BOOT CAMP FOR KIDS: Torturing Teens for Fun and Profit

 Cruelty, sadism, injury & death in locked residential facilities for troubled youth 


   

Youth trainer at a juvenile facility: "If I can't make a kid puke or piss in his pants on his first day, I'm not doing my job." "The near-total absence of governmental regulation and oversight of locked residential 'treatment' facilities where children are warehoused closely parallels conditions in the pre-FDA days of the Wild West when itinerant pitchmen peddled fake remedies to the gullible. But there is one important distinction. When people became ill as a result of using some toxic homemade brew, the peddler who sold it would have his cart smashed and be lucky to get out of town alive. The 'troubled-teen' industry runs no such risk. When their shabby product fails, as it usually does, they blame the customer, and there are no refunds," J. Riak, Exec. Dir., PTAVE "This nightmare has remained an open secret for years. Sporadic news accounts of specific incidents have built a record that should never have been ignored, but shamefully was. The federal government has completely failed to grasp the urgency of this situation," Congressman George Miller (D-California, 7th Congressional District), Chairman, House Education and Labor Committee, Member, House Natural Resources Committee

Other Web-based organizations that report on the child-abuse-disguised-as-therapy industry ANTIWWASP.COM Community Alliance for the Fair and Ethical Treatment of Youth CAFETY.ORG Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse, Inc. CAICA.ORG If you are the owner of a site that belongs on this list, or know of one, please advise riak@nospank.net Family of boy strangled at Tenn. center settles suit for $10.5 million By Troy Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer, Philadelphia Inquirer, February 12, 2010 Omega Leach was 17 when he was strangled in 2007 Boot Camp Hearings: Greg Kutz, Managing Director, Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, Govt. Accountability Office testifies to the Committee on Education and Labor about death and child abuse in "residential treatment" programs. Video A and Video B Abuse in Juvenile Detention Rampant, Says Expert, By Mary Silver, Epoch Times Staff, January 29, 2010 Teachers who Bully Students: Patterns and Policy Implications, By Alan McEvoy, Ph.D., Wittenberg University, 2005 Restraint and abuse: Time to get information out before more kids die, By Patti Hartigan, True/Slant, January 27, 2010 109 Years of Child Abuse at the Florida School for Boys Now Known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, A Special Report to The Saint Petersburg Times, April 19, 2009 An Oregon School for Troubled Teens Is Under Scrutiny, Time, By Maia Szalavitz, April 17, 2009 House Passes Legislation to Stop Child Abuse in Teen Boot Camps and other Residential Programs, Maia Szalavitz, The Huffington Post, June 25, 2008 Over the GW Must-See Indy Film Exposes Cruel Teen Correction Programs Read review by Maia Szalavitz, July 7, 2007 When Is "Tough Love" Torture? By Maia Szalavitz, Mother Jones, May 4, 2008 and update on May 5 in The Huffington Post Abusive Residential Facilities: The Warning Signs Read more about this important new book Read TOUGH LOVE QUACKERY: Maia Szalavitz's presentation to The Cato Foundation, April 20, 2006 The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry This harsh approach to helping troubled teens has a long and disturbing history. By Maia Szalavitz, Mother Jones, August 20, 2007 Who's Watching The Kids? There are more than 30 privately run schools for troubled youth operating in the state of Montana. They employ more than 600 people and pump an estimated 4 million into the state income taxes. It's an exploding industry, but strangely, most Montanans have no idea the schools even exist. In this hour-long documentary, MontanaPBS explores a lucrative industry praised for its novel approach to reforming youth, yet shrouded in disturbing allegations of abuse and neglect. First Aired Thursday, September 14, 2006 Airs Tuesday 11/14/06 at 8pm Click on www.montanapbs.org/WhosWatchingTheKids/, then select Windows Media Player. Graduate of a school for troubled teens describes therapy Molestation and beatings commonplace in Texas youth lockups; cover-up of abuses probed; reforms promised 2007 