. |
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Missoula Independent
September 8, 2005
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Montana
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Keeping an eye on the kids
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Link to
Story |
Missoula Independent --
excerpt: In the ongoing
battle over who should provide governmental oversight of Montana’s teen
behavior modification programs, the latest answer seems to be: the people
who already run them. The newly appointed Private Alternative Adolescent
Residential Program Board was scheduled to meet for the first time Thursday,
Sept. 8. Created under the umbrella of the state labor department earlier
this year, the board’s purpose is to “examine the benefit of licensing
private adolescent residential or outdoor programs,” of which there are more
than 30 in Montana. Montana is one of the last states in the country with no
oversight of the controversial teen help industry, and at least one Montana
legislator isn’t sure the new board will give the state the necessary
regulatory powers. I’m still of the belief that oversight has to be done
through the Department of Public Heath and Human Services,” says Great Falls
Sen. Trudi Schmidt, who offered her own version of an oversight bill in the
state Senate that was rejected. “This is the first time that the Department
of Labor is regulating a youth services program.” |
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WWTI: Channel 50
August 18, 2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Settles Over Diploma Issues
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Newswatch 50
-- full story:
The Academy at Ivy Ridge has
agreed to pay a $250,000 fine and offer restitution to some parents of its
students as part of a negotiated settlement with the New York State Attorney
General’s Office over its accreditation and granting diplomas. Academy at
Ivy Ridge Executive Director Jason Finlinson said the settlement will allow
the boarding school for troubled teens to apply to the New York State
Education Department for permission to issue diplomas in New York State.
Under the settlement, the Academy at Ivy Ridge has reorganized its
organizational structure to meet New York rules. The Academy had originally
obtained accreditation status from the Northwest Association of Accredited
Schools and had been issuing diplomas under its authorization. The Attorney
General had accused the school of issuing diplomas illegally because the
association did not have a license to do business in New York State and
misleading parents into thinking the school could issue diplomas that would
be recognized by colleges. Finlinson said Ivy Ridge will now be able to seek
accreditation from an agency authorized to do business in New York State. |
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New York Times
August 17, 2005
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A business built on the trouble of
teenagers
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Link to
StoryLink to
Rebuttal |
New York Times
-- excerpt:
Mary Ann Davies has spent more than $100,000 in the last year to send
her 16-year-old daughter to one private counseling and educational
program after another. She has just signed up to go further into debt,
committing herself to spend another $100,000 over the next two years for
a boarding school in New York that she hopes will help her daughter
overcome a drug problem. More and more parents of troubled
teenagers are following the same course and sending their children to
special programs - no matter the cost. At the same time, the number of
programs available has soared. They differ from the tough boot camps and
the long-term psychiatric stays that were the main options a couple of
decades ago. The new "feel good" programs combine therapy and education,
often in an outdoor setting, at an average cost of $5,000 a month.
Those numbers have drawn the attention of
some big money investors, who see a growing need for the kind of
services these programs provide. Although there have been allegations of
abuse within the industry, and those have garnered most of the media
attention on the schools, officials at several companies said almost all
the incidents had been at a handful of less reputable programs. |
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Associated Press
June 22, 2005
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Arizona |
Arizona counselor sentenced in boy's
death
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Associated Press
-- full story:
A camp
counselor involved in the 2001 death of a 14-year-old who collapsed in
triple-digit heat at a boot camp was sentenced to four months in jail. Troy
Hutty, 33, also was given three years of probation at Tuesday's sentencing.
Hutty was among camp supervisors who put the teenager, Anthony Haynes, in a
motel bathtub to cool him down, and later found him face down in the water.
Haynes' mother had sent him to the desert camp after he was caught
shoplifting and slashed the tires on her vehicle. He died of complications
from dehydration. Camp director Charles Long, 59, was sentenced last month
to six years in prison. "Next week will be four years since I lost my baby,"
said Haynes' mother, Melanie Hudson, "and it could have been prevented by
dialing three numbers." Three other counselors also were sentenced Tuesday
for child abuse inflicted on other campers. |
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Missoula Independent
June 16, 2005
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Spring Creek Lodge
Thompson Falls, MT |
Spring Creek's short leash |
Link to
Story |
Missoula Independent
-- excerpts: Students
enrolled at Spring Creek, and other member facilities of the World Wide
Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), follow a strictly
regimented points-based program and are organized into “Families” with names
like “Integrity,” “Serenity,” “Eternity” and “Innocence.” Families consist
of 20 to 30 students and a staff member known as the “mother” or “father.”
Students spend nearly every waking and sleeping moment with their Family.
Families walk from classroom to cafeteria to their dorms in lockstep unison.
