The Trouble with Troubled Teen Programs

How the "boot camp" industry tortures and kills kids

Maia Szalavitz from the January 2007 issue

(Page 3 of 4)

The Way of WWASP
But as the Martin Lee Anderson case makes clear, tough love continued to thrive. Indeed, the New York Times business section reported on tough teen programs as an investment opportunity last year, saying the number of teenagers attending residential programs to deal with drug and behavior problems had quadrupled since 1995. Exposés of programs like Straight or Florida’s government-run boot camps almost always include positive anecdotes along with the accounts of abuse. As a result, for parents terrified of drugs, these stories seem to portray the programs as the only ones tough enough to “do what works.” Since the media play positive anecdote against negative anecdote, often without citing the negative research data, exposés can actually serve as advertisements. The suggestion that the programs work serves to justify any abuse. In 2004, for example, Time quoted a father who said a tough-love program “improved his [son’s] attitude and sense of responsibility,” even as it reported that the family removed the child after finding some of the program’s disciplinary measures too harsh.

One of the largest chains of currently operating tough love schools is known as the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), sometimes called the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. Like Straight, it took tactics from Synanon; its ideology, the language it uses, and its methods for discrediting teens’ complaints are eerily similar.

Variously claiming to hold 1,200 to 2,500 teenagers and reporting 2003 revenues of $80 million, the group currently has at least eight affiliates, in Jamaica (Tranquility Bay), South Carolina (Carolina Springs Academy), Nevada (Horizon Academy), Utah (Cross Creek Programs, Majestic Ranch Academy), Georgia (Darrington Academy), Mississippi (Respect Camp), and Iowa (Midwest Academy). WWASP is a series of limited liability corporations that frequently switch corporate officers and names. This strategy is often used to limit losses from lawsuits by disgruntled customers, and until very recently, WWASP has been successful in deterring major law firms from pursuing such cases against it.

Through its public relations representative, James Wall of Freeman Wall Aiello, WWASP denies charges of abuse. But nine of its affiliates have closed following abuse allegations and government investigations. Mexico has shut down three programs since the late ’90s; at one, police shot video of teenagers held in outdoor dog cages. (That program currently faces a civil suit by a boy who claims he not only was kept in a dog cage but was sexually assaulted and forced to eat vomit.) In 1998 the U.S. State Department found “credible allegations of physical abuse” at WWASP’s facility in Samoa, citing “beatings, isolation, food and water deprivation, choke-holds, kicking, punching, bondage, spraying with chemical agents, forced medication, [and] verbal abuse.” It called for an investigation by the local government, which resulted in the program’s closure. The man who ran that program, who once admitted to 48 Hours that teens had been bound with duct tape at the Samoa site, now operates the WWASP facility in Iowa.

In 2003 Costa Rican child welfare authorities raided WWASP’s Dundee Ranch Academy. They found staff “unqualified to attend to needs of children,” “inadequate food and meal portions,” and “some punishments [that] qualify as physical and psychological abuse.” The owner of the facility was arrested for human rights violations, and a source in the Costa Rican government says a prosecution is imminent. Yet Pillars of Hope Academy, an affiliated program for young adults run by Dundee Ranch’s owner, operates in the same building; it is not subject to Costa Rica’s regulations for programs aimed at minors.

Last year one WWASP program in upstate New York, the Academy at Ivy Ridge, was forced by the state attorney general to return nearly $2 million for fraudulently claiming to offer New York high school diplomas. It says it is no longer affiliated with WWASP, but it has changed neither its staff nor its treatment methods. (It is currently facing a $100 million class action suit for educational fraud.) Another WWASP affiliate, Spring Creek Lodge in Montana, likewise claims to be independent now, although it has the same staff and still gets referrals through the WWASP phone line and websites. In July a press release announced a new website, troubledteenprograms.org, linking all of the WWASP-associated programs under the name “Teen Revitalization.”

WWASP seems to have learned Straight’s P.R. lessons well: Deny abuse; smear kids who report problems as drug addicts, liars, and manipulators; insist that the media “balance” negative stories with positive anecdotes; and when the charges begin to stick and the press and regulators have thoroughly discredited a program, simply change its name and reopen, changing location only if necessary.

In an email message, James Wall, the WWASP publicist, says: “Clearly you can speculate about similarities between Straight and WWASPS. However, the two are completely separate organizations with no links whatsoever. You should also note that WWASPS and associated organizations continue to thrive (in terms of growth) despite continued attacks from individuals (online, etc.) and the media.”

WWASP seems to have learned from Straight’s political and regulatory strategies as well. Since the 2002 election, founder Robert Lichfield, his family members (some of whom run WWASP programs), and their various business entities have donated more than $1 million to the Republican Party and its candidates. Together the Lichfields and their businesses are the third largest Republican donor in WWASP’s home state of Utah, according to the Deseret News. WWASP has moved to block or water down state legislation aimed at reigning in tough love programs in at least two states, Utah and Montana.

