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Saturday, April 17,
2004
Problems
Plaguing Program for Youths
By: Amy Joi Bryson
Allegations of
sexual abuse and assault, which have sparked recent criminal probes
here and in two other states, continue to plague a Utah-based
program for troubled children.
The trouble linked
to programs or services associated with the Worldwide Association of
Speciality Programs and Schools (WWASPS) also has a California
congressman demanding a federal investigation by the Department of
Justice.
Meanwhile, Utah
licensing officials say there is little they can do about complaints
that come in for programs like WWASPS, which remain unlicensed
because they are "boarding schools."
"Unless they are
licensed, we do not have the right to go in unannounced, talk to
anyone or interview the kids to see what is happening," said Ken
Stettler, director of the state Department of Human Services Office
of Licensing.
Criminal
investigations into abuse and assault have taken place in:
Rich County, where
a 13-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted at the company's Majestic
Ranch.
Montana, resulting
in a former staffer pleading guilty to felony criminal endangerment.
New York, where two
men stand accused of assaulting a teen they were transporting to a
WWASPS facility in that state.
WWASPS officials
say allegations of assault and other mistreatment are fabricated by
students who want to go home.
"There have not
been any substantiated allegations that I am aware of, ever," said
Ken Kay, president. "These kids have a long history of fabricating
the truth and not functioning well in mainstream society."
Rep. George Miller,
D-California, renewed his plea last month for the investigation to
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, asking again that the Justice
Department probe WWASPS for allegations of human-rights violations,
fraudulent and deceptive advertising, fraud and unjust enrichment
under the Internal Revenue Code.
The attorney
general, based on a request first made by Miller late last year,
initially declined to investigate WWASPS, saying its authority does
not extend to WWASPS affiliates outside the country or privately
owned facilities. Miller is not dissuaded, saying private
ownership is immaterial to an investigation into possible violations
of federal law. He is waiting for a second response. Utah
connections
WWASPS, based in
St. George, was founded by Utahn Robert Lichfield and is an umbrella
organization with 11 boarding schools or residential treatment
programs, including three facilities overseas.
Here in Utah,
investigators with the state Division of Child and Family Services,
along with Rich County sheriff's deputies, were called to WWASPS
affiliate Majestic Ranch north of Randolph to probe a possible
assault of a 13-year-old boy.
The incident, which
involved a Majestic Ranch staff member, happened March 3 and had
facility management concerned about whether or not "their own use of
force policies had been violated," according to a press release.
The Rich County
Sheriff's Office, on advice of the county attorney, declined to
release the deputy's initial incident report on the allegations,
even though it is classified as a public document under the
Government Records Access and Management Act. The Deseret Morning
News is appealing the decision.
Although DCFS
officials say one of the allegations of abuse was supported, the
Rich County Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges.
Assault
allegations
In Montana just
this week, a man who had been a staff member at WWASPS affiliate
Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Thompson Falls pleaded guilty to
criminal endangerment, a felony.
Initially, the man
was charged by the Sanders County Prosecutor's Office with sexual
assault and sexual intercourse without consent stemming from
allegations involving a 14-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy.
The county
attorney's office said the defendant received a three-year deferred
sentence of probation, with credit for 11 days served in jail.
Although the
Montana employee did enter a guilty plea, Kay stressed the charge
"does not mean anything inappropriate happened."
"It may mean he
(the defendant) may have had the child in a predicament or a
situation where there was the possibility that something could have
happened, not that it did happen."
He said the
employee was fired immediately for violating policy — which
prohibits staff members from being alone with students.
In New York, two
men were accused in March of assaulting a 17-year-old boy while he
was en route to the WWASPS Academy at Ivy Ridge, located near the
Canadian border.
Police there say
the teen was beaten while in cuffs after he grabbed the steering
wheel of the car and caused it to crash.
The men, who have
pleaded not guilty, were contracted by La Verkin-based Teen Escort
Service to do the transport of the teen. WWASPS officials say Teen
Escort is not affiliated with their organization, but is one of
three approved transport services that is recommended to parents.
The alleged assault
happened after the men woke the boy, handcuffed him and led him out
to a waiting car — a style of transport that investigators said had
the parents consent.
The rough way the
boy was treated and what officials say is a lack of apparent
regulatory oversight, has the case being reviewed by the New York
Attorney General's Office. A spokeswoman there said investigators
there have not yet decided on the scope of the review.
Legislation
sought
But Miller, the
ranking minority member on the House Committee on Education and the
Workforce, said government needs to take greater action and
initiative to protect youth in WWASPS programs in the United States
and overseas.
In his letter to
Ashcroft, he writes that the only action taken so far by the federal
government was a cautionary notice on using behavior modification
facilities issued by the state department in January. The notice
came after Miller's request for investigation and on the heels of a
riot at WWASPS affiliate in Costa Rica.
There, foreign
child protection workers and police swooped into the facility, which
one local child advocacy group described as a site of "torture."
One woman, a former
director of the Costa Rican school, asked the national minister of
child welfare to begin an investigation last year.
Utah licensing
officials, coupled with the Attorney General's Office, have urged
lawmakers to pass legislation imposing more regulatory control on
such programs here without success.
"Our concern is
that there is currently very little, if any oversight," Stettler
said.
While licensed
facilities have to meet minimum requirements for health and safety
purposes, programs termed as "boarding schools" such as Majestic
Ranch are outside the state's purview.
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