According to news reports and families of students, a child can’t graduate
the program until she demonstrates to the satisfaction of Spring Creek staff
that she has taken responsibility for the actions that put her in the school
in the first place. She must appear to believe that the program has saved
her life. As reporter Decca Aitkenhead described the program at an
affiliated facility called Tranquility Bay in Jamaica in a 2003 article in
the London newspaper The Observer, “They must renounce their old self,
espouse the program’s belief system, display gratitude for their salvation,
and police fellow students who resist.” Students who are disruptive or have
outbursts are placed in “intervention.” They are taken, sometimes by force,
to a room students call “the Hobbit,” where they sit in chairs. Some kids
have reported being put in intervention for days, even months. The school
maintains that a student is put in intervention for 30-minute “cooling off”
periods. If they fail to cool off or remain disruptive, they may stay
longer, under the watchful eye of a staff member. |
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Salt Lake Tribune
June 11, 2005
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Whitmore Academy
Nephi, UT |
Owner of school charged with abuse |
Link to
Story |
Salt Lake Tribune
-- excerpts:
The owner of
a controversial Utah boarding school has been charged with five misdemeanor
counts of child abuse and two counts of hazing. Charging documents filed
last week by the Juab County Attorney's office allege Cheryl Sudweeks of
Whitmore Academy in Nephi humiliated and physically harmed four children
between April 2003 and November 2004. The children were enrolled at a
now-defunct residential treatment center formerly associated with the
boarding school. Sudweeks, 50, has been summoned to appear before Nephi's
4th District Court on June 23. |
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New York Times
June 7,2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Melee keeps spotlight on hard life at academy |
Link to
Story |
New York Times
-- excerpts: The melee at
the Academy at Ivy Ridge, a boarding school here for troubled teenagers,
began at about 10:15 p.m. on May 16 when someone pulled a fire alarm in the
boys' dormitory. Within moments, students were smashing windows, overturning
furniture and fighting, with some trying to help the academy's security
guards squelch the disturbance. Eleven students fled the campus, near the
Canadian border, and bolted into the night. The violence brought more
unwanted attention to an institution that, since opening three years ago,
has drawn the scrutiny of state investigative agencies and attracted a loud
chorus of critics, including former students who have accused the school of
mistreatment. The office of Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney
general, is investigating whether Ivy Ridge violated state law by issuing
diplomas, since it is not accredited by the state. The state police are
investigating two cases involving allegations of child abuse and one case
stemming from the riot. |
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Miami Herald
June 7,2005
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Plot to kill parents is detailed |
Link to
Story |
Miami Herald
-- excerpts: Four years
ago, Christopher Sutton asked a coworker how to go about hiring a hit man to
kill his parents. Last summer, he talked about it again -- just weeks before
a gunman killed Sutton's mother and left his father blind. Court records
released Monday suggest that Sutton planned his parents' shooting in an
effort to collect their estate and satisfy a long-simmering resentment
toward them after they shipped him to a controversial youth-treatment center
in American Samoa. |
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Miami Herald
and Sun-Sentinel
June 2005
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Sister Soldier Military Academy
Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
Series of stories about closure of school |
Link to
Story |
Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel
-- excerpts: Sister Soldier
Military Academy abruptly shut its doors Tuesday amid ongoing investigations
into reports that girls enrolled there had been physically abused. Fort
Lauderdale police confirmed they've joined welfare agents in probing
complaints that girls at a boot camp-style school were abused. Fort
Lauderdale police have been called eight times since April to a Fort
Lauderdale home operating as a private military school, including two visits
in recent days to investigate allegations that a cadet had been beaten by a
school employee. Denise Smith, who is identified in corporate records
as president of Sister Soldier's parent company, has not returned several
calls for comment. Smith insisted that parents and children call her ``Major
Smith.'' The army-style school enrolls girls considered behavioral
problems ages 8-17 at a cost of $2,800 a month. The students at the school
are called `cadets.' The sheriff's Child Protective Investigative
Services has targeted the Sister Soldier boot camp school since the first
child abuse allegation was leveled three weeks ago, said Broward Sheriff's
Office spokeswoman Liz Calzadilla-Fiallo. Details were not released
other than there are four alleged victims, some living in this area and some
out of state. Neither the state nor the county regulates private
boarding schools, and -- after complaints about a Broward facility -- some
lawmakers say that situation needs changing. When police and state child
welfare authorities began receiving complaints about a small military school
tucked in a modest Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, they wondered what
government agency was overseeing the school. They made a startling
discovery: The boarding school, Sister Soldier Military Academy, was
operating under everyone's radar. Sister Soldier, like other private
boarding schools, is not licensed by anyone in the city, county or state. It
is not required to be. ''This is a loophole in the regulatory system that
needs to be addressed,'' said Jack Moss, the Department of Children &
Families' Broward administrator. |
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Clarion Ledger
May 31, 2005
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Eagle Point Academy
Lucedale, MS |
Juvenile facility faces uncertain future |
Link to
Story |
Clarion Ledger
-- excerpt: Enrollment at
the troubled Eagle Point Christian Academy in Lucedale has dropped from
about 100 to 78 cadets this year since the school quelled a riot and kicked
out a group of offending students. Other students at the former Bethel
Boys Academy were yanked out by parents concerned about safety at the
school, which has been defending itself against allegations of mistreatment.
The academy's director, John Fountain, said he has not admitted any students
since the April riot which landed nine students in detention and left the
school with significant property damage. He said his staff is undergoing
more training, and he is trying to get the school back in order. Asked
whether he could sustain the school financially with the drop in enrollment,
Fountain said he is unsure. |
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Billings Gazette
May 27, 2005
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Spring Creek Lodge
Montana |
WWASPS facility among top spending
lobbyists in Montana |
Link to
Story |
Billings Gazette -- excerpt:
Spring Creek
Lodge spent $56,677 during the 90-day period the state legislature was in
session in 2005, successfully defeating legislation which would have
required therapeutic boarding schools to be licensed and regulated by the
state. |
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News Watch 50
May 26, 2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Ivy Ridge Academy investigated by NY
Attorney General |
Link to
Story |
News Watch 50
- excerpt:
The Ivy Ridge Academy in
Ogdensburg is under investigation by the State Attorney General for issuing
diplomas that are “essentially worthless”. The Academy is not currently
accredited by any agency or the State to issue diplomas. |
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News Watch 50
May 25, 2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Parent of Ivy Ridge student denied access to records |
Link to
Story |
News Watch 50
- excerpt:
A parent of a student at Ivy Ridge Academy told
NewsWatch50 that after spending more than 20-thousand dollars on the program
she is being refused transcripts and records of her child's performance and
treatment. She has gone to the State Attorney General in an effort to
get the records released. |
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News Watch 50
May 17, 2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Twelve Ivy Ridge students charged with riot |
Link to
Story |
News Watch 50
- excerpt
All of the
students involved in Monday night's uprising at Ivy Ridge Academy have been
expelled. That's according to the academy's director, Jason Finlinson. About
12 students and several staff members were injured during Monday night's
melee which began when some students attempted an escape.
