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We Speak For Them to Be Heard.
Open Letter: Close “Troubled Teen” Programs for Youth During COVID-19 Pandemic
Unfortunately, disaster has already struck in several facilities around the country, including an outbreak that was only revealed to the public because of the horrific death of a teenager who was restrained to death by 7 staff members. Due to a lack of any outside communication systems, it is highly likely that outbreaks in TTI programs are not being reported.
A Short (but Scary) History of The Troubled Teen Industry
Video Credit: Jen Robinson For more information and to view more videos please visit BreakingCodeSilence.net
Vegas Lost : Questions remain after Northwest Academy closure
by John Treanor Monday, May 20th 2019 LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — When a boarding school shut down, the owners arrested for forty counts of child abuse, we had questions. We had a hard time getting answers. To give you an example, when we asked who these students were and how...
#BreakingCodeSilence
WWASP Survivors, is teaming up with BreakingCodeSilence.net and SDLS (Suburbia’s Dirty Little Secret) to support the #breakingcodesilence campaign to spread awareness of the troubled teen industry and the need for reform.
Each year, thousands of teenagers are held, most without consent, in residential treatment centers.
Ben Trane Found Guilty on Sex Abuse Charges
Benjamin Trane, the former owner and director of Midwest Academy, shows no emotion as he was found guilty on three counts in his sexual abuse and child endangerment trial, Friday Dec. 22, 2017 at the South Lee County Courthouse in Keokuk, Iowa. [John...
Jury Impaneled, Trial Begins for Ben Trane Sex Abuse Charges
Testimony began Wednesday in Keokuk, Iowa, in the trial of former Midwest Academy owner and director Ben Trane, who has charged with offenses including sexual abuse of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and child endangerment. The charges spring from Trane's...
Jury Selection Begins in Ben Trane's Sex Abuse Criminal Trial
Jury selection began Tuesday in Keokuk for Ben Trane's criminal trial. Trane faces charges of sexual abuse of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and child endangerment, all in relation to his conduct as owner and director of Midwest Academy, a now-shuttered...
Narvin Lichfield Has Been Convicted of Poaching 5 Times
We're digging into Narvin's criminal records. (More on that later, stay tuned...especially you, Narv! We know you read these!) As we were digging through the not-inconsiderable number of records, we ran across this little nugget: Narvin Lichfield has been issued 5...
Palmetto Therapeutic Boarding School Now Open at Former Carolina Springs, Seneca Ranch Property
It has recently come to our attention that a school calling itself “Palmetto Therapeutic Boarding School” has recently been opened in a South Carolina property formerly occupied by WWASP program Carolina Springs Academy. It's natural to wonder if this is a...
Midwest Academy Closed by Authorities
Midwest Academy has been closed Friday after authorities raided the school in Keokuk, Iowa and a related site in nearby Montrose, while investigating into alleged sexual abuse of children at the school by staff. According to local TV station KHQA, authorities ordered...
Search Warrant Served on Midwest Academy
Earlier today, officials from a number of Iowa state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Iowa State Police, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Special Enforcement Operations Bureau, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Iowa...
HuffPo: A Bill to Finally End the Abuse of Teens at Residential Treatment Programs and “Boot Camps”
By Rep. Adam Schiff Congressmen from California Read full article here: Op Ed - Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens Act 2015 This piece was co-authored by Jodi Hobbs, the founder and President of the Survivors of Institutional Abuse (SIA)...
Robert Lichfield Is Lying
Robert Lichfield is the founder and owner of WWASP. As such, Lichfield built and then oversaw a large network of abusive programs that literally spanned the entire world as well as shady marketing department designed to drive fear deep into the hearts of naive and...
New Petition to End Teen Escort Services
Yours truly has started a new petition on Change.org to end the practice of using teen escorts (aka legal kidnapping) to get kids to residential treatment centers. This practice is widely considered one of the most traumatic, harmful, and damaging in the industry and...
Paradise Cove Parent Manual Reveals WWASP’s Lies
This manual is basically spin made by WWASP to parents to head off the inevitable complaints of abuse and mistreatment that they knew were going to be coming from the children.
Even Cracked.com Gets It.
When Cracked.com runs a story on the troubled teen industry, you know the industry is a total joke. The story, unfortunately, isn't. Neither is the harrowing tale of abuse related by the author of the story, nor are the thousands of other stories out there of teens...
One Survivor Sums Up Paradise Cove in a Few Short Words
Shut Down Logan River Now!
Logan River Academy is an abusive program in the style of WWASP located in Utah. Abuse, neglect, forced medication, and even deaths have occurred and continue to occur. LRA is a member of NATSAP, a non-accrediting membership body that does not enforce any ethical nor...