In 2004 Marty Stephens, speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, used a procedural maneuver to block a vote on legislation, which backers say had more than enough support to pass, imposing stricter controls on a WWASP facility near Randolph, Utah. Six days later, he received a check from Robert Lichfield for his gubernatorial campaign. Lichfield insisted to the Salt Lake Tribune that “that check had nothing to do with” the bill’s blockage. He added: “I’d like to use my means and resources to bless people’s lives. Does that also imply influencing policy makers to make good policies that support good family values, quality education, and the things I believe in? Definitely.”

Prior to 2005, Montana didn’t require teen programs to let the state know they existed, let alone impose regulation. But local and national exposés led to calls for greater oversight. In the 2005 legislative session, Spring Creek Lodge registered five lobbyists and spent at least $50,000 to block a bill that would have imposed strict state rules, according to the Missoula Independent. The legislation died in the state House of Representatives. An alternative bill, sponsored by Spring Creek’s competitors, passed. It created a governor-appointed board with five members—three of whom represent the industry. One of the members is the “principal” of Spring Creek Lodge.

The Tide Turns?
Thanks to the potent combination of political influence, industry and government fear-mongering, and media malpractice, tough love has so far survived its detractors. But Martin Lee Anderson’s death may have marked a turning point.

The case has revealed the politics of tough love in one of its home states, and has turned a new spotlight on the data. In a departure from the usual journalistic pattern, the early coverage of the case consistently cited the research finding boot camps to be no more effective than juvenile prison, and editorials mainly called for their closure.

The movement toward “evidence-based” social policy has been growing since the early ’90s, as insurers, patient advocates, and government agencies alike demanded proof that expensive policies produce demonstrable results. It also seems to have spurred at least some journalists to view scientific data as superior to anecdotes when assessing the performance of tough love programs. This has reduced the false balance in prior coverage that simply played success stories against abuse accounts. Some Florida papers even noted how the research and prior abuse scandals had led other states to shut down their government-run boot camps. They cited a Maryland scandal in which the Baltimore Sun photographed guards at a state-run boot camp openly beating inmates, which led that state to drop such programs. They also mentioned a similar scandal that prompted a federal investigation of Georgia’s public boot camp programs, leading to their closure. Some coverage of the Anderson case noted the 1999 death of 14-year-old Gina Score at a South Dakota boot camp following forced exercise similar to that endured by Anderson, an incident that led that state to shutter its programs.

As the Florida case unfolded, political missteps dogged boot camp supporters. First, the state refused to release the videotape of the boy’s beating to the media, leading to an outcry and greater media attention. Guy Tunnell, who had founded and staffed the sheriff’s boot camp in which Anderson died, had gone on to head the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; as a result, he was initially in charge of investigating the death. Email messages from Tunnell—who serves on the board of the Drug Free America Foundation—showed that he supported the boot camp he was supposed to be objectively investigating, and that he had adamantly resisted releasing the video. The revelations prompted the appointment of a special prosecutor, generating yet more media attention. No criminal charges have been filed so far, but Anderson’s family has filed a $40 million lawsuit against the state.

Comments

|10.4.09 @ 3:00PM|#

I think parents now consider on how well they can control their troubled teens by learning & training their selves with the tools that are necessary for effective parenting of today's teens. Limits and rules are critical in the development of safety, growth, and fulfillment of individuals or groups. If you are dealing with a troubled or defiant teen you are already familiar with the need for more defined structure. When setting rules for troubled teens you need to create several layers of preventative rules to assist your teen. For example: It probably would not work to have a rule of "Don't Use Drugs" but then allow your teen to associate with drug using friends or hang out at the wrong places. You should set some very clear preventative rules with your teens concerning "WHO" they may associate with, "WHAT" types of activities they are allowed to attend and/or participate, "WHERE" they are allowed to go, and "WHEN" they may go, as well as expected to return.
http://www.helpfortroubledteen.....tions.html , these suggestions might be very helpful for parents of troubled teens.

Pingback| 10.9.09 @ 10:32AM

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with Troubled Teen Programs - Reason Magazine | Finally! Be free from smoking Finally! Be free from smoking Home The Trouble with Troubled Teen Programs - Reason Magazine January 1, 1970 Jonathan Foulds, MA, MAppSci, PhD wrote an intriguing post today on Here’s a little taster As far back as 1978, however, employees had begun to quit Straight and contact regulators, reporting beatings and other…

Jacob W|10.12.09 @ 1:07PM|#

Anderson's death never should have happened. The biggest problem with these types of programs is the lack of staff training. If the staff think a kid is faking they should treat the kid just as if they were having a serious problem. Most deaths occur within the first few days of being admitted. The first days are very challenging for the teens and the staff. The problems with many of these kids are deeper than the outward signs they are displaying. There needs to be better oversight on these programs and better training dealing with new admissions. There are also reviews available for many of these places online http://fortroubledteens.com