Troubled teen industry

Last updated

The troubled teen industry (also known as TTI) 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. [1] [2]

Contents

These programs claim to rehabilitate and teach troubled teenagers through various practices. Troubled teen facilities are privately run, and the troubled teen industry constitutes a multi-billion dollar industry. [3] They accept young people who are considered to have struggles with learning disabilities, emotional regulation, mental illness, and substance abuse. Young people may be labeled as "troubled teens", delinquents, or other language on their websites and other advertising materials. Sometimes, these therapies are used as a punishment for contravening family expectations. [4] For example, one person was placed in a troubled teen program because her mother found her choice in boyfriends unacceptable. [5]

The troubled teen industry has encountered many scandals due to child abuse, institutional corruption, and deaths, and is highly controversial. [6] [7] Many critics of these facilities point to a lack of local, state, and federal laws in the United States and elsewhere governing them. [8] Some countries, such as Bermuda, have been known to send teenagers to programs located in the United States. [9] In addition to their controversial therapeutic practices, many former residents report being forcibly transported to troubled teen facilities by teen escort companies, a practice dubbed "gooning". [10]

History

The troubled teen industry has a precursor in the drug rehabilitation program called Synanon, founded in 1958 by Charles Dederich. [11] By the late 1970s, Synanon had developed into a cult and adopted a resolution proclaiming the Synanon Religion, with Dederich as the highest spiritual authority, allowing the organization to qualify as tax-exempt under US law. Synanon rejected the use of medication for drug rehabilitation, and instead relied on the "Synanon Game", group sessions of attack therapy where members were encouraged to criticize and humiliate each other. [12] [13] Synanon popularized "tough love" attack therapy as a treatment for addiction, and the idea that confrontation and verbal condemnation could cure adolescent misbehavior. Synanon disbanded in 1991, after its tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS and it was bankrupted by having to pay US$17 million in back taxes. [14]

The historic Hotel Casa del Mar functioned as the Synanon headquarters beginning in 1967. Casa del Mar Santa Monica.jpg
The historic Hotel Casa del Mar functioned as the Synanon headquarters beginning in 1967.

Synanon's techniques were highly influential and inspired human potential self-help organizations such as Erhard Seminars Training (est) and Lifespring. [11]

Synanon-style therapy was also used in Straight, Incorporated and The Seed, two drug rehabilitation programs for youth. [15] : 8 

Former Synanon member Mel Wasserman founded CEDU Educational Services in 1967, a company which operated within the troubled teens industry. CEDU owned several for-profit therapeutic boarding schools, group homes, and behavior modification programs. The techniques used by CEDU schools were derived from Synanon's; for example, long, confrontational large-group sessions called "Propheets" took cues from the Synanon Game. [15] : 122  [16] CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns. [16] [17]

Joseph "Joe" Ricci, a dropout from a direct Synanon-descendent program, founded a therapeutic boarding school called Élan School in 1970. [15] : 122  [18] Élan closed down in 2011 amid persistent allegations of abuse. [19]

Synanon's techniques also inspired the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an umbrella organization of facilities meant for rehabilitating troubled teenagers. [15] : 132–133  WWASP is no longer in business, due to widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse. [20] Many WWASP programs were shut down by the Costa Rican, [21] Jamaican, and Mexican governments [22] after investigations into allegations of abuse.

Practices

Troubled teen programs have been criticized for failing to offer evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy or trauma- and violence-informed care. [8] Many or most troubled teen programs share a common lineage descending from Synanon, and use some form of "the game," a group attack therapy session. Additionally, some TTI programs use a form of primal therapy, a discredited form of therapy which involves reenacting traumatic and painful moments such as rape. [23]

Many practices used in troubled teen programs, especially punishments, have been singled out as constituting child abuse or neglect. These include but are not limited to: restricting communication with family and peers; use of physical and chemical restraint (i.e., in the form of sedative drugs); use of seclusion as punishment; gay conversion therapy; excessive use of strip search and cavity search; denial of sleep and nutrition; aversion therapy; etc. [23]