REFORMING TEXAS REFORM SCHOOLS by Jordan Riak, April 3, 2007 TWO LETTERS FROM A DESPERATE MOM, March 22, 2007 DEADLY RESTRAINT, By Jordan Riak, December 1999; Revised/updated May 2006 JOEY ALETRIZ 1989 - 2006 Beaten and suffocated at SummitQuest Academy No charges will be filed in teen's death MARTIN LEE ANDERSON: A LIFE CUT SHORT February, 2006 Teen walked into the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Boot Camp facility in perfect health, but was transported out comatose in an ambulance two hours later. RODNEY HULIN, JR. 17-year-old dies by suicide following repeated rapes and beatings while in custody, June 1996. RAPE AS PUNISHMENT School of Shock How many times do you have to zap a child before it's torture? By Jennifer Gonnerman, Mother Jones, August 20, 2007 JUDGE ROTENBERG CENTER INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGED CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, June, 2006 Breaking Down Our Kids; Child Abuse for Profit is Occurring in America By Joshua Chiappelli, SOURCE: Dissident Voice, April 20, 2006 NO MORE NIGHTMARES AT TRANQUILITY BAY?, By John Gorenfeld, AlterNet, January 23, 2006 AT SOME YOUTH 'TREATMENT' FACILITIES, 'TOUGH LOVE' TAKES BRUTAL FORMS, By Michelle Chen SOURCE: The New Standard , November 21, 2005 Exploitation of Youth & Families: Perspectives on Unregulated Residential Treatment, By Allison Pinto, Ph.D., Monica Epstein, Ph.D., Paul Lewis, B.B.A., Kathryn Whitehead, B.A. Presented to APA Convention, August 12, 2006 Exploitation in the name of "specialty schooling" By Allison Pinto, Ph.D., Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D. and Monica Epstein, Ph.D. Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, 2005 STATEMENT BY KATHRYN WHITEHEAD, Former Student at Mission Mountain School, Montana, October 25, 2005 SOURCE: www.cafety.org Community Alliance for the Fair and Ethical Treatment of Youth FALSE ALLURE OF THE BOOT CAMP By Henry Lawton Correspondence to PTAVE, January 18, 2005 FACT SHEET BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION FACILITIES U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., January, 2004 TEEN-HELP OPERATORS HAVE CLOUT Family behind schools with checkered record calls in political favors, critics say (Article Last Updated: 09/21/2004 10:59:06 AM ) By Dan Harrie and Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 2004 BREAKING THE VOW OF SECRECY A true story about Teen Help/WWASP By Karen Lile, January 1998 CAN I TRUST THEM? My Experience of Teen Help / WWASP/ASI/Resource Realizations/ "Discovery" Seminar, and Results of Subsequent Research, A personal account by Kendall Ross Bean, January 1998 AMBASSADOR DE SADE, By John Gorenfeld, AlterNet, SOURCE: http://alternet.org/story/27725/, November 8. 2005 Congressman George Miller (7th District, California) introduces legislation to curb child abuse in residential treatment programs. Bill would affect facilities both in U.S. and abroad Wednesday, April 20, 2005 George Miller Read: Press release Read: End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act (Adobe Reader required) Read: Correspondence between Congressman George Miller and Attorney General John Ashcroft about alleged human rights violations of children in WWASPS facilities. Petition for the passage of the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005 www.PetitionOnline.com/hr1738/petition.html Please click the above link and sign now!

A Dozier boy’s nightmares, By Robert W. Straley, Special to the St. Petersburg Times, June 12, 2011 Family history uncovers Waco State Home's brutal past, By Patrick Beach, Staff, American-Statesman, February 14, 2011 Mother speaks out about son's abuse at TX state school, By Terri Gruca, KVUE News, TX, August 17, 2010 TIME-OUT OR TORTURE? Sex offender put kids 'through hell' in time-out room, By Clio Francis, Sunday Star Times, August, 8, 2010 A TIMES EDITORIAL — Legislature should fix Dozier School for Boys or shut it now, St. Petersburg Times, March, 10, 2010 Plainfield school accused of food denial, using ‘jail cell’, By Emily Groves, Norwich Bulletin, March, 6, 2010 Justice denied: Pa. judges accused of taking kickbacks to send youngsters to juvenile prison, By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARYCLAIRE DALE , Associated Press, StarTribune.com, February 11, 2009 3 Fired From Treatment Center In