Ivy Ridge, a few miles west of Ogdensburg on State Route 37 is a corrective
facility for troubled teenagers. Parents pay approximately $60,000 to enroll
their children in the program.
State Police say their investigation revealed
that the disturbance was organized and initiated by 12 students, all of whom
have been charged with Riot, 1st degree along with other charges. |
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Salt Lake Tribune
May 12, 2005
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WWASPS
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Appeals Court rejects lawsuit against journalist |
Link to Court Opinion |
Salt Lake Tribune
- news brief:
The 10th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a defamation suit filed
by an association of schools for troubled youths against a United Press
International reporter. The 10th Circuit on Tuesday agreed with a trial
judge that the federal court in Utah has no authority over the case because
Thomas Houlahan, who researched a story in 2003 about schools operated by
the St. George-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and
Schools, lives in Washington, D.C. In its suit, WWASP had alleged that
Houlahan falsely told parents that school officials abused their children.
(Click on the link above to read the full text of the court's opinion.) |
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Bonner County Daily Bee
April 30, 2005
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CEDU Schools
Bonners Ferry, ID
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Offers roll in for
CEDU schools |
Link to Story |
Bonner County Daily Bee
- excerpt: The offers are
rolling in, and they're looking good to CEDU trustee George Miller.
He said Friday he hopes to accept some of them within
the next 10 days. But it would take at least 30 days to finalize the
closing. As of now, he has had a substantial offer on a former CEDU school
in California from a man who has said he's going to submit offers to the
Idaho and Vermont locations. "I don't have something that I'm going to sign
on the dotted line for Idaho today, but I have some very interesting ones,"
Miller said, speaking of offers. Bidders have said they want to bring the
teachers back and reopen the schools in Idaho. CEDU Education, a program for troubled
teenagers, closed all of its schools on March 26, 2005, because of
financial insolvency. The abrupt announcement came
as a shock to 301 students, their parents, 250 employees in Boundary County
and 40 in Bonner County, and the community. In 2004, more than two dozen
parents and former students at Rocky Mountain Academy and Boulder Creek
Academy - two schools operated by CEDU - had filed four lawsuits
claiming a pattern of neglect and abuse inflicted upon kids by staff or by
other students running out of staffers' control. |
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Salt Lake Tribune
April 29, 2005
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Whitmore Academy
Nephi, UT
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Private school does not like state's "therapeutic" label |
Link to Story |
Salt Lake Tribune
- excerpt:
A private
Utah school is fighting against state regulation, arguing it is not a
"therapeutic" facility - which are covered by a new law that seeks to crack
down on the state's thriving teen help industry. Administrators at Whitmore
Academy in Nephi say they run a boarding school, not a treatment facility
catering to troubled teens. They are asking for an exemption to the new
licensing category, which goes into effect on May 2. But state Human
Services licensing director Ken Stettler believes "they're hiding behind the
moniker of a boarding school" to avoid state oversight. "All the information
they've provided to parents of kids there is they provide counseling for
emotional growth and behavioral changes. They cater to kids who have failed
in their settings at home," said Stettler. The new law defines "therapeutic
schools" as serving students "who have a history of failing to function at
home or public school" and that offer "room and board and specialized
structure or treatment related to a disability or emotional development."
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Salt Lake Tribune
April 22, 2005
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Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT
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Mother sues facility
for child abuse |
Link to Story |
Salt Lake Tribune
- excerpt:
A California mother is accusing a northern Utah boarding
school of physically and emotionally abusing her son while he was being
treated there. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in
Salt Lake City, Jennifer Havlan said Majestic Ranch employee Sean E. Coombs
seriously injured her minor son by slamming him against a wall and table,
throwing him to the ground and striking him. She also alleges that the boy
was "repeatedly restrained and placed in handcuffs" during his 2004 stay at
the Randolph facility. Majestic Ranch, which is affiliated with the St.
George-based Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP),
is designed to treat preteens and young teenagers with behavioral and
conduct problems. The program has been investigated several times after
abuse allegations were lodged, with one probe ending in a criminal
conviction when Coombs pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor assault
charge.
On the same day Havlan filed
her suit, U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., introduced legislation that
would provide more monitoring of residential treatment programs and
establish criminal and civil penalties for abuse of children.
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Columbia Tribune
April 21, 2005
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Thayer Learning Center
Kidder, MO
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Boot camp files suit
against former employee |
Link to Story |
Columbia Tribune
- excerpt: Thayer Learning
Center, a military-type home for about 100 troubled teens in Kidder, filed
the suit last week against former employee Timothy Rocha for breaching a
signed employment agreement that stated he would not "divert, take away ...