In 2007, the Government Accountability Office published a study verifying thousands of reports of abuse and death in TTI facilities dating back to 1990. [8] [24] [25] The National Disability Rights Network published a report in 2021 reporting common issues at troubled teen facilities including the aforementioned forms of abuse as well as chronic staffing shortages, deprivation of education, and unhygienic and unsafe facility conditions. [26]

Transportation

Many troubled teen institutions offer youth transportation through teen escort companies, in which minors are transported to their facilities against their will. Parents who sign their children up for troubled teen camps will sign over temporary custody to the teen escort company. [27] This transportation is a service offered in the United States and elsewhere, and is a practice that has been criticized on ethical and legal grounds as being akin to kidnapping. [28] Some of the subjects report not realizing they were transported with permission of their parents until days afterward. [29] [2] [30] Clients have reported being ambushed in their own beds at home, or tricked into believing they are going elsewhere. [31] Those who have been in the troubled teen industry call this process "gooning". [32] There have been incidents where transportation staff have impersonated government officials. [33] Former clients of troubled teen programs have made efforts to pursue legal recourse through civil lawsuits targeting both parents and the companies associated with these programs. [34]

Controversies

False imprisonment

19-year-old Fred Collins Jr. found himself falsely imprisoned by Straight Inc., after initially visiting a family member who was enrolled in the program by his parents. [35] Upon arrival, he was kept in a windowless room for six-and-a-half hours, and the staff refused to let him leave until he agreed to enroll into the program. [36] At one New Mexico program, Tierra Blanca Ranch, the authorities found that the adolescent clients had been shackled and handcuffed. [37]

Forced labor

Numerous troubled teen programs have been reported to engage in the practice of compelled labor, wherein program participants are required to perform physically demanding tasks such as wood chopping and horse manure shoveling. [38] [39] [40]

Kidnapping

Elizabeth Zasso was an emancipated minor living in the state of New York who was illegally kidnapped by a teen escort company hired by her parents and taken to the state Utah where she was enrolled in a wilderness therapy program called the Challenger Foundation. [41] It was ruled that the Challenger Foundation had violated her constitutional rights. [42]

Stress positions

In certain instances, troubled teen programs have employed a torture technique known as "stress positions" as a form of discipline against their clients. [43]

Strip searches

Many troubled teen programs conduct forced strip searches against the will of adolescent clients. [44] [45]

Solitary confinement

Numerous troubled teen programs, including the well-known Provo Canyon School, have faced allegations of employing solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. Solitary confinement is a controversial practice that involves isolating individuals from social contact and is the subject of extensive debate regarding its ethical and psychological implications. Additionally, the now-defunct program known as Tranquility Bay, located in Jamaica, has also been reported to have utilized solitary confinement as part of its disciplinary methods. This practice has garnered considerable attention and criticism from various quarters. [46]

Psychological abuse

Numerous reports have surfaced, documenting instances of psychological abuse inflicted upon clients within troubled teen programs. [47] One particularly disturbing example of such abuse involves mock executions, wherein students were coerced into digging their own graves as part of a psychologically distressing exercise. These allegations highlight the gravity of ethical concerns within these programs and have sparked significant scrutiny and criticism from various outlets. [48]

Regulatory laws

Utah, California, Oregon, Montana, and Missouri have all enacted laws aimed at increasing oversight of troubled teen facilities. Utah's law was proposed in 2021 after noted celebrity Paris Hilton came out with her story about her experience at Provo Canyon School. Hilton's testimony triggered a state investigation into the facility, and she later advocated for the law when it was in the process of being passed. [49]

In the United States Congress, bills were proposed to regulate troubled teen facilities every year from 2007 to 2018. [49] In 2021, the Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed by the House of Representatives. As of 16 December 2024, it has been passed by the Senate.