Teen’s Death, Associated Press, www.nbc4i.com, February 8, 2009 DEADLY RESTRAINT By Jordan Riak, December 1999, Revised/updated May 2006 Memories of Casa by the Sea, By Ramey Smith, July 10, 2008 Boy suffocated during school punishment; Coroner's Report, Graeme Hamilton, National Post, with files from Canwest News Service, June 20, 2008 ACLU sues Texas youth prison system claiming abuse, By Jim Vertuno, Associated Press, June 11, 2008 Survey: 13,000 Claims of Abuse Reported in U.S. Juvenile Centers 2004 through 2007, By Associated Press, March 2, 2008 Youth pleads to get out of rehab, By Cayman Net News Online, February 29, 2008 Texas Youth Commission workers accused of sexually abusing juvenile inmates; two face trial but venue not yet set, From staff and wire reports, Dallas Morning News, January 17, 2008 Handle With Care: The state continues to license a Midstate youth treatment facility where two have died and many others have been abused, By Elizabeth Ulrich, Nashville Scene, November 8, 2007 Experts on Self-Injurious Kids Challenge Dr. Israel's Methods, By Jennifer Gonnerman, Mother Jones, August 20, 2007 What Works for Troubled Teens?, By Maia Szalavitz, Mother Jones, August 2007 Eating Their Own Vomit, By Maggie Burks, Jackson Free Press, November 7, 2007 When ‘Tough Love’ Is Too Tough, EDITORIAL, New York Times, October 16, 2007 Troubles Mount Within Texas Youth Detention Agency, By Solomon Moore, New York Times, October 16, 2007 Teenager testifies in Hinton trial, Vic Vela, Cañon City The Daily Record, August 28, 2007 Christian discipline? 2 arrested in alleged dragging of girl behind van at boot camp, By Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, August 10, 2007 Abuse, neglect appear widespread in Texas schools for retarded, By Emily Ramshaw and Amy Rosen, Dallas Morning News, July 23, 2007 Loophole in state law has allowed some in teen-help industry to go unlicensed, By Kirsten Stewart, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 16, 2007 EDITORIAL: Close Columbia Training School By JFP Staff, Jackson free Press, June 13, 2007 Mississippi Sued Over Alleged Abuse at Girls Detention Center, FOXNews.com, July 12, 2007 Academy alleges libel, slander, By Vic Vela, Daily Record, July 7, 2007 Criticism over youth jail death, BBC News, June 28, 2007 Romney, Torture, and Teens: The former governor's connections to abusive "tough love" camps, By Maia Szalavitz, reasononline (www.reason.com), June 27, 2007 MOVIE REVIEW: "Over the GW", If These Cold Walls Could Talk, By Nicolas Rapold, The New York Sun, June 28, 2007 N.Y. report denounces shock use at school; Says students are living in fear, Boston Globe, By Scott Allen, Globe Staff, June 15, 2007 Texas Youth Prison Official Fired; Inmate Abuse Alleged, By Lynn Brezosky, Associated Press Writer, FOX 4, April 29, 2007 The Horrors of Hutto; Inside Texas' For-Profit Immigrant Prison, By Cindy Beringer, CounterPunch, April 28-29, 2007 Texas Juvenile Detention Centers Cope With Charges of Rape, Abuse, By Keith Elliot Greenberg, FOXNEWS.COM, April 16, 2007 Ex-youth prison officials charged with inmate abuse, CNN.com, April 10, 2007 Police Investigate All 22 Texas Youth Prisons for Inmate Abuse, By Associated Press, March 6, 2007 Lichfield Declared Innocent of Dundee Ranch Academy Abuse Charges, By Leland Baxter-Neal, Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net, Tico Times, February 22, 2007 CPR, 911 call for youth were delayed -- Bowling Brook staff believed boy feigned sleep while unconscious, school reports, By Gadi Dechter and Greg Garland,sun reporters The Sun, January 31, 2007 NYCLU Calls On State Regents To Reject Regulations Permitting Schools To Use Noxious Stimuli To Punish Students With Disabilities, By NYCLU, January 8, 2007 Shocks From the System, By Maia Szalavitz, January 7, 2007 7-year-old suffocated during restraint; death charges filed, By Kevin Harter, Pioneer Press - TwinCities.com, December 1, 2006 Ivy Ridge Academy accreditation rejected; New York Officials Declare Academy at Ivy Ridge "Educational Fraud" , Newswatch50.com, December 1, 2006 Charges Filed in Boot Camp Death, Central Florida News 13, November 28, 2006 A letter to promoters of "Teen Help", By Jordan Riak, November 2, 2006 Dr. Robert Fathman's letter to Dr. Gil Kliman, October 27, 2006 School of Last Resort, By Maria Eftimiades, PEOPLE, October 