California Kills Placement Funds After 'Undeniable Abuse,' Death
Court Upholds Funding Cut

By Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic

July 8, 1998

California authorities dealt a potentially lethal blow Tuesday to Arizona Boys Ranch by cutting off funds for juvenile delinquents placed at the 49-year-old non-profit organization.

The decision, accompanied by a scathing critique of Boys Ranch operations, culminated a three-month probe into the death of Sacramento teenager Nicholaus Contreraz at a boot camp for delinquents in Oracle.

"There was substantial abuse and neglect at Arizona Boys Ranch," said Sidonie Squier, deputy director for the California Department of Social Services. "Line staff, as well as management, knew about this abuse and did not stop it. For that reason, we will no longer fund more placements."

Boys Ranch officials, including President Bob Thomas, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

California boys account for more than half of the Boys Ranch enrollment base. Although the Department of Social Services has no power to prohibit counties in that state from sending youths to Boys Ranch, the funding cut is expected to eliminate placements.

Squier said state and federal money has covered about 40 percent of the $3,600 monthly cost for each teenager, making it cost-effective to counties to export youthful offenders to Arizona. Now, those counties would be forced to absorb the entire expense.

In addition to cutting off funding for new placements, Social Services administrators announced that, beginning Aug. 1, they will stop paying for 223 youths from 11 California counties who currently reside at Boys Ranch.

Those decisions were based on the findings of a nine-member investigative team that reviewed records and interviewed juveniles, their families, Boys Ranch employees and Arizona officials.

"Nicholaus' death was caused by prolonged and serious medical neglect and openly conducted abusive treatment," says the conclusion to a 600-page investigative report. "He suffered physical and psychological abuse and his personal rights were continually violated."

In a news release, Eloise Anderson, director of the California agency, said, "If I had the authority to remove these kids, I would bring them home or place them in a safe facility today. . . .

"The investigation also found the stated philosophy of how youth are treated at ABR is very different from the actual practice. The investigation found widespread excessive use of physical restraint and hands-on confrontation from ABR staff."

Contreraz, 16, died March 2 at the Boys Ranch boot camp in Oracle of a severe infection in the lining of his lung.

A coroner's report said the condition, complicated by pneumonia and other ailments, was accelerated by work and exercise the youth was forced to do. Medical investigators also listed dozens of cuts and bruises on the boy's body.

Witnesses have said that ranch staffers, who suspected Contreraz of malingering, taunted and punished him relentlessly during the final days of his life.

"Based on the medical reports on Nicholaus, it's undeniable abuse," said Squier. "He was ill, and it was not difficult to diagnose that he was ill."

Thomas has admitted wrongdoing by employees while denying that the mistreatment stemmed from ranch policies or practices. Several staffers were fired and the Oracle campus was closed after the incident. However, Thomas has argued that subsequent allegations from other boys are not credible.

Contreraz's grandmother, Connie Woodward, on Tuesday applauded the California report and funding cutoff as "fantastic."

"I know in my heart it will save lives," she said, adding, "If they (Boys Ranch) don't get any money, they're not going to get our kids."

Thomas said last week that enrollment already had dropped from 540 youths to about 400 in the wake of Contreraz's death. He said the Queen Creek-based agency, with seven campuses statewide, is retrenching its budget and has laid some employees off.

The California review is one of several probes into the Contreraz case, but the first to be completed. A criminal probe is under way in Pinal County, and a licensing decision is pending from the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

The Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee and other newspapers have published major stories on the exportation of California boys and dollars to shock incarceration programs such as Boys Ranch, which are prohibited by law in that state. The subject has also prompted a series of hearings in the California Legislature.

In Arizona, Pinal County law authorities are contemplating criminal charges against ranch employees, managers or the agency itself. Prosecutors in the Pinal County Attorney's Office could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Last week, the Arizona DES gave the ranch a temporary extension of its license to work with delinquent youths after regulators announced they had not completed an investigation. A determination on the license is expected by Sept. 1.

In the meantime, Child Protective Services officials are reviewing more than 25 additional allegations of mistreatment.

Copyright 1998, The Arizona Republic