On June 27, 1990, Kristen Chase died from heatstroke whilst enrolled at the Challenger Foundation, a Wilderness Therapy program located in Kane County, Utah. The county's district attorney charged the owner of the program, Steve Cartisano, with nine counts of child abuse and one count of negligent homicide. [50] Lance Jagger was also charged with negligent homicide and child abuse, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to testify against Cartisano. [51] A jury acquitted Steve Cartisano on all charges. [52]

On January 15, 1995, Aaron Bacon died from acute peritonitis while attending the North Star Wilderness Program in Utah. [53] Nine staff members, including company co-founder Lance Jagger, were charged with abuse and neglect. [54] Lance Jagger, William Henry, and Georgette Costigan pled guilty to negligent homicide. [55] Craig Fisher was found guilty of third-degree felony abuse or neglect of a disabled child. [56]

On March 2, 1998, Nicholaus Contreraz died from complications due to an infection. Among his symptoms were chronic urinary and fecal incontinence, for which staff would force him to eat meals on the toilet and sleep in his soiled underwear as punishment. The autopsy revealed Contreraz had died from empyema with a partial collapse of his left lung. [57] He had also contracted strep and staph infections with pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, and the coroner also discovered 71 cuts and bruises. [58] During the investigation by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, it was found that Nicholaus had been cleared for physical training activities by staff. The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into civil rights violations at the location on a broader scale. [59] The California Social Services Department investigation found widespread excessive use of physical restraint and hands-on confrontations by staff members. [60]

Trails Carolina homicide investigation

On the morning of February 3, 2024, a 12-year-old boy died after one night at Trails Carolina wilderness program. The Transylvania County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation in death of the boy. On February 6, the investigators executed a search warrant on Trails Carolina. Trails Carolina refused to co-operate with the investigation. [61] on the February 13, 2024 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told Trails Carolina it was to stop new admissions during the investigation. [62] Later in February 18 all children were removed from Trails Carolina. [63] On May 17, 2024 the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services permanently revoked Trails Carolina's license. On June 25, 2024 the medical examiner's report was released. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia and it was ruled as a homicide. [64]

Timeline

Media

Related Research Articles

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">Synanon</span> 1958 California drug rehab program that turned into a 1970s cult

Synanon, originally known as Tender Loving Care, was a new religious movement founded in 1958 by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in Santa Monica, California, United States. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, Synanon developed into an alternative community centered on group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game", a form of attack therapy.

The John Dewey Academy is a private, coeducational college preparatory therapeutic boarding school in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, formerly housed in Searles Castle. It was founded in 1985 by Dr. Thomas E. Bratter, who died in 2012. In May 2020, the school was purchased by its current head of school, David Baum. As of July 2022, the school was on hiatus for a "complete reboot" at a new location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilderness therapy</span> Type of therapy for teens in the United States

Wilderness therapy, also known as outdoor behavioral healthcare, is a treatment option for behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and mental health issues in adolescents. Patients spend time living outdoors with peers. Reports of abuse, deaths, and lack of research into efficacy have led to controversy, and there is no solid proof of its effectiveness in treating such behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and mental health issues in adolescents.

Provo Canyon School (PCS) is a psychiatric youth involuntary residential treatment center in Provo, Utah, owned and operated by Universal Health Services (UHS) since 2000. The involuntary residential program claims to use an "Acuity Based Care" (ABC) model that identifies and re-assesses the strengths and needs of its students. Residents instead receive a wide range of interventions including psychotropic drug therapy; use of physical restraints; humiliation; starvation; and solitary confinement.

In the United States, a teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm or secure transport company, is a business that specializes in transporting teenagers from their homes to various facilities in the troubled teen industry. Such businesses typically employ a form of legal kidnapping, abducting sleeping teenagers and forcing them into a vehicle. Teen escort companies in the United States are subject to little or no government regulation and commonly result in permanent trauma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspen Education Group</span> American company that provides therapeutic interventions

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.

Aspen Achievement Academy was a wilderness therapy program for adolescents, based in Loa, Utah.

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) is a United States trade organization of therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, young adult programs, and home-based residential programs for adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It was formed in January 1999 by the founders of six programs within the "troubled teen industry," and its board of directors consists of program owners and educational consultants. As of 2021, all but one of those founding six programs have been shut down in the ensuing years for a variety of reasons, including child abuse, neglect, licensing violations, and successful class action lawsuits.