23, 2006 Youth facility in Marion under fire for its tactics -- New Horizons official says problems of the past are being solved, By Teresa Auch, The Chronicle-Tribune, October 22, 2006 Three disciplined in suicide of 18-year-old at youth prison, By Don Thompson, Associated Press, Mercury News, July 21, 2006 Controversy Surrounds Tranquility Bay, By Basia Pioro, Caymanian Compass, July 13, 2006 Rough Love: Kids from South Florida and beyond are sent to Jamaica to straighten up. Or else., By Joanne Green, Miami New Times, June 22, 2006 A shocking form of therapy By Brian A. Joyce, Boston Globe, June 19, 2006 N.Y. report denounces shock use at school; Says students are living in fear By Scott Allen, Globe Staff, Boston Globe, June 15, 2006 Kids hurt in shock therapy school, By Michael Gormley, Associated Press Writer, Boston Globe, June 14, 2006 Woman distraught: denied visit with sister at Ivy Ridge Academy, WWTI/abc, June 6, 2006 Boot camp youth dies of thirst after forced exercise; 8 indicted, KSLA News 12, May 24, 2006 A question of 'tough love' vs. torture, By Scott Allen, The Boston Globe, May 22, 2006 Autopsy: Boot camp guards killed teen; Second coroner's examination finds 14-year-old suffocated, CNN, May 5, 2006 Second autopsy finds boy hit at boot camp died of suffocation, By Mitch Stacy, Associated Press, May 5, 2006 Lawmakers close to deal to eliminate juvenile boot camps, By Brent Kallestad, Associated Press, April 26, 2006 Juvenile Jail Workers Charged in Sex Case, By RICK CALLAHAN, Associated Press Writer, Chicago Tribune, April 24, 2006 Tape released showing teen beaten at boot camp; Video shows guards restraining, punching boy, WPBFNews.com, February 17, 2006 Video Shows Boot Camp Beating By Brent Kallestad, Associated Press Writer AP, February 9, 2006 Initial autopsy: Restrained teen was suffocated, By Cindy Stauffer, Lancaster New Era, February 9, 2006 State finds abuse at youth academy, By Sarah Cooke, Associated Press Writer, Helena Independent Record, January 27, 2006 Gossett Center accused by ex-workers of abuses; Lifton request triggers Inspector General's office probe, By Jennie Daley, The Ithaca Journal, January 20, 2006 No More Nightmares at Tranquility Bay?, By John Gorenfeld, AlterNet, January 23, 2006 When a child dies, discipline has failed -- OUR OPINION: LEGISLATURE SHOULD PULL FINANCIAL PLUG ON BOOT CAMPS, EDITORIAL: Miami Herald, January 13, 2006 Teen dies 3 hours after being admitted to Military-style lockup. Lawmaker demands shutdown, By Carol Marbin Miller and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald, January 11, 2006 NEWS RELEASE -- Florida Department of Law Enforcement Investigates the Death of Martin Lee Anderson, Guy M. Tunnell, Commissioner, January 10, 2006 Boy, 12, suffocated during restraint at Star Ranch, By Zeke MacCormack, Express-News, December 8, 2005 Congress urged to help regulate boarding schools; Critic: The president of an association linked to three Utah facilities says hasty regulation would stop 'all the progress', By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune, October 19, 2005 Thayer Learning Center -- Defendant John Bundy allegedly ‘threatened and harassed’ them; Parents in Thayer lawsuit seek protective order, By Steve Rock, The Kansas City Star, October 7, 2005 Thayer Learning Center -- Prosecutor: Boot camp won't face charges, By Steve Rock, The Kansas City Star, October 2, 2005 Conflicting Accounts Surround Death Of Teen At Facility, By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express, September 28, 2005 WWASPS affiliated school issued substandard diplomas, negotiates settlement, By Kirsten Stewart, The Salt Lake Tribune, August 28, 2005 New York Times Underplays Boot Camp Abuse, Lack of Success; Story examines "promising business opportunity" , By Maia Szalavitz, SOURCE: www.stats.org, August 17, 2005 The lessons I learned at Casa by the Sea , By Sarah Barlow, August 6, 2005 Abounding Grace School's owners to answer charges; Punishment turned into abuse, boys say, By Jessica Guenzel, Winston-Salem Journal, July 31, 2005 Camp Counselors Charged in Teen's Death, Earthlink.net, July 19, 2005 Camp death leads to murder charges -- Boy died after being restrained by counselors, By Craig Schneider, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 19, 2005 My unforgettable experience as a guest of