What's New on the Website

April 30, 2012

• The following story was added to the site:
  -- Montana Supreme Court orders new trial in lawsuit
     over suicide of student at Spring Creek Lodge
   

January 12, 2006

• New Book Release
  HELP AT ANY COST:  How the Troubled-
  Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids
   

October 18, 2005

• Press briefing by ASTART in Washington, D.C.
• Salt Lake Tribune story about press briefing
   

September 28, 2005

• The following story was added to the site:
  -- Brainwashed no more: failed efforts to reprogram gay teens
   

September 22, 2005

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Escape in Sanders County
   

September 13, 2005

The Exploitation of Youth and Families in the Name of “Specialty Schooling” 
This research paper was produced by A START:  Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment.”   This workgroup is comprised of 10 members representing various disciplines/perspectives including child/adolescent psychology, child/adolescent psychiatry, child/adolescent psychiatric nursing, family & youth advocacy, education, and mental health law & policy. 
 

September 9, 2005

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Keeping an eye on the kids

August 19, 2005

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Ivy Ridge Academy Settles Over Diploma Issues
   

August 18, 2005

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- NY Times story: A business built on the trouble of teenagers
  -- Rebuttal to NY Times story by author of upcoming book

July 28, 2005

• Tonight on Paula Zahn Now
  CNN anchor Paula Zahn is set tonight at 8 PM Eastern to report on the ex-gay movement, highlighting the case of a young Tennessee boy named Zach Stark. Zach's parents committed him to the care of a Memphis group called Love In Action.  Zach is scheduled to leave the camp tomorrow.  The case and its implications for other families is discussed in a press release issued this week by PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Families of Lesbians and Gays).

July 8, 2005

• The following was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Letter to the Emancipation Project from Dr. Alison Pinto re:
     * Request that mental health professionals and children's advocates
        sign a letter supporting Congressman Miller's bill (HR 1738)
     * Request that parents sign a letter supporting HR 1738 
   

June 30, 2005

• The following was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- NATSAP letter to Congressman George Miller re: HR 1738
   

June 23, 2005

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Arizona counselor sentenced in boy's death
  -- Spring Creek's short leash
   

June 11, 2005

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Whitmore owner charged with abuse in Utah
  -- Plot to kill parents is detailed
  -- Melee keeps spotlight on hard life at academy
   

June 10, 2005

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Army-style girls school shuts doors
  -- Loophole let school avoid regulation
  -- Abuse allegations investigated at Lauderdale boarding school
  -- Slew of calls drew police to school

May 31, 2005

• The following was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site: (click on link to "Legislative Watch" section and then scroll down to Montana)
  -- Informational briefing scheduled for state agencies in Montana
   
• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Eagle Point Academy faces uncertain future
   

May 29, 2005

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Spring Creek Lodge among top spending Montana lobbyists
  -- Parent of Ivy Ridge student denied access to records
   

May 26, 2005

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Ivy Ridge Academy Investigated By Attorney General
   

• The following bill was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey has introduced HR 1672 into the House of Representatives.  The bill is called the "Rights for Abducted Children Act."
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Private school does not like state's "therapeutic" label
  -- Offers roll in for CEDU schools
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Mother sues Majestic Ranch for child abuse
  -- Boot camp files suit against former employee
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Utah based group under fire
   

• The following bill was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Congressman George Miller introduced HR 1738 into the House of Representatives.  The bill is called the "End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act"

April 19, 2005

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Lichfield offer on Kemper school is rejected
  
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Credentials suspended for Ivy Ridge Academy
  -- Mom pulls twins from Eagle Point after riot
  -- Lichfield lawsuits target critics
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Former Tranquility Bay student alleges months of abuse
  -- Congressman raises questions about Kemper suitor
  -- Six in custody after academy riot

Dr. Nora J. Baladerian and Attorney Thomas F. Coleman attended a statewide child abuse prevention conference in Albany, New York this week.  Brochures about the Emancipation Project were distributed to hundreds of professionals attending the conference.  Their workshop, about the abusive practices of abduction services and unlicensed residential facilities for juveniles, had standing room only and was very well received.  To view the "power point" presentation shown at the workshop, click here.

• The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Boarding School Options Shift for Troubled Teens

•  The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Financial troubles shut down CEDU schools

• The following update was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Montana bill (SB 101) stalls in House committee

•  The following story was added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- WWASPS Montana facility in top four lobbyist spenders
  -- Boonville looks to sell old academy
   
• The following bill was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Montana bill (SB 101) amended to postpone licensing of residential youth facilities

Utah Governor Signs Licensing Bill

Governor Jon Huntsman signed into law today a bill (SB 107) which requires privately operated "therapeutic boarding schools" to be licensed and regulated by the state Department of Human Services.  As a result, such facilities will be subject to unannounced visits and will have to adhere to basic child welfare standards.

A few weeks ago, the Emancipation Project met with a top aide to the Governor to discuss the need for greater government oversight of private residential facilities.

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Reforms don't stem allegations
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Group seeks probe into boarding school
  -- Utah boarding school under fire
   

• The following announcements are found on the "Conference Outreach" section of the site:
  -- Fourth National Symposium on Victims of Federal Crime
  -- 15th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Utah's oversight of Majestic Ranch lambasted by Emancipation Project
   
• The following update was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Utah Legislature passes licensing bill for residential treatment programs
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Tighter control of youth programs sought in Utah
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Complaints of abuse prompt Bethel probe
  -- Bethel Girls Academy temporarily closed
  -- Ivy Ridge Academy probed by NY State officials
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Majestic Ranch boarding school faces allegations of abuse
  -- Students flee Bethel school; allege abuse

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- Missouri Boot camp sued over boys death
  -- Scrutiny increases on centers for teens in Mexico
  -- Suffering together
  -- Paradise lost
  -- Secrets in the schoolhouse
  -- Bethel Boys Academy changes name to disassociate from its past
   
• The following essay was added to the website:
  -- False allure of the boot camp, by Henry Lawton
   

• The following stories were added to the "News Stories" section of the site:
  -- New Attorney General sees federal role in oversight of teen boot camps
  -- Idaho's Rocky Mountain Academy closes doors after lawsuit alleges abuse
   

• The following bill was added to the "Legislative Watch" section of the site:
  -- Senate Committee in Utah approves bill (SB 176) to regulate privately owned "behavior modification" facilities and "therapeutic boarding schools" for minors.