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Finding a good wilderness program
may be all luck
October 11, 2007
By Matt Canham
WASHINGTON - Government
investigators say parents have no real way to separate the good
wilderness therapy programs from bad ones and choosing the wrong one
could result in their child's death.
"For parents looking today, it is
buyer beware," said Greg Kutz, an investigator with the Government
Accountability Office, who presented a report Wednesday detailing
widespread abuses in these outdoor programs.
No organization keeps track of
abuse accusations within outdoor therapy groups. Some states have
stringent regulations, some have none.
And when a program is shut down in
one state, little stops the owner from starting another one
elsewhere.
"As things stand right now, you
have absolutely no assurance that [your child] will be taken care
of," Cynthia Clark Harvey told House members during a hearing
Wednesday. Her daughter Erica died of dehydration in 2002 while
participating in an Oregon program.
One of the few places parents turn
- the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs,
known as NATSAP - was roundly criticized by members of Congress.
NATSAP is a trade association meant
to improve the quality of these outdoor programs.
Wilderness groups use the NATSAP
label to gain credibility, but the association does not investigate
any allegations of wrongdoing and rarely has punished any of its
members.
Allison Pinto, a child psychologist
who specializes in outdoor therapy programs, said NATSAP has
repeatedly defended the programs against abuse allegations and at
one point dismissed them as "the noisy complaints of a few
individuals."
At one point, a frustrated Rep.
George Miller, D-Calif., asked a NATSAP representative: "What the
hell do you do?"
NATSAP Executive Director Jan Moss
admitted that her organization hasn't always made the right
decision.
She promised to review the GAO
report and take action against the three to five programs that
remain members of her organization.
She also promised that the
180-member programs will be certified to perform mental health
counseling by the beginning of 2009.
mcanham@sltrib.com
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