Attack therapy is one of several pseudo-therapeutic methods described in the book Crazy Therapies. It involves highly confrontational interaction between the patient and a "therapist" or between the patient and fellow patients during group therapy, in which the patient may be verbally abused, denounced, or humiliated by the therapist or other members of the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Élan School</span> Private therapeutic boarding school in Poland, Maine, United States

Élan School was an abusive behavior modification program and therapeutic boarding school located in Poland, Maine. It was a full member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) and was considered to be a part of the troubled teen industry. The facility was closed down on April 1, 2011, due to multiple reports of abuse, many from former students, dating back to its opening in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth</span> U.S. organization

The Community Alliance For the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) is an advocacy group for people enrolled in residential treatment programs for at-risk teenagers. The group's mission includes advocating for access to advocates, due process, alternatives to aversive behavioral interventions, and alternatives to restraints and seclusion for young people in treatment programs. They have also called for the routine reporting of abuse in residential treatment programs, as well as federal government oversight and regulation of residential treatment programs.

<i>Help at Any Cost</i> Book by Maia Szalavitz

Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids is a non-fiction book by Maia Szalavitz analyzing the controversy surrounding the troubled teen industry. The book was published February 16, 2006, by Riverhead Books. Szalavitz focuses on four programs: Straight, Incorporated, a copy of the Straight Inc. program called KIDS, North Star wilderness boot camp, and the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. She discusses the background, history and methodology of the troubled-teen industry, including techniques drawn from attack therapy and Synanon. She uses first-person accounts and court testimony in her research, and states that no evidence exists proving that these programs are effective. The book also includes advice for parents and an appendix with additional resources on how to get responsible help for teenagers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CEDU</span> American private boarding school company

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.

A therapeutic boarding school is a residential school offering therapy for students with emotional or behavioral issues. The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs listed 140 schools and programs as of 2005. Many therapeutic boarding schools in the United States have been connected to the abusive troubled teen industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bachelor Academy</span> Private therapeutic boarding school in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, United States

Mount Bachelor Academy was an Oregon private co-educational therapeutic boarding school providing help to families of adolescents experiencing emotional and behavioral disorders including, minor Depressive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Substance abuse, and ADHD as well as help for teenagers and families struggling with adoption issues. The typical student was between 14 and 18 years of age. The average length of stay was 14 to 16 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Ranch Academy</span> Therapeutic boarding school in Utah, US

Diamond Ranch Academy was a therapeutic boarding school just outside the town of Hurricane, Utah, United States. It admitted adolescents, 12–18, with various issues, including anger management issues and major depressive disorder. Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in Idaho Falls in 1999 by Rob Dias and later moved to southern Utah, where it occupied a 200-acre (81 ha) ranch. It closed in August 2023 after a decision by Utah officials not to renew the school's license.

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.

Monarch School was a year round, co-ed therapeutic boarding school located in Heron, Montana. It closed in September 2017, with its owners citing unsustainable student enrollment as the primary reason.

Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is a 2023 true crime documentary film directed by Liza Williams. The subject of the documentary is a series of troubled teen programs ran by a man called Steve Cartisano.

