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January 18, 2005
Scrutiny
increases on centers for teens
by Sandra Dibble
LA MISION,
Mexico – For five years, Future Expectations, a center for troubled
U.S. teenagers, operated quietly in this small Baja California
community hidden behind hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
But in a span of
hours Dec. 9, the fenced compound was shut down, the Mexican
employees were sent home, and the U.S. staff and students were
placed on buses for the border.
Tolerated for
years, behavior-modification centers catering to U.S. teens with
addiction and behavioral problems have faced unprecedented scrutiny
in Baja California, where four centers have been closed in the past
four months.
Drawn to the
state's low costs and proximity to the United States, operators of
the now-shuttered centers are asking why there has been a sudden
crackdown when they have been operating openly for years. Baja
California officials say they are sending a message that Mexican
laws must be followed by anyone operating in their country.
"We totally
approve their closing," Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy Walther
said in an interview last month. "We consider that we deserve the
same respect that the United States demands of Mexicans when we
conduct an activity in that country."
Mexican
authorities listed a litany of violations at the centers, from lack
of permits, to nonexistent clinical records, to reports of abuse of
students.
At Future
Expectations, the authorities said they found adulterated and
expired medications and said there was no medical director, as the
law requires. They said they found "punishment cells" with belts,
handcuffs and blood on a wall. [Emphasis added]
Such programs
have been criticized on both sides of the border for using
unorthodox "tough love" approaches. Many parents look to them as a
last resort for teenagers whose lives are out of control.
Three of the
centers operated by Americans have been ordered permanently closed
by the Baja California Health Department. A similar ruling is
expected for Future Expectations. Authorities say they are not aware
of any other similar centers in the state.
'A nurturing
program'
All four of the
centers that were closed catered to U.S. teenagers with behavioral
and addiction problems. They take pains to distinguish themselves
from one another, saying their philosophies and methods are
different. Casa by the Sea is affiliated with the Utah-based World
Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. "It was a
nurturing program, not a punishing program. The kids were treated
with firm kindness," said Julie Riley, a Denver attorney who sent
two of her sons to Future Expectations.
In September, at
the time Mexican officials shut down three other centers – Casa by
the Sea and House of Hope in Ensenada, and Genesis by the Sea in
Rosarito Beach – health inspectors paid their first visit to Future
Expectations and allowed it to stay open, Staab said.
"They said we
were in compliance, except for a few minor irregularities," Staab
said. "We did everything they required us to do."
Staab's son,
Eric, the school's operations director, fled from the center after
the raid began and was being sought for his "responsibility for the
irregularities," Mexican authorities said. He has declined repeated
requests for an interview.
The most damning
evidence – blood inside one of the "punishment cells" – has never
been explained. Terry Staab said it turned out to be insect blood.
Crosthwaite, the former security guard, said it came from a
teenager's attempt to commit suicide a few months ago.
The Baja
California State Attorney General's Office is not conducting an
investigation of the center, said Rosa Isela Arce, the spokeswoman
in Ensenada.
Tighter scrutiny
The closing of
the four U.S.-operated centers comes as Baja California health
authorities have increased their oversight of drug rehabilitation
centers in Baja California. The number of centers has multiplied in
recent years to meet a growing drug consumption problem in Baja
California.
"For many years,
there's been a lack of regulation," said Vera, the Baja California
health secretary.
Whether there is
a future for the U.S. facilities in Baja California remains an open
question.
David Stewart,
the U.S. consul general in Tijuana, said much will depend on the
degree of trust and communication that develops between the centers
and Mexican authorities.
"There's a lot
of misunderstanding, and there's a cloak of secrecy over some of
them," Stewart said. "One of the centers put up a wall, and that
looked to some Mexican officials that maybe there's something
illicit happening inside."
Stewart said the
wall was raised to prevent runaways.
Casa by the Sea
has spoken to health authorities about opening again. Once shut
down, technically they are not allowed to reopen, but the operators
can apply to open a new center, Vera said.
Hallows of Casa
by the Sea said the center could reopen as early as February if it
can get the necessary permits from federal, state and local
agencies.
"We are ready to
go, we've kept the power and the water, we've kept some staff on,
and the computer classrooms are all set up," Hallows said. "But if
we run into roadblock after roadblock, and the cost-benefit ratio is
not there, we could end up moving our stuff out. That is a
possibility."
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