Youth Foundation Success Academy CLOSED
October 10th, 2013 According to recent reports, as of October 13th 2013, Youth Foundation Success Academy (YFSA) will be ceasing operations. WWASP Survivors has obtained an email sent to all parents by Youth Foundation Inc’s Board of Directors. This letter announces...
HR 1981: The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2013
The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2013 Tens of thousands of U.S. teenagers attend private and public residential programs – including therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness camps, boot camps, and behavior modification facilities – that...
Another Lawsuit Filed Against Cross Creek Manor
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/08/19/60378.htm SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - A "charlatan behavior modification facility" took a girl's "desperate and deluded" mother for $100,000, made the girl a "mindless slave," and forced her to listen to stories about rape and...
Youth Foundation Success Academy Youth Supervisor Charged for Showing Porn to Students
See Video Here: http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_6099.shtml Police: Youth Home Worker Shows Troubled Teens Pornography Of Himself By Ladd Egan(KUTV) An employee at a southern Utah youth home for troubled teens has been arrested on charges that he...
New York Times: Students Recall Special Schools Run Like Prisons
By Timothy Williams After Alexander Chomakhidze and his family moved to the United States from Greece a few years ago, he became so despondent he started skipping school and even tried to kill himself. Worried, his parents sent him to Horizon Academy, a Utah boarding...
Youth Foundation Detainee Falls 60ft During Offsite Hike
` From KUTV News: (KUTV) A teenage boy was on a day hike with his school when he fell 60 feet in a canyon. A group of students from a troubled youth home in La Verkin, called Youth Foundations, were on a day hike in Kanarraville Falls when a 16-year-old boy tumbled 60...
Documentary – Locked in Paradise
Locked in Paradise Desperate US parents are sending their troublesome teenagers to tough boarding schools overseas, but many have had second thoughts when they discover just how tough these schools can be. Annual fees are between $25,000 (£13,000) and $40,000...
A Horizon Academy Survivor Needs Your Help!!
Redditor Speaks out to /r/troubledteens about his experience in Horizon Academy "I went to a WWASP called Horizon Academy in Amargosa Valley Nevada. I had just turned 13 and was there for over 2 years. After I was there for a few weeks to a month I started being raped...
The Trouble with Lifetime’s “Teen Trouble” and Josh Shipp
With no reference to any degrees, certifications or professional qualifications, Josh Shipp refers to himself as an “expert in teen behavior” who practices psycho-dramatic methods
Controversial Troubled Teen Programs on the Dr. Phil Show
Has your child been in a 'tough love' program? Did you place your child into a controversial ‘teen rehab’ or a behavioral treatment program? Does your child harbor resentment towards you for placing him/her in it? Does your relationship with your child feel strained...
The I That is We: A Self Determination of Peoples
Roch Longueépée THE I THAT IS WE: a self determination of peoples - Address to the AGM for the Coalition for Persons with Disabilities. Delivered October, 24, 2012, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada I want to express my deep gratitude for the privilege of addressing this...
Mitt Romney’s Special Interest
What do Mitt Romney, Bain Capital and the notorious Troubled Teen Industry have in common?… Sadly, quite a lot. I wouldn't consider myself a “Troubled Teen”… but as a kid diagnosed with ADD, I was struggling in school and my Mom was concerned for the future of my...
DSS investigates Carolina Springs Academy
Investigators for the South Carolina Department of Social Services found conditions there far less idyllic.
In the fall, the agency three times ordered the facility to close because it was operating without a state license.
U.S. Youths Rebel at Harsh School
By TIM WEINER Published: May 27, 2003 OROTINA, Costa Rica, May 25 — A torrent of teenage rage, hard and fast as the tropical rain on this Pacific coast, washed away the Academy at Dundee Ranch this weekend. Dundee Ranch, the latest foreign outpost in a far-flung...
WWASP Slammed by Federal Court
Children’s Programs Marred by Scandal PRESS RELEASE WEBWIRE – Thursday, July 06, 2006 By Paula Reeves CONTACT: paulareeves@paulareeves.com WEB SITE: www.paulareeves.com SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (July 9, 2006) – The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), a...
Update: WWASP lawsuit to be heard in St. George Utah
Wide-scope school abuse lawsuit to be heard in St. George Written by Kevin Jenkins August 15, 2012 · Last Update: 10:57 AM ST. GEORGE — A lawsuit claiming several youth correctional schools throughout the world were involved in perpetrating physical and sexual abuse...
Investigation Reveals Culture of Systemic Abuse and Neglect at Bain Capital Owned Treatment Centers
New details emerge on several wrongful deaths since the Bain takeover in 2006 Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney in 1984, prides itself on turning around failing businesses. But lawsuits and critics allege that controversial profit-maximizing...