References

  1. ↑ Mooney, Heather; Leighton, Paul (2019). "Troubled Affluent Youth's Experiences in a Therapeutic Boarding School: The Elite Arm of the Youth Control Complex and Its Implications for Youth Justice". Critical Criminology. 27 (4): 611–626. doi:10.1007/s10612-019-09466-4. ISSN   1572-9877. S2CID   210585644.
  2. 1 2 Golightley, Sarah (2020). "Troubling the 'troubled teen' industry: Adult reflections on youth experiences of therapeutic boarding schools". Global Studies of Childhood. 10 (1): 53–63. doi:10.1177/2043610619900514. ISSN   2043-6106. S2CID   213786803.
  3. ↑ Krebs, Cathy (22 October 2021). "Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry". American Bar Association . American Bar Association. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Okoren, Nicolle (14 November 2022). "The wilderness 'therapy' that teens say feels like abuse: 'You are on guard at all times'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Aitkenhead, Decca (2003-06-29). "The last resort (part two)". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  6. ↑ Younis, Yasmin (2021). "Institutionalized Child Abuse: The Troubled Teen Industry". SLU Law Journal Online.
  7. ↑ Mohr, Wanda K. (2009). "Still Shackled in the Land of Liberty: Denying Children the Right to be Safe From Abusive "Treatment"". Advances in Nursing Science. 32 (2): 173–185. doi:10.1097/ANS.0b013e3181a3b16f. ISSN   0161-9268. PMID   19461233. S2CID   40494944.
  8. 1 2 3 Review, The Regulatory (2023-06-27). "The Troubled Teen Industry's Troubling Lack of Oversight | The Regulatory Review". www.theregreview.org. Retrieved 2023-07-13. Once there, RTFs advertise care, promise behavior modification, and seek to "fix" whatever parents may deem wrong with their teenage kids. But RTFs too often punish mental health and behavior, instead of treating it. Actual, evidence-based treatment, such as cognitive behavior therapy or trauma-informed care, is frequently supplanted by cruel, archaic methods of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
  9. ↑ Miller, Jessica (3 February 2020). "A teen from Bermuda died at a Utah treatment center, sparking anger there and investigations here". The Salt Lake Tribune. ISSN   0746-3502. OCLC   137343114 . Retrieved 2023-12-24. She had been sent by Bermuda's child welfare system more than 2,600 miles away to a Utah facility for troubled teens that was supposed to help her.
  10. ↑ Collins-Hughes, Laura (2016-10-20). "Therapy Becomes Theater in 'Wilderness'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-08-30. The slang term is gooning, as in taken by goons.
  11. 1 2 Szalavitz, Maia (17 April 2009). "An Oregon School for Troubled Teens Is Under Scrutiny". Time . Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ↑ Novak, Matt (15 April 2014). "Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult". Gizmodo . G/O Media . Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Ofshe, Richard (Summer 1980). "The Social Development of the Synanon Cult: The Managerial Strategy of Organizational Transformation". Sociological Analysis. 41 (2): 109–127. doi:10.2307/3709903. JSTOR   3709903 . Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  14. ↑ Messick, Brandon (10 December 2018). "The new neighbors". The Associated Press. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Szalavitz, Maia (16 February 2006). Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids. New York City: Riverhead Books. ISBN   1-59448-910-6.
  16. 1 2 Hawkins, Eric (8 June 2020). "California School For 'Troubled Teens' Had Roots In A Notorious, Militant Cult". Oxygen True Crime . NBCUniversal . Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Hansen, Dan; Drumheller, Susan (26 March 2005). "CEDU shutting down". The Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Ex-Head of Suspect's School Won't Testify in '75 Murder Case". The New York Times. 25 September 1998. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Bowman, Parker (19 May 2021). "Valley Vertigo: Documentary details controversial and experimental Élan School". The Sentinel. Hanford, California. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  20. ↑ Kirk Brown, Abbeville school had role in rise and fall of enterprise for serving troubled teens Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine , Anderson (South Carolina) Independent Mail, December 17, 2010
  21. ↑ Weiner, Tim (2003-05-23). "Costa Rica Intervenes at Troubled U.S.-Owned Academy". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  22. ↑ Weiner, Tim (2004-09-26). "Mexico Shuts Tough-Love Center". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  23. 1 2 "The Troubled Teen Industry – Breaking Code Silence" . Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  24. ↑ "Residential Treatment Programs: Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth | U.S. GAO". www.gao.gov. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  25. ↑ Kutz, Gregory D.; O'Connell, Andy (October 10, 2007). "RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS: Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth" (PDF). Government Accountability Office. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Desperation Without Dignity: Conditions of Children Placed in For Profit Residential Facilities" (PDF). National Disability Rights Network. July 13, 2023.