or interfere with any present or future customer." Thayer claims Rocha has
contacted customers and attempted to steer them away from Thayer and has
"successfully diverted away many potential customers." The lawsuit says
Thayer "has experienced a significant decrease in revenues" because of
Rocha’s actions. Rocha has been an outspoken critic of the camp, saying he
was stunned by what he thought were abusive practices. He filed two reports
of child abuse with the Caldwell County sheriff’s office in September,
claiming a student had been placed in "half a chokehold" and that a Thayer
employee then sat on the student’s legs. |
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Deseret Morning News
April 21, 2005
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Federal Legislation
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Utah based group under fire |
Link to Story |
Deseret News
- excerpt: A Utah-based
organization affiliated with schools for troubled youths is stirring
controversy in at least three states and is the target of congressional
legislation unveiled Wednesday. At issue are the persistent allegations of
child abuse and claims of questionable business practices surrounding the
World Wide Association of Speciality Schools (WWASPS) founded by Robert
Lichfield of La Verkin, Washington County. The allegations of abuse and
questions about the facilities' credentials — all of which WWASPS' president
Ken Kay denies or says are overblown — have sparked investigations in
numerous states, prompted closures of some facilities and led Rep. George
Miller, D-Calif., Wednesday to call for federal legislation invoking more
oversight. It was Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and
Workforce Committee, who demanded in 2003 that then-Attorney General John
Ashcroft investigate WWASPS. The request, made again last year, never
gained much traction, so Miller is now pushing for passage of the "End
Institutional Abuse Against Children Act," which among other things, would
establish federal civil and criminal penalties for abuse against children in
residential treatment programs and expand federal regulatory authority to
overseas programs operated by U.S. companies. Miller's legislation is
just but one of many recent actions involving WWASPS around the country. |
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Kansas City Star
April 19, 2005
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Kemper Academy
Boonville, MO |
Lichfield offer on Kemper school is rejected |
Link to Story |
Kansas City Star
- excerpt:
City officials Monday night rejected an offer
from a group led by the founder of a controversial association of boarding
schools to buy the former Kemper Military School. The Booneville City
Council, with little discussion, voted 7-0 against selling the property to a
group led by Utah businessman Robert Lichfield, founder of World Wide
Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. |
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The Mississippi Press
April 16, 2005
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Eagle Point
Christian Academy
Lucedale, MS |
Mom pulls twins from
Eagle Point after riot |
Link to Story |
Mississippi Press
- excerpt: Christy
Depasquale has her twin 17-year-old sons at home with her in Oklahoma
after they spent more than a month at Eagle Point Christian Academy,
formerly known as Bethel Boys Academy. Depasquale was concerned for the
boys' welfare after hearing of the riot that took place at Eagle Point
last weekend. During the riot, windows were broken, bunks overturned and
a barrack was trashed. Depasquale's sons reportedly had "plenty of
bruises and cuts and scrapes" when she picked them up. One of the boys
reportedly has a bruise on his back where an Eagle Point staff member
allegedly "grabbed him and slammed his fist in his back" because he was
talking. The twins also told their mother that the kitchen of Eagle
Point was infested with roaches and rats, and that if there was trouble
during mealtime, the boys either couldn't finish eating or were given 30
seconds to finish their meal. The boys also alleged that when the kids
got into fights, the staff members would just ignore it and leave the
room. One of Depasquale's sons was in a fight, and the brothers said the
instructors just stood by and watched. The boys also told their mother
that mace was being used frequently at Eagle Point when anybody steps
out of line. Depasquale said she felt Eagle Point was misrepresented to
parents. She said they didn't provide a 100 percent safe and secure
environment, there's a lack of supervision, and the education is not
what it should be. |
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Watertown Daily Times
April 15, 2005
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Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Credentials suspended for Ivy Ridge Academy |
Link to Story
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Watertown Daily Times
- excerpt: The Academy at
Ivy Ridge's accreditation has been suspended in the wake of a state
attorney general's office inquiry into the business practices of the
institution that offers behavior modification for teenagers. "We sent
them a cease and desist letter," said David G. Steadman, executive
director of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. "It means
they're not supposed to say they're accredited until their legal issues
are solved." The association sent Ivy Ridge the cease and desist letter
after a telephone inquiry from the Watertown regional office of the
state attorney general's office. That inquiry led the association to
believe the school does not have the state licenses required by the
organization, Mr. Steadman said. State agencies, including the attorney
general's office and the Office of Children and Family Services, in
February began looking into Ivy Ridge, including allegations of physical
abuse of students. |
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Columbia Daily Tribune
April 15, 2005
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Tranquility Bay
Jamaica |
Former student alleges
months of abuse |
Link to Story
|
Columbia Daily Tribune
- excerpt: A former student
of a behavior modification school in Jamaica alleges that Randall
Hinton, who has proposed opening a similar school on the former Kemper
Military School property in Boonville, Missouri, abused him and others
during his stay there. Layne Brown, 23, of Kanab, Utah, told the Tribune
by phone last night that he met Hinton at Tranquility Bay in Jamaica in
1997. Staff at the facility used excessive restraining tactics,
including pepper spray, duct tape and painful holds, as punishment for
not following rules, he said. Brown estimated such attacks occurred
three times a day and for as long as three or four months. During that
time, the teens were forced to defecate and urinate in black garbage
bags tied around their waists like diapers, Brown said. Staff members
dragged Brown across the cement floor facedown, resulting in a chipped
tooth and scars on his shoulders, knees and chin, he said. One staff
member used a hard-bristle toilet brush to "scrub" his body and
genitals, he said. |
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Columbia Daily Tribune
April 13, 2005
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WWASPS Schools
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Lichfield Lawsuits
Target Critics |
Link to Story
|
Columbia Daily Tribune column
- excerpt: The problem with
Robert Lichfield isn’t that he breaks the law. It’s that the law allows
him to do what he does. Lichfield knows about the law. He’s used the
absence of laws in many states and Third-World countries as cover for a
series of business ventures that by most accounts have made him a
wealthy man. The Utah businessman is founder of World Wide Association
of Specialty Programs, an umbrella group connected to dozens of
tough-love teen rehabilitation centers all over the world. Many of the
schools connected in some way to Lichfield have been accused by parents
and authorities of child abuse. Some of them have closed. Now Lichfield
has his eye on Missouri. Specifically, he and his partners, Randall and
Russell Hinton, want to buy the former Kemper Military School in
Boonville and turn it into another of their behavior modification
facilities for troubled teens. Long before Missourians heard of this
plan, Shelby Earnshaw was trying to stop it. Earnshaw is director of
International Survivors Action Committee, a watchdog group that keeps an
eye on the kinds of facilities Lichfield owns. Many of the teen centers
are connected to WWASP in some way, and wherever there is WWASP,
Lichfield generally isn’t far behind. That’s why, when Earnshaw heard
about his intent to buy the Kemper property, she started to let folks in
Missouri know a little bit about Lichfield and his various companies.
