Casa by the Sea

Last updated
Casa by the Sea
Location
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Coordinates 31°52'36.4"N 116°40'53.5"W
Information
School typeprivate
Motto"A Foundation for Success"
Affiliation World Wide Association of Specialty Programs

Casa by the Sea was a private residential school/residential treatment center in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. It was operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) and primarily enrolled teenagers from the United States who had behavioral issues. [1]

Contents

In 2004, due to reports of physical abuse and solitary confinement of the children there, Mexican police raided the facility. [2] It was subsequently closed by Mexican government child-protective authorities on September 10, 2004. [3] Following this, Casa by the Sea told the parents of enrolled children that they had 3 days to collect their children. [4]

The U.S. Consulate General's office in Tijuana reported that the concerns that led to the closure included lack of evidence that school employees possessed necessary diplomas or professional licenses, presence at the facility of expired medications for students, and unauthorized use of a pharmacy. At the time of the closure there were 538 students enrolled. [5] [6] After the closure, U.S. Congressman George Miller said this was "the ninth closing of a facility owned or managed by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs," and urged the U.S. State Department to take action regarding the abuse of American children at WWASPS facilities outside the country. [5]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlingen, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Harlingen is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than 40 square miles (104 km2) and is the second-largest city in Cameron County, as well as the fourth-largest in the Rio Grande Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 71,892.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tranquility Bay</span> Private residential youth educational and treatment facility

Tranquility Bay was a residential treatment facility affiliated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), located in Calabash Bay, Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. The facility operated from 1997 to 2009 and received notoriety for its harsh and often abusive treatment of its students, eventually shutting down in 2009 after allegations of child abuse came to light through lawsuits and highly publicized student testimonies.The adolescents reported violence to their parents, only to be ignored.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MD Anderson Cancer Center</span> Hospital in Texas, United States of America

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers in the country. It is both a degree-granting academic institution and a cancer treatment and research center located at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest medical center and life sciences destination in the world. It is affiliated with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. MD Anderson Cancer Center has consistently ranked #1 among the best hospitals for cancer care and research in the U.S. and worldwide, and it has held the #1 position 19 times in the last 22 years on U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals rankings for cancer care. As of 2023, MD Anderson Cancer Center is home to the highest number of cancer clinical trials in the world and has received more NCI-funded projects than any other U.S. institute. In 2024, Newsweek placed MD Anderson at #1 in their annual list of the World's Best Specialized Hospitals in oncology.

Ralph Atkin is the founder of SkyWest Airlines in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-kindergarten</span> School program for children before kindergarten

Pre-kindergarten is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece. It may be delivered through a preschool or within a reception year in elementary school. Pre-kindergartens play an important role in early childhood education. They have existed in the US since 1922, normally run by private organizations. The U.S. Head Start program, the country's first federally funded pre-kindergarten program, was founded in 1967. This attempts to prepare children to succeed in school.

Wilmer–Hutchins Independent School District (WHISD) was a school district in southern Dallas County, Texas serving the cities of Wilmer and Hutchins, a portion of Dallas, and a small portion of Lancaster. The district served urban, suburban, and rural areas. Some unincorporated areas with Ferris addresses were served by WHISD. It closed in 2006 and was absorbed by the Dallas Independent School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Forest Independent School District</span> Former school district in Texas

North Forest Independent School District (NFISD) was a school district in northeast Houston, Texas. Established in the early 1920s in a low-income white area, it later became majority-black and black-run. The district had a history of financial and academic issues from the late 1980s until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it was closed by order of the state and absorbed into the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamberlain University</span> Private university in Chicago, Illinois

Chamberlain University is a private for-profit healthcare and nursing school with locations across the United States and online programs. It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in nursing and a public health master's degree. It is a subsidiary of Adtalem Global Education, formerly DeVry Education Group. The university is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Academy at Ivy Ridge was an independent privately owned and operated for-profit behavior modification facility in Ogdensburg, New York. It marketed itself as a boarding school. The 2024 Netflix documentary series The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping documented the conditions at the facility and the lasting impact it had on the people who attended it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center</span> Hospital in California, United States

The Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center, formerly known as Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center, Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center (King/Drew), and later Martin Luther King Jr.–Harbor Hospital, was a public urgent care center and outpatient clinic and former hospital in Willowbrook, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California, north of the city of Compton and south of the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Academy at Dundee Ranch was a behavior modification facility for United States teenagers, founded in 1991 and located at La Ceiba Cascajal, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Orotina, province of Alajuela, Costa Rica. It was promoted as a residential school offering a program of behavior modification, motivational "emotional growth seminars", a progressive academic curriculum, and a structured daily schedule for teenagers struggling in their homes, schools, or communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Youth Commission</span> Texan state agency

The Texas Youth Commission (TYC) was a Texas state agency which operated juvenile corrections facilities in the state. The commission was headquartered in the Brown-Heatly Building in Austin. As of 2007, it was the second largest juvenile corrections agency in the United States, after the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. As of December 1, 2011, the agency was replaced by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Coler Specialty Hospital is a chronic care facility on New York City's Roosevelt Island that provides services such as rehabilitation and specialty nursing. The hospital was formed in 1996 by the merger of two separate chronic care hospitals on Roosevelt Island. Goldwater Memorial Hospital, on the south end of the island, closed in 2013, while Bird S. Coler Hospital is still located on the north end of the island.

Spring Creek Lodge Academy was a boarding school located in Thompson Falls, Montana. The school, formerly known as Spring Creek Community, was first opened in the 1970s by Nancy and Steve Cawdrey. In 1996, the school and the property were purchased by Cameron Pullan and Dan Peart and given the name Spring Creek Lodge Academy. For several years the school was associated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. The school was opened as a place to address behavioral issues of young people from across the United States as well as motivate students for success.

Casa Padre is a shelter for unaccompanied or separated immigrant minors in custody of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of Health & Human Services, located in Brownsville, Texas. The site opened in March 2017, and is still housing children in 2022. The building was formerly a Walmart store. The center is run by the nonprofit group Southwest Key Programs under contract from the federal government. Casa Padre is the largest licensed childcare facility in the United States, housing approximately 1,500 youths. The former Walmart store houses boys ranging from ages 10 to 17. According to the Internal Revenue Service, the group houses approximately 5,129 immigrant children in the United States, approximately 4 percent of the unaccompanied minors in the United States today.

Southwest Key Programs is a Texas-based nonprofit organization that operates shelter facilities for unaccompanied immigrant minors and immigrant youth. It also provides youth justice alternative programming and educational programming. The organization was founded in 1987. Southwest Key reported in August 2016 that it operates in 3 states: California, Arizona, and Texas, with annual revenues of $242 million in 2016.

Robert Lichfield is the founder of World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.

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.

References

  1. ↑ Parents, Shopping for Discipline, Turn to Harsh Programs Abroad by Tim Weiner, The New York Times , May 9, 2003
  2. ↑ "2 Foreign Units of Troubled U.S. Academy Are Closed". NYT. Archived from the original on Aug 31, 2021.
  3. ↑ Weiner, Tim (2004-09-26). "Mexico Shuts Tough-Love Center". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  4. ↑ Hymon, Steve (2004-09-13). "Mexican Officials Shut Down 3 Schools for Troubled U.S. Youths". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  5. 1 2 John Gehring, Oversight Sought for Behavior-Altering Schools, Education Week, November 3, 2004.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Walters, Joanna (2011-11-04). "Texas death row, Werner Herzog and the man who maintained his innocence". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-03-25.

31°52′38″N116°40′52″W / 31.87722°N 116.68111°W / 31.87722; -116.68111


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.