  27. ↑ "The man who takes troubled youths to therapy camp". BBC News. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  28. ↑ Ortiz, Michelle Ray (1999-06-13). "'Escort Service' or Legalized Abduction?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-06-22. For a few hundred dollars, parents pushed to the edge by teens' defiant and destructive behavior can hire "escorts" to rouse their children in the middle of the night and haul them away—in handcuffs if needed.
  29. ↑ Magnuson, Doug; Dobud, Will; Harper, Nevin J. (2022). "Can Involuntary Youth Transport into Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Treatment Programs (Wilderness Therapy) Ever Be Ethical?". Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 41 (3): 417–425. doi:10.1007/s10560-022-00864-2. ISSN   1573-2797. S2CID   250539733.
  30. ↑ Robbins, Ira P. (2014). "Kidnapping Incorporated: The Unregulated Youth-Transportation Industry and the Potential for Abuse". American Criminal Law Review. 51: 563.
  31. ↑ Rensin, Emmett (7 July 2016). "Vox First Person: I went into the woods a teenage drug addict and came out sober. Was it worth it?". Vox. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  32. ↑ "The Troubled Teen Industry's Troubling Lack of Oversight". www.law.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-23. Teens may be subject to legally and ethically dubious tactics before they ever step foot on the grounds of the RTF, with the advent of an industry practice dubbed "gooning" by which youth are placed into these facilities against their will.
  33. ↑ "Daughter claims she was kidnapped – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  34. ↑ Holding, Reynolds (1996-09-22). "HOLDING COURT – Where Parents' Rights Leave Off / A Palo Alto..." SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  35. 1 2 Zibart, Eve (May 26, 1983). "Drug Patient's Award $220,000". The Washington Post . Retrieved December 28, 2022. The request for punitive damages was based on what Collins' chief counsel Philip J. Hirschkop described as a "continuing pattern" of false imprisonment by Straight Inc. staffers.
  36. ↑ "Fred Collins, Appellee, v. Straight, Inc., Appellant, 748 F.2d 916 (4th Cir. 1984)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  37. ↑ Frosch, Dan (2013-10-16). "Lost Youths Are Found, but Ranch Director Is Sought Amid Claims of Beatings". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-24.
  38. ↑ "Utah ranch for 'troubled teens' could lose its license for subjecting kids to forced labor, 'repetitive walking'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  39. ↑ "Woman says she was punished at Turn-About Ranch after reporting a sexual assault". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  40. ↑ "Teens were sent to the ranches for therapy. They say they found a nightmare of hard labor and humiliation". NBC News. 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2024-02-07. Triangle Cross Ranch, a program for boys run by the same family that has also long been accused of forcing children to perform manual labor.
  41. ↑ "N.Y. TEEN FILES SUIT AGAINST CHALLENGER". Deseret News. 1989-08-09. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  42. ↑ Israelsen, Brent (1989-08-05). "TROUBLING QUESTIONS FACING PROGRAM FOR 'TROUBLED' YOUTH". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-02-10. A ruling Friday by 3rd District Judge Dennis Frederick, who said the program violated a New York girl's constitutional rights, has prompted the state to ask Challenger to meet certain conditions.
  43. ↑ Dahlburg, John-Thor (2003-07-13). "Troubled Times for 'Tough Love'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-24. Amberly Knight, a former director of Dundee Ranch, said in an interview that staff members regularly abused the students, including forcing them to stand, kneel, sit or lie on a concrete floor eight hours a day. She also detailed her claims in a letter to Costa Rican authorities.
  44. ↑ Fanlo, Ciara (2022-11-15). "I survived a wilderness camp: 'It's not necessary to break a person's will'". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. OCLC   60623878 . Retrieved 2023-09-23. I was 17 when escorts drove me to a warehouse, strip-searched me and told me to put all my belongings in a shoebox.
  45. ↑ Peake, Eleanor (2023-03-21). "I went to a Troubled Teen Camp just like Paris Hilton, and it still gives me nightmares". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-07. Fanlo was strip-searched and banned from speaking for the first few days. The teenagers were only allowed to drink from dirty ponds: Their cups were treated with chlorine dioxide but the taste of pond water remained.
  46. ↑ Weiner, Tim (2003-05-09). "Parents, Shopping for Discipline, Turn to Harsh Programs Abroad". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-23. The punishments for breaking the rules included solitary confinement, lying on the floor in a small room, nose to the ground, often for days on end.
  47. ↑ Krebs, Catherine E (October 22, 2021). "Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