Her actions earned her a typical Lichfield response. He sued. On Feb.
22, in Washington County court in Utah, Lichfield sued Earnshaw and her
husband, William, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and
interference with prospective economic advantage. According to the suit,
Earnshaw "contacted public officials in Boonville, Missouri, and Salt
Lake City, Utah, and spread false, defamatory and misleading information
about plaintiff with the intent to interfere with plaintiff’s business
relations and with plaintiff’s prospective economic interests." Earnshaw
says the suit won’t stop her from letting anybody who cares to listen
know how destructive she believes WWASP facilities are to children.
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Columbia Daily Tribune
April 13, 2005
|
Kemper Academy
Boonville, MO |
Congressman raises questions about
Kemper suitor |
Link to Story
|
Columbia Daily Tribune
- excerpt: A U.S.
congressman from California says Boonville city officials should have
"serious reservations" about selling the Kemper Military School property
to associates of a controversial network of international boarding
schools. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., warned that Boonville should "get
the facts first" before accepting a purchase offer from Robert Lichfield,
founder of World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, or
WWASPS. "While many residential treatment facilities do provide good
quality services for children, there is a long history of allegations of
mistreatment of minors at campuses operated by the World Wide
Association of Specialty Programs," Miller said in an e-mail to the
Tribune. "The City of Boonville should have serious reservations about
the sale of city property to an organization with such an egregious
record of child abuse complaints." |
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Hattiesburg American
April 11, 2005
|
Eagle Point
Christian Academy
Lucedale, MS |
6 in custody
after academy riot
|
Link to Story
|
Hattiesburg American
- excerpt:
Six students remain in custody at Forrest
County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of disorderly conduct after
a riot Friday night at Eagle Point Christian Academy, formerly Bethel
Boys Academy, in Lucedale. Seven other students, or cadets, at the home
for troubled teenagers from across the country were taken to George
County Hospital where six were treated for minor injuries and released
to school officials. George County Sheriff Garry Welford said the
students were breaking windows and tearing up beds, chairs and other
items during the Friday night incident. Students told Welford that the
riot was sparked by a rumor that state investigators might arrive at the
school over the weekend. The school has a history of abuse allegations
and state investigations dating to 1988 when 72 children were removed
from the school by state welfare officials. At the time the school was
called Bethel Home for Children. In 1990, a judge closed the school -
then owned by Herman Fountain Sr. In 1994, Fountain reopened the school
as Bethel Boys Academy. The institution's name was changed from Bethel
Boys Academy to Eagle Point Christian Academy in February.
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|
Wall Street Journal
March 31, 2005
|
Brown Schools, Inc. |
Boarding School Options Shift for Troubled Teens |
Link to Story
|
Wall Street Journal
- excerpt:
Last Friday Brown Schools Inc., the closely held owner of one of
the nation's best-known therapeutic boarding chains, closed with no
notice to families, sending 300 students home before the end of the
school year. Brown filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, meaning its
operations will be liquidated. Fenton R. Talbott, who served as chief
executive of Brown before the bankruptcy filing, said the school faced
high legal fees and settlement costs related to a variety of lawsuits,
including some on behalf of students and families alleging abuse. Brown,
in its court filing, cited a total of $1.4 million in legal fees and
settlement costs, including a pair of $150,000 settlements paid to two
former residents of Brown's Oaks Treatment Center in Austin, Texas, a
facility for adolescents with behavioral and other problems that Brown
sold in 2003. In a lawsuit filed in state court in Austin, the students
alleged they were sexually assaulted in 2002 by an Oaks employee, who
ultimately pleaded guilty to assault charges, according to court papers.
Court papers didn't mention some other legal tangles in Brown's past. In
2002, Chase Moody, 17, died at a Brown wilderness program called On
Track, in Texas, after being restrained by camp staff members. State
regulators said that staffers used improper restraints, but a grand jury
handed up no criminal charges. Also that year, CEDU paid a $300,000
settlement to two former students after they were hurt in what students
at the time describe -- and the company confirmed -- was a riot at
CEDU's Northwest Academy in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Last October two dozen
parents and former students at two CEDU schools in Idaho, Rocky Mountain
Academy and Boulder Creek Academy, filed four lawsuits alleging poor
staffing levels that led to verbal and physical abuse by students and
employees since 1998. The cases are pending in Bonner County District
Court in Sandpoint, Idaho. |
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Bonner County
Daily Bee
March 26, 2005
|
CEDU Education
Bonners Ferry, ID |
Financial troubles shut down CEDU schools |
Link to Story
|
Daily Bee
- excerpt:
CEDU Education, a program for troubled
teenagers, announced Friday it is closing all of its schools because of
financial insolvency. The abrupt announcement came
as a shock to 301 students, their parents, 250 employees in Boundary
County and 40 in Bonner County, and the community. None realized the
program was in such poor financial condition. Local officials called the
job loss "devastating." Teenage students enrolled in the program will be
returned to their parents within the next 10 days. CEDU employees aren't
sure when their last day at work will be.
Spokesman Review (Oct. 28. 2004): This story reported that more than two dozen
parents and former students at Rocky Mountain Academy and Boulder Creek
Academy - two schools operated by CEDU - had filed
four lawsuits claiming a pattern of neglect and abuse inflicted upon
kids by staff or by other students running out of staffers' control.
