Cedar County is a county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,188. Its county seat is Stockton. The county was founded February 14, 1845, and named after Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Sac River, which in turn is named from the Eastern red cedar, a common tree of the area.
The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools was an organization based in Utah, in the United States. WWASPS was founded by Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. WWASPS stated that it was an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled teenagers. Many outside observers believe, however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions were actually owned through limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street address by WWASPS or its principal officials or their close relatives. WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing; and Premier Educational Systems, LLC, which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have "helped" over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior. Some participants and parents give positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs, resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006. WWASPS officials report that the organization is no longer in business, and the facilities originally under it no longer associate with the name, but because of ongoing litigation, it has not been dissolved.
Chi Alpha | ΧΑ, is an international and interdenominational, coeducational Christian fellowship, social club, student society, and service organization founded in 1953 on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. Chi Alpha is sponsored by the Assemblies of God USA, a Pentecostal denomination established after separating from the historically African American Church of God in Christ in 1914 over race and administration.
The First Baptist Church of Hammond is an Independent Fundamental Baptist megachurch in Hammond, Indiana, a suburb of Chicago. It is the largest church in the state of Indiana, and in 2007 was the 20th largest in the United States. Though founded in 1887 by Allen Hill, it was under Jack Hyles' leadership from 1959–2001 when it became one of the megachurches in the United States and during the 1970s, had the highest Sunday school attendance of any church in the world. In 1990, the church had a weekly attendance of 20,000. It also operates Hyles-Anderson College, a non-accredited institution established for the training of pastors and missionaries, and two K-12 schools, called 'City Baptist Schools' and 'Hammond Baptist Schools'. John Wilkerson is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church.
The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey in the United States.
Oneida Baptist Institute (OBI) is a coeducational Southern Baptist boarding school in Oneida, Kentucky, affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.
The River View Christian Academy (RCVA), formerly known as Julian Youth Academy, is a fully accredited, private Christian boarding school in Lee County, Texas. RCVA is a program of Teen Rescue, Inc. RCVA helped teen girls in need of regular supervision. RCVA provided an individualized education program, coaching, intervention, parent-training support groups, a high staff-to-student ratio, and aftercare support.
Aspen Education Group is an American company that provides controversial therapeutic interventions for adolescents and young adults, including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and weight loss programs, which have been accused of torture and abuse. Since November 2006, Aspen Education Group, with corporate offices located in Cerritos, California has been a division of Bain Capital's CRC Health.
Old West Academy, formerly called Majestic Ranch Academy, was a Boarding school located in Randolph, Utah. Founded in 1986, it detains boys and girls with behavioral issues, ages 7 to 14.
St. John's Military School, located in Salina, Kansas, was a private boarding military school for male students from grades 6 to 12. It aimed to develop students' academic and leadership skills in a "military environment" overseen by a President, Academic Dean and Commandant of Cadets. It closed after the 2018–2019 academic year amid a decline in enrollment and multiple claims of abuse by previous students.
CEDU Educational Services, Inc., known simply as CEDU, was a company founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman and associated with the troubled teen industry. The company owned and operated several therapeutic boarding schools licensed as group homes, wilderness therapy programs, and behavior modification programs in California and Idaho. The company's schools have faced numerous allegations of abuse. CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns.
The sexual abuse scandal in the Congregation of Christian Brothers is a major chapter in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in various Western jurisdictions.
Herman Paul Pressler III was an American politician and judge who was a justice of the Texas 14th Circuit Court of Appeals in his native Houston, Texas. Pressler was a key figure in the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention, which he initiated in 1978. He was accused of sexual misconduct or assault by at least seven men, some of whom were underage at the time of the alleged activity.
Elevations RTC is a residential treatment center in Syracuse, Utah, for teens ages 13–18. The facility was formerly known as Island View Residential Treatment Center until 2014, when it was acquired by Syracuse RTC, LLC, which does business as Elevations RTC. The Elevations campus is shared with Seven Stars and ViewPoint Center.
NewSpring Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Anderson, South Carolina, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Heartland Christian Academy (HCS) is a private Christian school located within the Heartland Community in Shelby County, Missouri. Founded in 1995, targeting students with behavioral issues as a part of CNS International Ministries, the school treats troubled youth and adults using work therapy and Christian instruction. It has a daycare and serves students from preschool to high school.
Adam Schnelting is a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives. He currently represents the 69th district, which primarily encompasses Harvester, Weldon Spring, and portions of St. Peters and St. Charles in St. Charles County, south of Highway 94. Schnelting was originally elected to serve the 104th district in the Missouri House of Representatives in November 2018. He is a member-elect of the Missouri State Senate.
Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch was a reformatory boarding school located in Humansville, Missouri. The school opened in July 2006 and was closed in 2020 amid reports and lawsuits filed by former students alleging child abuse, as well as due to an investigation conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The troubled teen industry is a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. The term encompasses various facilities and programs, including youth residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, boot camps, and therapeutic boarding schools.
Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals is an American limited television documentary series about physical and sexual abuse in the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement. The series examines various IFB churches, church-run schools, and boarding schools and the testimonies of former IFB members. Many of the abuse accounts involve rape and sexual abuse of minors.
