Tighter control of youth programs sought in Utah

Deseret Morning News
by Amy Joi Bryson
 

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.
      There are more than 400 youth and adult programs in the state, including group homes that contract with state agencies like the Division of Juvenile Justice.
      Youth programs — which range from wilderness boot camps to drug treatment centers — number a little more than 100.
      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.
      Local officials have said program operators need to be more forthcoming about the type of facilities planned in their communities.
      Ken Stettler, director of the state Office of Licensing, said current law has no requirement for disclosure to local officials, something Hatch's bill would change.
      While many communities have an established zoning and planning process that would reveal the details of an operator's plans, Stettler said smaller areas may require nothing more than a business license. As a result, local officials often find out too late about a planned treatment center in their community.
      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.
      Hatch's measure is the result of outcry in southern Utah following the beating death of a 31-year-old counselor at the Maximum Skills Life Academy. Anson Arnett was working alone when two teenagers beat him, escaped and fled to Las Vegas before capture.
      Arnett's death led city and county officials to demand tighter controls on programs for troubled youths in Utah — a state that has a reputation elsewhere around the country as being a haven for these programs.
 

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