Romney, Torture, and Teens
Romney, Torture, and Teens The former governor's connections to abusive "tough love" camps By Maia Szalavitz | June 27, 2007 Article quoted from Reason.com When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he’d support doubling the size of the prison at...
Knee deep: Lawsuits mount against Spring Creek Lodge
Knee deep : Lawsuits mount against Spring Creek Lodge WWASPS Lawsuits (click here) Amended Complaint (click here) by John S. Adams November 23, 2006 On Oct. 7, 2004, just days before her 17th birthday, Karlye Anne Newman slipped into a bathroom at Spring Creek Lodge...
Turley Joint Action Lawsuit – Wood v. WWASP Et Al.
On August 25, 2006, the prominent and prestigious Turley Law Firm of Dallas, Texas filed a lawsuit on behalf of 25 plaintiffs against the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) and their associates, alleging Child Abuse, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Conspiracy, Gross Negligence, RICO Violations, False Imprisonment, Assault, Battery, and More.
Who’s Watching the Kids? – PBS Documentary
Richard Darrington Responds to Controversy at Darrington Academy
Darrington blamed the websites that filed these reports from survivors as providing “false allegations” and described claims of abuse as “anything to do with telling a child ‘No'”. Darrington further claims that DA was not a part of WWASP, despite the fact that he confirmed in this very letter, that he was in fact still utilizing the WWASP seminars and marketing resources.
Randall Hinton Convicted
Abuse History No Bar to For-Profit Teen Biz: Arrest Probably Won't End It, Either By Maia Szalavitz Admitting to pepper-spraying a teenager "more than two times a day" as a means of discipline might be seen by some as a bar to opening and operating a school for...
Bethel Girls' / Boys' Academy Shut Down
Bethel Girls Academy Mississippi, Shut down in February 2005 after state officials investigate reports of abuse also known as Bethel Girls' Academy and Bethel Boys' Academy Bethel Girls Academy - ABUSE!!!!! by Watchaduen » 20 May 2004, 22:30 (These articles were...
The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act 2011
The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act 2011 Introduced (Oct 6, 2011) This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process. It was introduced into Congress on October 6, 2011. Most bills and resolutions are assigned to committees which...
Dr. Drew Endorses Diamond Ranch Academy
On Feb 20th 2012, Dr. Drew Pinsky, a popular drug rehab specialist, producer, radio show personality and "doctor to the stars" (as seen on Celebrity Rehab) ran a show on his program Life Changers about a mother who gave her son an unusual punishment for his behavior;...
Deadly Rehabs That Target Kids
How "tough love" rehabs prey on desperate parents seeking help for addicted children. Plus: Four things every parent should do before sending a teen to treatment. By Maia Szalavitz It's always difficult to know what to do when your child is at risk. But parents of...
3 out of 4 La Verkin sex offenders live less than 2,000 ft from Cross Creek School
Honestly we weren't even looking for this, but what we stumbled upon was quite troubling... What's even more surprising is WHO we found to be involved. We've uncovered connections between local utah sex offenders, the Lichfield's, a child prostitution ring and a...
Joint Action Lawsuit against WWASP
Courthouse News Service Tuesday, September 06, 2011 · Last Update: 6:32 AM PT Torture Alleged at Chain of Children's Homes By JONNY BONNER SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - Hundreds of parents claim a group of boarding schools tortured their children: locked them in dog cages,...
Tranquility Bay Documentary: WWASP Behavior Modification Camps
A full length documentary about WWASP programs, their victims and the mother who refused to let her voice be silenced intimidation tactics and frivolous lawsuits. Part 1 Part 2 "While at the camp, students are monitored 24 hours a day, are not allowed to speak...
WWASP Lawsuit refiled in Utah
Visit original link here By Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News Published: Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 6:39 p.m. MDT SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys representing 350 former students and 150 of their parents have renewed their claims of fraud, breach of contract and allegations of...
Video: WWASP's Tough Love Schools
This is an investigation into WWASP's "Tough Love" schools Casa By the Sea, and High Impact by Inside Edition back in 2002. A few of our own survivors were there that day, When the helicopters flew over High Impact to get this footage. Staff panicked, put all of the...
The Troubled Teen Industry
THE TROUBLE WITH THE "TROUBLED TEEN" INDUSTRY The “Troubled Teen Industry” is a secretly connected industry, that consists of a network of similarly structured Therapeutic Boarding Schools, Residential Treatment Centers, Religious Academies, Wilderness Programs or...
Animal Bones, Carcasses Found At Closed School
Law officers and animal rescue groups in Greenwood and Abbeville Counties are looking into why dozens of animals were left for dead on the property of a now-closed school for troubled teens.
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