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CAICA
COALITION
AGAINST INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD
ABUSE
Compelling film about teen rehabs gone bad – Part 2
Don’t get stung by WWASPS – it’s easier than you think
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view
May 28, 2007
By Isabelle Zehnder ©
www.caica.org
I am honored
to have been one of the first to see Director Nick Gaglia’s profound
film, Over the GW - a film about a world that existed a few years
ago just over the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey when Nick
was a teen. A world that, sadly, still exists today I. Zehnder
As mentioned in
Compelling film about teen rehabs gone bad, part 1, Over the GW
is a poignant film directed by Nick Gaglia that is based on a real
life experience in a cult-like rehab center that preys on vulnerable
teens and their parents – programs that are still widespread. It is
a frightening look at what went on behind closed doors then -
and sadly - what goes on behind closed doors today.
The actors of the
film did an excellent job at capturing the essence of what youth
endured at KIDS, Inc., New Jersey, a spin-off of Straight, Inc.
While the program
in New Jersey no longer exists sadly others have taken its place.
Known as the “troubled-teen industry”, it has rampantly grown into a
multi-billion dollar a year unregulated industry that houses
literally tens of thousands of our American kids each year.
One of the most
sinister organizations operating programs for children and teens
today is the
World Wide Association of Specialty
Programs and Schools (WWASPS). WWASPS is an
umbrella organization that dates back to the early 90’s. Sitting at
the helm is businessman Robert Lichfield. Lichfield has no degree in
education or psychology. His major was business.
It appears
history is repeating itself. Following in the footsteps of
former program owners
who were known to make large contributions to the Republican Party,
Lichfield recently contributed $250,000
to the 2006 Maine governor’s race. Lichfield’s contribution raised
more than a few eyebrows. He is being accused of involvement in
violations of the Maine Clean Elections Law, saying “the parties
have made a complete farce out of the law.”
In a
May 2006 Deseret News
article, it was reported that “Robert B. Lichfield was the single
largest individual donor to Republicans in Utah, giving at least
$212,000 to GOP politicians since 2003. He is also No. 6 on the
overall list of individual Utah donors. The extended family,
businesses and employees of Lichfield make him even more
influential. As a group, they donated at least $346,000 since 2003 —
the sixth most of any such extended family/business grouping in the
state.”
Ken Kay worked as
a night watchman before taking his position as the president of
WWASPS, an organization with a repertoire of some 20 programs
housing thousands of American youth ages 7-22 both inside and
outside the US.
Ken Kay told the
Denver Rocky Mountain news in an interview before he rejoined Teen
Help as Vice President, and WWASPS as president, "These people are
basically a bunch of untrained people who work for this
organization. So they don't have credentials of any kind. We could
be leading these kids to long-term problems that we don't have a
clue about because we're not going about it in the proper way. How
in the hell can you call yourself a behavior modification program --
and that's one of the ways it's marketed -- when nobody has the
expertise to determine: Is this good, is this bad?"
In fact,
four separate
countries have
shut down WWASPS
programs, all on allegations of child abuse and neglect – Mexico,
Western Samoa, Costa Rica, and the Czec Republic – all nations that
could use our American money, all nations that would not tolerate
our American programs abusing our American kids.
The media are not
strangers to WWASPS and the abuse, neglect, and deaths reported in
their programs. Articles have been written in People, Forbes, New
York Times, LA Times, News Day, Miami Herald, Sun Sentinel,
Guardian, Jamaican Observer, YM Magazine, Salon, Time Magazine,
Spin, to name a few. Countless reports of abuse have aired on
television stations across the US. Segments have aired on Dateline,
Primetime, 48 Hours, Montel, Fox News, and Inside Edition. Montana
PBS aired the documentary,
Who’s Watching the Kids.
The Cutting Edge: Tranquility Bay,
is a documentary about WWASPS’ Tranquility Bay facility in Jamaica
that aired in Australia. This film has yet to be released in the US.
In their haste
parents have turned to the Internet for help. What they don’t know
is there are literally hundreds of websites leading parents to the
same umbrella group of programs that are affiliated with the World
Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). For
example,
Teen Revitalization
does not mention they are affiliated with WWASPS yet it is obvious
the programs they promote are WWASPS-affiliated or have been WWASPS-affiliated
in the past. Programs that want no affiliation with WWASPS yet still
have the same directors overseeing their operations.
The
Costa Rica program
listed on their website is said to be WWASPS-affiliated and replaced
the facility that was shut down by the Costa Rican government.
The
Jamaican program listed on
their website appears to be the WWASPS-affiliated Tranquility Bay
program. There have been
multiple reports of
abuse.