Kootenai Valley Press (March 29, 2005)
This story describes the heavy emotions
associated with closure of all CEDU schools, including the lack of
notice to parents and the concern of employees about their sudden loss
of jobs and possible loss of benefits due to the corporation filing for
bankruptcy. The story also mentions that CEDU settled a lawsuit in
2002 for $300,000, which had been filed by the parents of two Rocky
Mountain Academy students who alleged their children had been abused and
that staff was not properly qualified. |
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Kansas City Star
March 21, 2005
|
Kemper Military School
Boonsville, MO |
Boonville looks to sell
old academy |
Link to Story
|
Kansas
City Star
- excerpt:
The founder of a controversial Utah-based
association of boarding schools has had discussions with city officials
in Boonville, Mo., about purchasing Kemper Military School. Kemper, the
oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River when it closed in
2002, has been owned by the city since April 2003. The prospective
buyer is Robert Lichfield, founder of the World Wide Association of
Specialty Programs and Schools. The association, based in St. George,
Utah, provides services and guidance for a network of seven schools in
the United States and Jamaica. Some schools affiliated with the
organization have been the subject of abuse allegations, and one
congressman asked the Department of Justice to investigate the
association and its schools. Kemper, if purchased by Lichfield, would
not be a member of the association's network. Instead, it would be
subleased to Randall Hinton, who said he would help operate the school
independently. |
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Billings Gazette
March 20, 2005
|
Spring Creek Lodge
Montana |
WWASPS facility in top
four lobbyist spenders |
Link to Story
|
Billings Gazette
- excerpt: Spring Creek Lodge, a facility confining 500
teenagers, spent nearly $35,000 in lobbying expenses during the first
two months of 2005, making it number four in lobbying expenditures in
Montana. The facility spent more money lobbying the state
Legislature than the Montana School Board Association and the Montana
Association of Counties, and AARP Montana. Unlike the Utah
Legislature which this year passed a law requiring such facilities to be
licensed by the state, the Montana Legislature has allowed Spring Creek
Lodge to be unregulated despite ongoing complaints of child abuse and
neglect at the facility. |
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Clarion Ledger
March 8, 2005
|
Eagle Point Christian Academy
Lucedale, MS |
Reforms don't stem allegations |
Link to Story
|
Clarion
Ledger
- excerpt:
Unhappy parents, troubled teens, torture
allegations and lawsuits have all become an unenviable part of John
Fountain's life since he took over Bethel Boys Academy from his father
nearly two years ago. The school for troubled teenagers — now called
Eagle Point Christian Academy — has on one side assertive parents who
continue to report abuse, explaining in graphic detail the wounds they
detected on their children once they were removed from the school. On
the other side are Fountain's equally adamant denials. He points to what
he says are litigious parents and children who were brought to the
school — sometimes against their will — in part because of deception
problems. It's not clear exactly what happens at the academy when
spectators are gone. |
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![deseretnews.com](dmnmm_0729.gif)
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Daily Herald
March 7, 2005
Provo Daily Herald
March 7, 2005
Deseret News
March 6, 2005
|
Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT |
Utah boarding school
under fire |
Link to Story
|
Deseret News
- excerpt: A children's
advocacy group is calling for a federal investigation into a northern
Utah boarding school it claims mistreats students, including restraining
them face down in manure. Based on sworn statements of four former
employees, the California-based Emancipation Project says the Majestic
Ranch is unsanitary and unsafe for the children living there.
Majestic Ranch is a working ranch for troubled children near Randolph in
Rich County. It houses 55 children ages 8 to 14. "We believe the people
of Utah will not put up with child abuse," said Thomas F. Coleman, a
civil-rights attorney who heads the Emancipation Project. "We should not
have to go to the federal government when we have hard evidence like
this." |
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KSL-TV
March 6, 2005 |
Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT |
Group seeks probe into boarding school |
Link to Story
|
KSL-TV
- excerpt: A
California-based children's advocacy group is calling for a federal
investigation into a northern Utah boarding school it claims mistreats
students, subjecting them to numerous abuses, including restraining them
face down in manure. Based on sworn statements of four former employees,
the Glendale-based Emancipation Project says the Majestic Ranch -- a
boarding school for troubled children near Randolph in Rich County -- is
unsanitary and unsafe for the children living there. The facility houses
55 children ages 8 to 14. |
|
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Salt Lake Tribune
March 1, 2005 |
Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT |
Utah's oversight of school lambasted by rights group |
Link to Story
|
Salt
Lake Tribune
- excerpt: Armed
with a whistle-blower report, a watchdog group met Monday at the Capitol
to protest the state's "half-baked" investigation into allegations of
abuse and neglect at northern Utah's Majestic Ranch Boarding School.
Based
on signed affidavits from four former employees, the report portrays the
school catering to 7- to 14-year-olds with behavioral problems as
understaffed, overcrowded and unsanitary. It alleges that animals at the
2,000-acre working ranch are neglected. And it contains complaints of
abusive restraint practices, with students thrown to the ground and
hog-tied, their faces shoved in snow or manure. An investigation
into similar complaints conducted earlier this month by Utah's Division
of Child and Protective Services (CPS) and local law enforcement turned
up some health and safety violations, but failed to yield enough
evidence to support removing children or notifying parents.
Crusaders against get-tough treatment programs say more than a "slap on
the wrist" is needed to protect the 60-plus students enrolled at
Majestic Ranch, located north of Randolph. "It's a shame when
child protection agencies fail to protect children. It's almost as bad
as those who are alleged to have caused harm to the children in the
first place," said Thomas F. Coleman, an attorney and director of
Emancipation Project, a human rights organization in Glendale, Calif. |
|
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Clarion Ledger
Feb. 18, 2005 |
Bethel Girls Academy
Petal, MS |
Bethel Girls Academy temporarily closed |
Link to Story
|
Clarion Ledger
- excerpt: A school for troubled
teenagers was temporarily closed Thursday and its 44 students were
released into state custody. "For right now we're going to close the
doors," said Bethel Girls Academy director Herman Fountain Jr. "We are
planning on opening back up, but we've got to get everything taken care
of first." The closure came a day after 11 students fled from the
facility. Some girls said they had been physically and verbally
abused by staff members, and one of the girls' mothers said she plans to
press charges against Fountain for assaulting a minor. "The contract was
broken when he broke my daughter's wrist," said Miami resident Angela
Roberts, whose daughter, Angenika McNeil, 16, was injured while at
Bethel. "I want him prosecuted for what he did to my child. He hides
behind the word 'restrain,' but that word means 'abuse' to him."