the state, By Carlos, June 25, 2005 FORT LAUDERDALE `BOOT CAMP' -- Slew of calls drew police to school, By Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, June 3, 2005 Abuse allegations investigated at Lauderdale boarding school for girls, By Bill Hirschman, Sun-Sentinal, June 2, 2005 FORT LAUDERDALE `BOOT CAMP' - Loophole let school avoid regulation, By Carol Mabin Miller, Miami Herald, June 2, 2005 Army-style girls' school shuts doors, By Carol Marbin Miller , Miami Herald, June 1, 2005 Counselors Fired After Death at Ga. Camp, By Harry R. Weber, apnews.excite.com, May 13, 2005 Boy's pleas for aid denied; Inhaler withheld, restrained teen died, By Craig Schneider, Jill Young Miller - Staff, Atlanta Constitution-Journal, May 7, 2005 State probes boy's death; Camp's risky punishment cited, By Jill Young Miller, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 6, 2005 Lawsuit: Youth claims camp couselors broke his arms, By Barbara White Stack, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 3, 2005 Private school doesn't like state's 'therapeutic' label , By Kirsten Stewart, The Salt Lake Tribune, April 29, 2005 Mother Files Lawsuit, Claims Boarding School Abused Son, By Associated Press, KSL TV, April 22, 2005 Mother sues treatment center, claims son was beaten, abused , By Pamela Manson, The Salt Lake Tribune, April 22, 2005 GEORGE MILLER: End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act, April 20, 2005 Suitor loses Kemper bid -- Boonville council rejects offer, By John Sullivan, Columbia Daily Tribune, April 19, 2005 Mom pulls twins from Eagle Point after riot, By Mollie Reeves, The Mississippi Press, April 16, 2005 Ivy Ridge accreditation suspended in state probe, By Chris Garifo, Times Albany Correspondent Watertime Daily Times, April 15, 2005 The lawsuits against Bethel Boys Academy in Mississippi, SOURCE: www.heal-online.org/bethelsuits.htm His Own Private Abu Ghraib, By John Gorenfeld, March 23, 2005, Source: Orkut Boonville looks to sell old academy, By Steve Rock, The Kansas City Star, March 21, 2005 Group Seeks Probe Into Boading School, By The Associated Press, KSL TV, March 6, 2005 Bethel Shuts Down After Girls Flee, WDAM-TV, February 17, 2005 Students flee Bethel school; allege abuse, HattiesburgAmerican.com, February 16, 2005 Beware of the quick fix, Henry Lawton's remarks after reading about the teen's death at Thayer Learning Center Boot Camp, February 8, 2005 Reforming youth prisons: Rehabilitation being favored over punishment, Source: TheReporter.com, February 7, 2005 THAYER LEARNING CENTER -- Boot camp sued in Santa Rosa teen's death -- Suit says Missouri center failed to give prompt, competent medical care, also abused youth, By Paul Payne & Carol Benfell, The Press Democrat, February 7, 2005 Scrutiny increases on centers for teens; Four compounds in Baja closed in as many months, By Sandra Dibble, Staff Writer Union-Tribune, January 10, 2005 Boot camp director guilty in teen's death, By Michael Kiefer, The Arizona Republic, January 3, 2005 Suffering Together, By Trevor Aaronson, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, December 9, 2004 Paradise lost: Pupils complain of life in Jamaican boot camp, By Oliver Duff, The Independent, December 7, 2004 Secrets in the Schoolhouse, WEAR-TV, November 30, 2004 Parents Sue Bethel Boys Academy; Plaintiffs allege systemic, methodical torture of youths - In a civil action filed November 2, 2004, against Bethel Boarding Academy, AKA Bethel Baptist Church, a private kids' boot camp/behavior modification lockup, the list of plaintiffs' allegations include: "...Defendants use coercive persuasion to coerce cadets into beating, terrorizing, mocking, or restraining other cadets, while maintaining “plausible deniability” of their own culpability in these violent abuses when confronted by civil authorities... Cadets at Bethel Boys Academy are forced to guard, harass, mock, assault, and physically injure other cadets on command. They are not given a meaningful choice concerning whether to commit such acts against other cadets. They are forced to commit violent crimes against other cadets as a matter of survival. The choice is one between doing the beating, or receiving the beating... Those who fail to comply with the orders of the Drill Instructors are subjected to loss of some or all privileges, beatings by Drill