  48. ↑ "Will Rachel Uchitel ever be able to leave the word 'mistress' behind her?". Los Angeles Times. 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  49. 1 2 Evans, Cameron (2022-01-21). "State Laws Aim to Regulate 'Troubled Teen Industry,' but Loopholes Remain". KFF Health News. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  50. ↑ "SEPARATE TRIALS ORDERED FOR CHALLENGER, CARTISANO". Deseret News. 1991-09-06. Retrieved 2024-02-10. Cartisano also faces nine counts of child abuse, as does the foundation. It originally also was charged with negligent homicide, but a judge ruled a corporation is not capable of committing a homicide.
  51. ↑ "North Star co-owner faces charges for second time". The Daily Spectrum. 1994-10-20. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  52. ↑ "JURY ACQUITS CARTISANO OF ALL CHARGES". Deseret News. 1992-05-28. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  53. 1 2 Morgenstern, Joe (January 15, 1995). "A Death in the Desert". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 28, 2022. In fact, Aaron was dead. After collapsing on the trail, he had died in the back of a North Star pickup truck on Hole in the Rock Road, 15 miles southeast of Escalante.
  54. ↑ "Nine charged after teen's camp death". Tampa Bay Times . Retrieved 2024-02-10. The nine people charged Tuesday were released on their own recognizance, pending a court hearing in December. Among those charged was North Star's co-owner and operator, Lance Jagger.
  55. ↑ "3 PLEAD GUILTY TO NEGLIGENCE IN TEEN'S DEATH". Deseret News. 1996-09-28. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  56. 1 2 "Corner North Star Counselor Sentenced to a Year in Jail". Deseret News. December 21, 1996. Retrieved December 28, 2022. A former counselor in the wilderness therapy program, Craig Fisher, was ordered Thursday to spend time in the Garfield County Jail for his role in the 1994 death of Aaron Bacon, 16, of Phoenix
  57. ↑ Cart, Julie (1998-06-14). "A Puzzling Death at Boys Ranch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-06-07. The Pima County Medical Examiner, who handles autopsies for the smaller Pinal County, concluded Nick died of empyema, a buildup of fluid in the lining between his lungs and chest cavity. There were 2 1/2 quarts of pus in the lining of his chest, causing his left lung to partially collapse.
  58. ↑ Times, Julie Cart Julie Cart is a former environmental reporter for the Los Angeles; Sportswriter, Where She’s Also Been a; In 2009, a national correspondent; Cart; in 2015, colleague Bettina Boxall won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting She left The Times (1998-10-02). "5 Indicted in Death at Arizona Youth Ranch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-06-07.{{cite web}}: |first3= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  59. ↑ "'Pattern of Abuse' Found in Arizona Youth Camp Probe". Los Angeles Times. 1998-08-27. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  60. ↑ "Inquiry Finds Abuse At Correction Camp". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 1998-07-09. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  61. ↑ "Boy's death at therapy program didn't appear natural, but sheriff says they're awaiting cause". AP News. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-11-11. On Tuesday, investigators executed search warrants at the base camp where the boy was found and another location at Trails Carolina where other children from the cabin were moved after the boy's death.
  62. ↑ "North Carolina tells nature-based therapy program to stop admissions during probe of boy's death". AP News. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  63. ↑ "Officials order all children removed from North Carolina wilderness camp where boy died". NBC News. 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  64. ↑ "Autopsy report rules 12-year-old's death at camp for troubled adolescents a homicide". NBC News. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  65. ↑ Nussberger, Kathy (26 June 2005). "Bigger Than Life: A personal journey into the history of CEDU". StrugglingTeens.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  66. ↑ Fraga, Kaleena (12 January 2022). "The Controversial Story Of The Élan School, The 'Last Stop' For Troubled Teens In Maine". All That's Interesting. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  67. ↑ Curley, Maura (1991). Duck in a Raincoat (2nd ed.). Marblehead, Massachusetts: Menukie Press. pp. 2–5.
  68. ↑ Nemy, Enid (February 16, 1982). "Mrs. Reagan, in Florida, Sees Efforts to Fight Drug Abuse". The New York Times . Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  69. ↑ "Police looking into 33-year-old death at Elan School". APNews.com. Associated Press. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  70. ↑ Schafer, Susanne (November 11, 1985). "Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan Visit Drug Abuse Center With AM-Royalty, Bjt". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved December 28, 2022. Nancy Reagan and Princess Diana heard gut-wrenching stories about drug abuse Monday from teen-agers striving to recover at a suburban drug treatment center.