|
|
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Clarion Ledger
Feb. 17, 2005 |
Bethel Girls Academy
Petal, MS |
Complaints of abuse prompt Bethel Probe |
Link to Story
|
Clarion Ledger
- excerpt: Eleven students at a
school here for troubled teens fled the facility on Wednesday after some
of them told authorities they were abused by employees. The incident
occurred about 9 a.m. at Bethel Girls Academy, when several of the
students said they weren't being watched. "Some of the girls had an
uprising and sort of took over the place," academy director Herman
Fountain Jr. said. "They just ran away." The school has been under
scrutiny in the past by state officials. The Department of Human
Services removed 38 girls from the facility in May 2004 after receiving
complaints of mistreatment. On Monday, Miami resident Angela Roberts
filed a complaint with the Forrest County sheriff's department against
the girls' academy. "I got a call from inside the school that they
(staff members) were beating the girls," Roberts said Wednesday. "I
drove from Miami to get my child from here."
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Watertown Daily Times
Feb. 16, 2005 |
Ivy Ridge Academy
Ogdensburg, NY |
Ivy Ridge Academy probed by NY State officials |
Link to
Story
|
Watertown Daily Times - excerpt:
State agencies are investigating allegations of physical abuse at the
Academy at Ivy Ridge and whether the school is implying that it provides
more than just behavior modification for troubled teens. Investigators
from the state Attorney General's Office also have subpoenaed Ivy Ridge
to find out just what sort of institution it is and whether it is
claiming to be a diploma-writing institution, which officials believe it
is not accredited to do, said a source who asked not to be identified.
Ivy Ridge uses a six-level behavior
modification program for troubled teenagers developed by the Utah-based
World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. Though WWASPS
does not own or operate the facility, it does provide support services. |
|
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Hattiesburg American
Feb. 16, 2005 |
Bethel Girls Academy
Petal, UT |
Students flee Bethel
school; allege abuse |
Link to
Story
|
Hattiesburgh American
- excerpt:
Law enforcement officers
were at a Petal school for troubled teenagers Wednesday morning
investigating allegations of abuse and reports that several of the girls
there had run away. According to Forrest County Sheriff’s Department
deputies, 11 girls fled the Bethel Girls Academy, although the school’s
director, Herman Fountain Jr., said only seven girls were missing. He
couldn’t immediately explain the discrepancy. |
|
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|
KSL-TV
Feb. 16, 2005 |
Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT |
Boarding school faces allegations of abuse |
Link to Story
|
KSL-TV -
excerpt:
A northern Utah
boarding school is facing allegations of abuse. The Majestic Ranch, just
north of Randolph, is being investigated after complaints of unsanitary
conditions and abusive restraint practices. |
|
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Salt Lake Tribune
Feb. 11, 2005 |
WWASPS Schools |
New Attorney General
sees federal role in
oversight of teen
boot camps
|
Link to Story
|
Salt Lake Tribune
- excerpt:
President Bush's new
attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, says the Justice Department may take
a more active role in oversight of boot camp programs for troubled
teens.
In his written responses to questions
during his confirmation process, Gonzales said the Justice Department
would work to engage states and directors of private facilities to
ensure children are protected.
If cases of inappropriate or abusive
practices cannot be resolved, they may be referred to the Civil Rights
or Criminal divisions at the department for action, Gonzales said.
Previously, former Attorney General John
Ashcroft had responded to Miller's inquiries by stating that the
department lacked the authority to investigate abuse allegations at
private facilities. |
|
RuralNorthwest.com |
Rural Northwest
Feb. 11, 2005 |
Rocky Mountain
Academy
Naples, Idaho |
School closes while
defending against
abuse lawsuit
|
Link to Story
|
Rural
Northwest & Spokesman Review - excerpts:
Feb. 11, 2005: CEDU Education today announced the closure of Rocky
Mountain Academy in Naples, Idaho. We failed to recruit and place at
Rocky Mountain Academy a school director with the skills to manage a
cohesive group of staff. Our leadership shortfalls created a negative
marketplace opinion that made it difficult to build a census for
successful school operation," explained CEDU Education President and
Chief Operating Officer Bob Naples. Spokesman Review (Oct. 28. 2004):
More than two dozen
parents and former students at Rocky Mountain Academy and Boulder Creek
Academy - two expensive private schools for troubled teens - have filed
four lawsuits claiming a pattern of neglect and abuse inflicted upon
kids by staff or by other students running out of staffers' control. |
|
![](images/sun-herald.bmp) |
Sun Herald
Feb. 10, 2005 |
Bethel Boys Academy
Lucedale, MS |
Bethel Boys Academy changes name to disassociate
from its past
|
Link to Story
|
Sun Herald
- excerpts: The
Bethel Boys Academy in Lucedale has changed its name; in part, says its
organizer, to dissociate itself with past allegations of mistreatment of
youths left in its care. The Bethel home is now called Eagle Point
Christian Academy, a reform school for troubled youths. The school
offered the same services as the Bethel, a facility that has been sued
by families alleging child abuse. Complaints surfaced that students had
been beaten, denied proper medical treatment and shocked with a cattle
prod, and authorities had been investigating the boot-camp program,
according to the lawsuits. |
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![deseretnews.com](dmnmm_0729.gif)
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Deseret Morning News
Feb. 8, 2005 |
Residential Programs
Utah |
Tighter control of youth programs sought
|
Link
to Story
|
Deseret
Morning News - excerpt: Two
separate measures that would impose tighter controls and oversight of
programs for troubled youths appear headed for Senate debate. Among
other things, SB176, sponsored by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan,
would more clearly define "boarding schools," assuring that only those
schools that do not offer any behavior modification services would not
fall under state licensing purview. Buttars, who recently retired as
head of the Utah Boys Ranch, has said therapeutic schools that mask
themselves as "boarding" facilities need to have the same oversight as
other programs.