Instructors, extreme physical exhaustion, made to hold to electric fences, held underwater at the “swamp” up to and including drowning and resuscitation..." Read the complaint at http://nospank.net/complaint2tc.pdf Teenager dies at school known for strict discipline, By Matthew Franck, Post-Dispatch (Jefferson City Bureau), November 10, 2004 Parents sue Bethel Boys Academy; Cadets beaten, forced to work at military style school, lawyer says, By Lora Hines, lohines@clarionledger.com Clarion-Ledger, November 3, 2004 Correspondence between Congressman George Miller and Attorney General John Ashcroft about alleged human rights violations of children in WWASPS facilities , 2003 - 2004 Experts: 'Get Tough' Programs Don't Curb Youth Violence, By E.J. Mundell, HealthDayNews, October 15, 2004 Teen-help operators have clout -- Family behind schools with checkered record calls in political favors, critics say , By Dan Harrie and Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 2004 Baja raids shut boarding schools for U.S. teens , By Sandra Dibble and Anna Cearley, Staff Writers, UNION-TRIBUNE, September 11, 2004 Safe Choices for Troubled Teens -- Residential treatment centers for troubled teens are plagued by allegations of abuse and ineffectiveness. But do anguished parents have an alternative? By Anthony Meza-Wilson and Christy Harrison, Source: Ask Questions.org at http://www.askquestions.org/articles/teens/ August 12, 2004 Youth authority to end segregation punishment (solitary confinement), By Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News, August 5, 2004 Mississippi Juvenile centers called 'worst' in U.S. -- Justice Dept. cites widespread abuse, By John Fuquay, The Clarion-Ledger, July 2, 2004 Juvenile justice must ensure fair treatment, By U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, March 18, 2004 Casa by the Sea: A memory that will haunt me forever, By Jennifer Ilona Chambard, July 2004 WANT YOUR KID TO DISAPPEAR?, By Nadya Labi Legal Affairs, July 2004 State agency investigates Bethel facility -- Report details alleged abuse, By Antoinette Konz, Hattiesburg American, June 11, 2004 Schools close amid discipline questions, CNN.COM, May 31, 2004 Louisiana shuts down youth prison -- Move comes after decade of abuse allegations, CNN.com, May 27,2004 Former students, prosecutors question methods of some 'tough love' schools, By Cara Connelly, KY3 News (Springfield, MO), April 30, 2004 View two videotapes of teenagers in custody being beaten by guards; hear commentary. Please be patient while loading. Tape 1) Select "Watch Mike TeSelle's Report" after going to Senator: Videotaped CYA Beating Warrants Charges Tape 2) Open QuickTime Player on your computer. Then go to http://nospank.net/beatings_kpix.mp4 Videotape shows guards beating two CYA inmates, By Associated Press, Oakland Tribune, April 1, 2004 Tape captures beating of two young inmates, 6 CYA guards facing probe, By Karen de Sá and Mark Gladstone, Mercury News, April 1, 2004 From Coercive to Strength-Based Intervention: Responding to the Needs of Children in Pain, By Larry K. Brendtro, Ph.D., January 2004, (PDF, 34 pages) JUVENILE INJUSTICE, Infoshop News, March 22, 2004 Miami Juvenile Jail Official Told Dying Teen To 'Suck It Up' , WSVN-TV, February 27, 2004 Youth died amid chaos, confusion , By Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, February 27, 2004 Suicides spark scrutiny of juvenile facilities; Teens were beaten, sexually abused, isolated for weeks at a time, By Mary K. Reinhart, East Valley Tribune, February 13, 2004 ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE BEING INVESTIGATED - Scathing report on Youth Authority, By Karen de Sá, Mercury News, January 28, 2004 Suit filed over youth centers, By Ana Radelat, Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau, December 19, 2003 Kaufmann vs. Mountain Park Academy (7 Plaintiffs in this lawsuit), Case # 103cv00105cas, Filed in US District Court, Eastern Dist. of Missouri, Southeast Div., September 24, 2003 Abuse cited at youth training centers - Rights violated, Justice Dept. says, By Patrice Sawyer, Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer, Clarion Ledger, July 15, 2003 . The last resort, Decca Aitkenhead, The Observer, June 29, 2003 Care of Juvenile Offenders in Mississippi Is Faulted, By DAVID M. HALBFINGER, The New York Times, September 