The
Utah program for
children ages 7-14 appears to be the WWASPS-affiliated Majestic
Ranch program. You can read about four former employees who came
forward and testified that children were being
severely abused at
this program in the
Majestic Ranch Report: A Living
Nightmare for Kids.
These are just a
few examples of how websites can easily mislead desperate parents
looking for help for their children and teens.
Google WWASPS and
you will see there is no end to the amount of bad publicity they
have received.
They are slick!
Today’s marketing agents and program directors have a way of
convincing parents that their child or teen is headed down a dark
and dreary path – when sometimes all the parent said the child had
done was smoke cigarettes or had slipping grades.
So with all this
media attention, why does mainstream America have no idea this
problem exists, that these programs exist?
Why has the media
not picked up on the
Wood, et al. v. WWASPS, et al.
lawsuit that was filed in August 2006? Within four months the
lawsuit jumped from
three plaintiffs to
eighty-two, and forty
to sixty more are expected to join. That’s pretty impressive. But
even more impressive are the allegations of abuse by former WWASPS
victims who claim they were:
- Forced to
eat their own vomit
- Kicked,
beaten, thrown, and slammed to the ground
- Bound and
tied by their hands and/or feet
- Chained and
locked in dog cages
- Forced to
stay in isolation for long periods of times
- Locked in
small boxes or cages
- Forced to
lie in or wear urine and feces as a method of punishment
- Forced to
clean and scrub toilets and floors with their toothbrush and
then use the toothbrush afterwards
- Forced to
assume distorted and painful physical positions for long periods
of time
- Denied
adequate food
- Denied even
a minimally sufficient education
- Denied
proper medical and dental treatment and care
- Exposed to
extreme hot and cold temperatures for long periods of time
- Forced to
exercise beyond their physical capacity, and more
Their parents
alleged they were defrauded. The Complaint alleged breach of
contract/breach of warranty, conspiracy and fraudulent concealment,
RICO violations, to name a few. In an October 25, 2006, Press
Release, Ken Kay calls accusations "preposterous", and says that
WWASPS will be cleared of charges.
In a 2003 Salt
Lake City Tribune news article, 'Tough-Love' Schools Meet
Criticism, Suits, Schools Face Harsh Criticism by Families, Kay
stated, "Just because something's controversial doesn't mean it's
negative. We have a 97 percent satisfaction rate. I don't think you
could do an exit poll at Disneyland and see that."
Yet there is no
independent entity monitoring these programs to determine how they
arrive at their 97% satisfaction rate, or to determine if these
programs are doing more harm than good.
It was well-known
that WWASPS employee Randall Hinton abused children in their Jamaica
facility, Tranquility Bay. Hinton laughed on video as he
admitted to pepper-spraying
Kerry Layne Brown, Jr., multiple times a day, every day for nine
months. Kerry Layne Brown died last June. His mother believes his
death was directly related to the abuse he endured.
In 2005 Hinton
attempted to purchase an old military school,
Kemper Military Academy in Missouri
to start a program for children and teens – a facility with the
capacity to house hundreds of children. The City declined to sell
the property to him when they learned Robert Lichfield was funding
the project, and when they learned of Hinton’s
past abusive behaviors.
Just this year
Hinton was arrested for abusing children at a facility in Colorado,
Royal Gorge Academy (formerly
Royal Peak Academy). Just after his arrest it was
discovered that, soon after posting bail for his release, that he,
his wife, and their four young children were still living inside the
facility that housed the children he was accused of abusing.
Once the Judge
was made aware of this fact, and was provided documentation and a
copy of the videotape, he ordered Hinton not return to the facility
and that he have no contact with current or former students. Just
recently Hinton pleaded with the court to return home to Utah – his
request was granted. His trial is scheduled in August 2007.
One of their
programs, Majestic Ranch in Utah, houses children as young as seven.
In a
report written in February 2005,
four former Majestic Ranch employees testified that children were
being restrained with their faces in horse manure, that the water
quality was bad and children were becoming ill, that children were
being forced to sit on milk crates in the middle of the snow for
punishment, that they were being forced to handle dead animal
carcasses, and more. A number of parents have reported they removed
their children from Majestic Ranch after the report was written and
learned children continue to be abused there. Two lawsuits were
recently filed against Majestic Ranch. What is it going to take for
changes to be made so these young children, as young as 7, can be
protected?
Google WWASPS and
you’ll see what I mean. What most people do not understand is that
while programs are withdrawing their affiliation from WWASPS, and
while programs are no longer listed on the
www.wwasp.com
website, WWASPS is very much alive and growing strong. They’re just
getting sneakier about it.
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 1
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 2
Don’t get stung by WWASPS – it’s easier than you think
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
Compelling film about teen
rehabs gone bad – Part 3
Parents desperate for help
Over the GW –an advocate’s point of view (click
here)
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