Monday, members of
the House Health and Human Services Committee gave approval to SB107,
sponsored by Sen. Tom Hatch, R-Panguitch. That measure would require
operators of a proposed residential treatment program to give notice to
the city where the facility is planned to be located.
Hatch's bill also would
allow local entities, with permission of the state, to designate one of
their employees who could conduct on-site inspections. "It is an
opportunity to have a few more eyes and ears out in the local area to
inspect these facilities," Stettler said. |
|
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San Francisco Chronicle
Feb. 8, 2005 |
Thayer Learning Center
Kidder, MO |
Boot camp sued
over boys death
|
Link to Story
|
San Francisco
Chronicle -
excerpt: The
parents of a Santa Rosa boy who died at a Missouri boot camp for
troubled youths have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the
operators and some employees of the facility. The boy's parents, Victor
and Gracia Reyes, filed the suit Friday against the Thayer Learning
Center Boot Camp, its affiliated Parent Help referral agency, and three
boot camp employees. The lawsuit, filed in Buchanan County, Mo., states
Roberto M. Reyes, 15, was "subjected to sadistic, cruel, and harmful
acts. ... He was thrown into solitary confinement, refused bathroom
facilities, and forced to (lie) in his own excrement for extended
periods of time." An autopsy of the 6-foot-2-inch teen "documented
numerous bruises, cuts, and ulcerations consistent with physical abuse,"
the suit alleges.
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Salt Lake Tribune
Feb. 5, 2005 |
Majestic Ranch
Randolph, UT |
Licensing for
"therapeutic schools"?
|
Link to Story
|
Salt Lake Tribune
- excerpt:
A Senate committee
hesitantly endorsed a bill on Friday that seeks to provide more
oversight of Utah's thriving teen-help industry. Senate Bill 176 would
create a new licensing category of troubled-teen programs dubbed
"therapeutic schools." There are currently no state licensing
requirements for such schools, said sponsoring Sen. Chris
Buttars. The director of Majestic
Ranch testified at Friday's hearing in opposition to
Buttars' bill.
The school has been
investigated three separate times for alleged abuse, resulting in one
criminal charge and conviction. |
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Missoulian
Feb. 3, 2005 |
Spring Creek Lodge
Montana |
Employee Shoots Man Seven Times, Kills Self
|
Link to Story
|
Missoulian
- excerpt:
A Thompson
Falls man shot another man multiple times with a handgun early Wednesday
morning, then shot and killed himself, law officers in Sanders County
said.
The shooter, after seven rounds, turned the
gun on himself and committed suicide, according to Plains Police Chief
Shawn Emmett, who is handling the investigation.
The dead man was identified as Keith Wood,
31, of Thompson Falls, who was employed at Spring Creek Lodge, a
residential academy for troubled youth west of Thompson Falls. |
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Kansas City Star
Jan. 23, 2005 |
Thayer Learning Center
Kidder, MO |
Referral agency's
connection to boot
camp angers parents
|
Link to Story
|
Kansas
City Star - excerpt:
Several parents who sent their troubled teens to Thayer Learning Center
in northwest Missouri were referred to the school by what they thought
was an independent agency.
In fact, the Parent Help referral service
is operated by the same people who run Thayer, a military-style boot
camp where a 15-year-old California boy recently died. The death
triggered a state investigation and prompted former students and
employees to come forward with allegations of physical and emotional
abuse of students. The connection between the two businesses, less than
15 miles apart, angered several parents who spoke recently with The
Kansas City Star.
A leading business ethicist said the
relationship between the two businesses is clearly a conflict of
interest, while a child welfare agency official said such a connection
is not uncommon, but should have been disclosed. |
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|
Montel Williams Show
Jan. 18, 2005 |
WWASPS Programs |
Teen Rehab: An
Investigative Report
|
Link to Story
|
Montel Williams Show
- excerpt:
Since the 1970s, Americans
have been shipping their children off to rehabilitation centers,
commonly referred to as "boot camps."
We'll hear the real story from adults who
are still haunted by the facilities their parents sent them to.
Samantha says that the facility she was
sent to in Florida when she was 13 was a living nightmare.
We'll also meet Shannon who claims that
the behavioral treatment center she went to in Jamaica used unnecessary
force against her that dislocated her jaw.
Plus we'll meet Johnny who claims he
spent nearly his entire visit at a facility locked in isolation. |
|
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San Diego Union Tribune
Jan. 10, 2005 |
US Teens in facilities
in Baja, Mexico |
Scrutiny increases on
centers for teens
|
Link to Story
|
Union
Tribune- excerpt: Tolerated
for years, behavior-modification centers catering to U.S. teens with
addiction and behavioral problems have faced unprecedented scrutiny in
Baja California, where four centers have been closed in the past four
months. Drawn to the state's low costs and proximity to the United
States, operators of the now-shuttered centers are asking why there has
been a sudden crackdown when they have been operating openly for years.
Baja California officials say they are sending a message that Mexican
laws must be followed by anyone operating in their country. "We totally
approve their closing," Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy Walther
said in an interview last month. "We consider that we deserve the same
respect that the United States demands of Mexicans when we conduct an
activity in that country." Mexican authorities listed a litany of
violations at the centers, from lack of permits, to nonexistent clinical
records, to reports of abuse of students.
At Future
Expectations, the authorities said they found adulterated and expired
medications and said there was no medical director, as the law requires.
They said they found "punishment cells" with belts, handcuffs and blood
on a wall. |
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