Emancipation request splits family
: The girl's aunts say she should not remain at ranch for troubled
youth
December 16, 2006
By Kirsten Stewart
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- "Kaye" has no shortage of family members looking after her. There
are her mother and stepfather, who, in the wee hours of the morning
on Nov. 1, paid a company to forcibly transport her to Turn-About
Ranch, a Utah boarding school and residential treatment center for
troubled teens.
And there are her two maternal aunts who, seeking to free their
niece, secretly arranged to have her sign legal papers in the
restroom of a Baptist church that Turn-About students attend on
Sundays.
Those papers triggered an
emancipation hearing Friday before 4th District Juvenile Judge
Sterling Sainsbury, who will evaluate whether Kaye, 16, is capable
of deciding for herself what's best. Utah's new emancipation law
wasn't created to give adolescents an avenue to fight confinement at
therapeutic schools and wilderness programs. Proponents pitched it
as benefiting homeless, runaway and other "throwaway" youth.
But child advocates are pleased to
see the new statute so cleverly applied. Teen-help programs "have
sprung up like wildfire in Utah because of the regulatory
environment here," said Kristin Brewer, director of Utah's Office of
the Guardian ad Litem, a team of attorneys who represent children in
juvenile court. The programs "are great if you're a kid who needs
treatment," Brewer said. "But they're not for everyone. This at
least gives kids a hearing, some due process."
If allegations of child abuse or
neglect surface during an emancipation hearing, a judge can act on
those. Still, Brewer doesn't expect a rash of petitions from the
facilities, which are semi-secure and isolated. Also, Utah courts
have no jurisdiction over children from other states, she notes.
"Even if you get a hearing, you have to prove yourself independent,
a tough case to mount for teens said to have behavioral problems,"
said Brewer.
'A good student': Kaye - an alias
used to protect the teen's identity - didn't get much of a chance to
speak Friday. After meeting with attorneys, Sainsbury postponed the
hearing until next week. But in her petition, Kaye alleged Lori and
Steve Allen, her mother and stepfather, are physically and verbally
abusive.
She argued she's a "good student
with no juvenile record" and that her "incarceration" at the ranch
in remote Escalante will rob her of a year's worth of schooling and
her dreams to attend college and become a veterinarian.
She is asking the judge to allow
her to return to Washington state, where she has a summer job as a
nanny for her maternal aunt Wendy Berg and her three children. "My
room and board is included in my nanny pay," her petition said.
Allen said the petition was
"trumped up" by her sisters. She has filed for a restraining order
against Berg and another sister, Lisa Anger of Kearns, arguing
they're abusing the emancipation law to trample her parental rights.
"I am absolutely horrified that my sister [Anger] typed up a legal
document filled with lies and coerced my daughter into signing it,"
said Allen.
Allen, 36, said aside from the
two-month nanny job last summer and her current stay at Turn-About,
Kaye has "never lived away from us." The Saratoga Springs mother of
four girls said she placed Kaye, her oldest, at Turn-About because
the teen was failing school, depressed and prone to fits of rage.
Allen believes the behavior stems from a bitter custody dispute with
her late ex-husband, Kaye's father, and his suicide last June.
Allen's sisters contend the source
of Kaye's angst is Allen's new husband, Steve. "They got married
secretly last spring and waited two months to tell us or the kids,"
Anger said. The Allen home has come under investigation twice by
Utah's Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Both cases are
closed, according to court documents.
Turn-About time: Kaye's aunts have
also targeted the ranch, filing complaints with state licensing
officials. Berg, who lives in the greater Seattle area, said
Turn-About withholds food and other privileges from students until
they earn them back.
Berg, a licensed family therapist,
also objects that children work the ranch and are not offered higher
math and science courses. Kaye "doesn't belong at Turn-About. She's
a good kid with no history of drug use," said Berg.
Executives at the Aspen
Education Group in Cerritos, Calif., which owns Turn-About, say the
ranch offers a full spectrum of courses and requires its 50 students
to work the ranch as part of their therapy. "The program has been
running for many years, has a terrific reputation and has done
enormous good for thousands of young people and their families,"
said Vice President Mark Hobbins.
Utah licensing director Ken
Stettler said counselors at Turn-About screened Kaye at intake and
determined her placement to be appropriate. This was confirmed by a
second evaluation done at Stettler's request by an independent
social worker.
'My child's life': Allen says after
just a few weeks in the 90-day program, Kaye's grades have improved.
She fears the emancipation battle may cause setbacks. "This is not a
decision I entered into lightly. It took us 14 to 15 months and will
cost us $340 a day. But you get to the point where cost doesn't
matter. This is my child's life at stake," said Allen, who said she
picked the ranch over other facilities because Kaye loves animals.
"If we were interested in just getting rid of her, we could have
spent the same amount on a year-long boarding school," said Allen.
Until the case resumes, Sainsbury
ordered that Kaye reside with a former neighbor and friend of the
Allens. The Allens may visit but are barred from discussing the
legal proceedings with her. All other relatives shall have no
contact, Sainsbury ordered.
Kaye testified that she would
prefer to stay at the home of her paternal grandmother, who was also
present Friday. Outside the courtroom, she avoided the Allens. But
Sainsbury cautioned, "Mom is still the custodial parent until I make
a decision that says different." kstewart@sltrib.com
Going solo Since Utah's law went
into effect in May, about a dozen teens have petitioned for
emancipation. They include:
* A girl, age unknown, who requested emancipation but planned to
continue living with her parents.
* A 16-year-old boy, placed in foster care due to his parents'
substance abuse and mental health issues, who worked full time and
wanted to leave state custody.
* A 17-year-old girl who claimed her mother took her paychecks and
made her do all the housework.
* A 17-year-old girl who left home after alleging her mother was
physically abusive; her case was dismissed after she failed to show
up for court.
Source: Kristin Brewer, director,
Utah Guardian ad Litem's Office
Read also: No Emancipation Rush
(click
here)
Press Release: Lost Boy's Law, Governor signs emancipation
bill (click
here)
|