  71. ↑ Bentley, Jean (2017-10-10). "'Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath' Investigates Church's Treatment of Children". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  72. ↑ Dahlburg, John-Thor (2003-07-13). "Key to His Schools' Success? It's God, Founder Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  73. ↑ "News & Views, 4/1999 – Natsap Launched". strugglingteens.com. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  74. ↑ Santa, John L. (Nov 30, 2019). "A Brief History of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs". Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. 11 (reprinted and updated ed.): 18–29. doi:10.19157/JTSP.issue.11.01.10 (inactive 1 November 2024). S2CID   203019189.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  75. ↑ "Does science support the "wilderness" in wilderness therapy?". Salon. 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  76. ↑ "A Troubling Solution for Teens in Trouble". unmarriedamerica.org. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  77. ↑ "14-Year-Old Dies at Desert Boot Camp". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  78. ↑ Janofsky, Michael (2001-07-04). "Desert Boot Camp for Youth Is Shut Down After a Death". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  79. ↑ "Teen Dies During Utah Wilderness Hike". APNews.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  80. ↑ "Youth Program's License Pulled After Boy's Death". Los Angeles Times. 2002-10-12. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  81. ↑ "Teen girl dies in fall from ledge". Deseret News. December 25, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  82. ↑ "Costa Rica Intervenes at Troubled U.S.-Owned Academy". The New York Times. May 23, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2022. The Costa Rican authorities moved today to seize an American-owned behavior-modification academy for children after hearing allegations of physical and emotional abuse, officials said.
  83. ↑ Shapiro, Emily (January 19, 2019). "New clues emerge 15 years after teen's disappearance: 'We just want to know he's safe,' family says". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  84. ↑ "Supco orders new trial in boarding school suicide". Deseret News. 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  85. ↑ "Sheriff: Wilderness camp to blame in Portland teen's death". kgw.com. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  86. ↑ "Anonymous goes after the "troubled-teen industry"". Daily Dot . February 8, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  87. ↑ "10 teens arrested in riot at youth treatment center". Deseret News. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2023-05-05. Ten teenagers were arrested at a residential treatment center Sunday and booked into juvenile detention after allegedly causing a riot.
  88. ↑ "10 Life and Death at Montana Academy". The Missoulian . 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  89. ↑ Miller, Jessica (July 10, 2019). "After a riot, increasing violence and now sex abuse allegations, Red Rock Canyon school will close". The Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved December 28, 2022. A school for troubled youth has decided to close after it faced intense scrutiny following a riot and recent revelations about the number of staffers accused of assaulting students.
  90. ↑ Hauser, Christine; Levenson, Michael (2020-06-24). "Three Charged in Death of Michigan Teenager Restrained at Youth Academy". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  91. ↑ Corinthios, Aurelie (October 9, 2020). "Paris Hilton Planning Peaceful Protest of Utah School with Survivors of Alleged Abuse".
  92. ↑ Schreifels, Jessica (June 9, 2023). "A girl died at Maple Lake Academy after vomiting for days. Now, her parents are suing".
  93. ↑ Salter, Jim (31 August 2022). "Indictment: Boy forcibly taken to Missouri boarding school". AP NEWS. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  94. ↑ Salter, Jim (11 January 2023). "Missouri boarding school under investigation will shut down". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  95. 1 2 Chuck, Elizabeth (February 16, 2024). "Officials order all children removed from North Carolina wilderness camp where boy died". nbcnews.com. NBC News . Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  96. ↑ Schafir, Reuben (January 13, 2024). "The Durango Herald".
  97. ↑ "12-Year-Old's Death At Wilderness Therapy Camp Ruled A Homicide". HuffPost UK. 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  98. ↑ Locked in Paradise
  99. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (2014-07-09). "The Kids Aren't All Right, and Neither Is the School". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  100. ↑ Nilssen, Todd (2017-04-29), The Last Stop (Documentary, biography, Drama), retrieved 2022-12-26
  101. ↑ Dean, Alexandra (2020-09-14), This Is Paris (Documentary), The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), retrieved 2022-12-26
  102. ↑ Heritage, Stuart (2023-12-27). "Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare review – so dark it's an anti-Christmas watchalong". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-12-27.

Further reading

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.