1, 2003. (Return to this index by using your browser's "back" button.) A Mississippi Gulag A report by Assistant Attorney General Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. on abuse of juveniles in two Mississippi youth training schools, June 19, 2003. When discipline turns fatal - Texas lacks tough law on prone restraint that's banned in three states, By Jonathan Osborne and Mike Ward, American Statesman, May 18, 2003 Parents Divided Over Jamaica Disciplinary Academy, By Tin Weiner, The New York Times, June 17, 2003. Camp Hell - Children abused in the name of God, Correspondence from Johnny McPhail, June 12, 2003 Brainwashing and Re-Indoctrination Programs in the Children of God/The Family By Stephen A. Kent, Ph.D. and Deana Hall, M.A., University of Alberta Texas teenager dies in Utah wilderness program, By Rich Vosepka, Associated Press, The Daily Camera, July 16, 2002 Arcadia religious reform school accused of abuse in lawsuit, The Herald Tribune, July 10, 2002 Straight Talk -- Drug War Casualties, By Radley Balko, FOXNews.com, May 23, 2002 Former victims describe dangerous "therapy" at Elan School for troubled teens in Maine, May 25, 2002 Charges filed against boot camp leaders, Christopher Markham, staff writer, West Valley View, February 20, 2002 In search of a safe placement; one hostile reaction, December 2001 A STUDY IN DOUBLE STANDARDS: When kids kill, it's a crime; when they die, it's an accident, Posted 9/10/01 Letter to a supporter of boot camps and wilderness programs, Jordan Riak, August 20, 2001 Boot Camp Directors Deny Posts, The Associated Press, July 21, 2001 Ariz. To Appoint Boot Camp Task Force, The Associated Press, July 21, 2001 Founder of Teen Boot Camp Probed, By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO, Associated Press Writer, The Associated Press, July 20, 2001 (AZ) Death Spotlights Youth Boot Camps, By Alisia Blackwood, Associated Press, July 6, 2001 (MD) Boy's Death At School A Homicide - District Heights Youth Died After a Struggle, By Jamie Stockwell, Washington Post, July 5, 2001 (AZ) Accounts Put Darker Cloud Over Camp - Punishment results in death of 14-year-old, By Michale Janofsky, The New York Times, July 4, 2001 (AZ) Tough Love, Tougher Death - Boot camp - The lastest in a string of questionable ventures by Charles Long, By John Dougherty, (Phoenix) New Times, July 4, 2001 See Forced Exercise as Punishment (AZ) Boy, 14, dies at boot camp amid abuse allegations, Scott Thomsen The Atlantic Journal-Constitution, July 4, 2001 The last resort -- As desperate parents try boot camp, critics claim that alternative is laced with problems, By Lorna Collier Special to the Tribune, May 27, 2001 South Dakota: Stop Abuses of Detained Kids--Governor Must End Inhumane Practices A letter to South Dakota Governor William Janklow from Michael Bochenek, Counsel, Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, March 6, 2001 Camp Fear How Juvenile Boot Camps Abuse Troubled Kids, By Bruce Selcraig Source: Mother Jones, December 2000 Texas Probes "Restraint" Death of Young Patient, New York Times, February 8, 2000 Schools of Hard Knocks, By Andrew Leonard, Salon, Feb. 23, 1998 Loving Them to Death: The Story of One Teenager's 'Wilderness Experience,' By Jon Krakauer, Outside magazine, October 1995 Tough Love Proves Too Tough: The Short Life and Hard Death of a Teenager, Christopher Smith, High Country News, June 10, 1996, Paonia, Colorado Boot camp death prompts changes, New York Times, December 10, 2000 DEAD TEEN'S CASE CLOSED: Involved adults walk, every one, Correspondence concerning the death of Nicholaus Contreraz at Arizona Boys Ranch from Candice Takeuchi, September 9, 2000 Child handcuffed for three days--Boot Camp For Troubled Kids Closed, Associated Press, June 16, 2000 ESSENTIAL READING ON THIS SUBJECT An American Gulag: Secret P.O.W. Camps for Teens, by Alexia Parks (2000). Available from The Education Exchange Network, Box K, Eldorado Springs, CO 80025 A Matter of Time--How Juvenile Justice Systems Fail Kids, By David Shapinsky, www.abcnews.go.com, February 26, 2000 HARDER TIME: California Youth Authority Shifts from Rehab to Brutality By Mark Gladstone and James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2000 Time to stick a fork in America’s correctional boot camp boondoggle, David J. Krajicek, MSNBC, December 23, 1999 Beat him up and do him good. Don't leave any marks, Mary Hargrove, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 1998 U.S. Department of State warning about "behavior modification" facilities operating outside U.S. jurisdiction, issued May 1999. Teenage girl run to death in SD boot camp Excerpted from "Investigative Report Summary - Gina Score" Argus Leader, August [??], 1999 "A noisy, obvious, gruesome, extended death" -- Arizona Boys Ranch charges By Inger Sandal, The Arizona Daily Star, May 4, 1999 U.S. Justice Department says boot camps do more harm than good, From The Associated Press, June 1, 1998 Amnesty International alleges widespread abuse of juvenile offenders in U.S., New York Times, November 17, 1998 E-mail to PTAVE of August 18, 1998 from Cathy Sutton, mother of Michelle Sutton, 15, who died at Summit Quest Camp. Bob Sutton's letter to a journalist about the death of his daughter, Michelle Sutton, 15, who died at Summit Quest Camp. Copy received by PTAVE, August 17, 1998. "It has only happened two times to me"--Conditions in Children's Institutions, Human Rights Watch World Report 1998 U.S. Juvenile Justice Gets Busted By Bill Alexander, Reporter for Youth Today From Youth Today, Vol 8, No.1, December/January 1999 Betraying the Young: Children in the U.S. Justice System Document: Amnesty International Index: AMR 51/60/98 Public/November 1998 Authorities close abusive school--Children "just starving to death" The Associated Press, April 29, 1999 Tightening up on the stranglers--142 youths dead in one decade By The Associated Press, March 25, 1999 Strangulation Death Occurs at Home for the Abused, By The Associated Press, March 15, 1999 Florida camp delinquents get red ant punishment, Yahoo News, March 14, 1999 AUTOPSY PHOTO: Nicholaus Contrarez's bruised, lacerated torso A Puzzling Death at Boys Ranch, By Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1998 The slow, painful, pointless death of Nicholaus Contreraz, age 16, at the Arizona Boys Ranch as described in the sheriff's report, Pinal County, Arizona, April 17, 1998. CPS Report re: Nicholaus Contreraz, 3/6/98 Investigation Summary-- Investigation of the Death of Nicholaus Contreraz at Arizona Boys Ranch and The Safety of Children Remaining in that Placement (Source: The Arizona Republic, 1998) Chief admits tragic fumble--Staff 'thought this kid was a malingerer,' he says By Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic, August 30, 1998 Dr. Christopher B. Cutter's letter of June 17, 1998 to the Los Angeles Times regarding the death of Nicholaus Contreraz at Arizona Boys Ranch Ron Ackert's letter of June 19, 1998 to Dr. Linda Blessing, Director, Arizona Department of Economic Security, regarding the killing of Nicholaus Contreraz Listening, Finally, to Nicholaus By E. J. Montini, The Arizona Republic, August 27, 1998 Allegations of abuse and neglect against former employees of Arizona Boys Ranch, The Arizona Republic, August 31, 1998 'Pattern of Abuse'-- Institution won't close, chief vows By Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic, Aug. 27, 1998 Press release from the California Department of Social Services FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--July 7, 1998 Arizona Boys Ranch Investigation Department of Social Services Makes Decisions on Funding Five are Indicted in Arizona Youth Camp Death By Julie Cart, Los Angeles Times, October 1, 1998 Boys Ranch employees plead innocent, By Dennis Wagner, The Arizona Republic, October 23, 1998 Charges dropped, for now, in death of Boys Ranch teen By Heather Urquides, The Arizona Daily Star, January 16, 1999 Abuse of Arkansas Youth in Custody--Former DHS chief goes before legislative panel, Associated Press, September 15, 1998 Is this Camp of Jail? Are parents violating the rights of their own kids when they ship them off to tough "attitude rehab"? By Adam Cohen, Time, January 26, 1998 Child meets violent death in desert boot camp [Original title: "Hard Work For Youths At Camp"] , San Francisco Chronicle, February 18, 1992 Boy in coma after scuffle at camp for troubled youths, San Francisco Chronicle, By Ken Hoover, Chronicle Staff Writer, February 13, 1992 Surviving Survival Camp Keri J. describes her experience with the most dangerous part of "survival camp"--the people who ran it.

Advocates for Abandoned Adolescents - Our Mission is to do better!