Residential treatment program abuse and neglect

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Therapeutic residential treatment programs for teens have become a billion-dollar industry. Though they go by many different names - teens wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, emotional growth boarding schools, behavioral therapy boarding schools, residential treatment centers for troubled teens, juvenile boot camp programs, teen drug addiction treatment centers, behavior modification programs – all share in one common goal – to make money. Yet, it is irresponsible and negligent for such facilities to place profits over the safety of our children. At Carlson Injury Law, we have handled multi-million dollar cases helping parents and their children get the justice they deserve.

Please call today for a free and confidential case consultation. Be assured that any conversation about your situation with our firm is confidential. When we respond to an inquiry, we do so with the sensitivity, respect and the discretion necessary to provide meaningful feedback. If you prefer to speak with us directly regarding your incident, please call us or send a confidential email.

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What do I need to know about hiring a lawyer?

Yes. Utah has very specific laws regarding what is required in terms of bringing a claim against these facilities. Unfortunately, many out-of-state lawyers have lost cases for their clients because they are unaware of Utah’s intricate procedural requirements in making a claim against a therapeutic boarding school or similar facility. Moreover, in the event a lawsuit has to be filed, the lawyer must be licensed with the state of Utah in order to bring a lawsuit. At Carlson Injury Law we have worked with many out-of-state lawyers who have asked us for assistance in bringing a claim in Utah. If you have already hired an attorney, but are looking for a lawyer in Utah, we would gladly speak with your attorney to see what we can do to help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.

There is a misperception that all attorneys require enormous payments for their services before they will even do a moment’s work on your case. At Carlson Injury Law we understand that people who are hurt by another’s negligence may not have substantial financial resources and are entitled to legal representation regardless. This is especially the case where a family’s financial resources have been drained paying exorbitant tuition and fees to the very facilities that failed to protect their child. Accordingly, we charge fees on a contingency-only basis, which means that unless we win your case, you owe us nothing. If your claim is successful, we will accept a portion of the financial compensation awarded as part of the settlement or verdict.

Signs of abuse

Detecting signs of abuse can be difficult since these programs have strict restrictions on children communicating with anyone outside of the program. Nevertheless, the following policies should raise serious red flags that abuse may be occurring:

The facility does not allow you to visit the program
Calls between you and your child are “monitored” by staff members
They tell you to expect that your child will lie to you while in the program, and encourage you not to believe reports of abuse because these will be “attempts at manipulation.”
The facility monitors family visits with no opportunities to have private discussion with your child
Failures to contact you immediately in the case of illness, injury, emergency or treatment changes
The facility uses harsh and excessive discipline practices that include: seclusion, restraint, corporal punishment, punitive “behavioral modification,” fear tactics, humiliation, peer-on-peer discipline / peer pressure, forced labor, heightened physiological stress* or sedation by medication
Changes in your child’s behavior - such as, aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity
Changes in your child’s forms of communication (such as attempting to call instead of email and requests for in-person visits)
Unusual health complaints from your child (headaches, stomach aches, etc.)
A decline in your child’s academic performance
Attempts by your child to run away from the facility
Threats of self-harm and attempts at suicide
Unexplained fractures, bruises, and cuts

Injuries that don’t match the given explanation.

What are the most common forms of abuse at therepeutic boarding schools?

The statistics of reported physical assaults at these facilities are staggering. Physical assaults can occur between students. These incidences are often reported and the students are disciplined. Yet, if the facility has knowledge of a child’s propensity for violence and fails to appropriately supervise that child, the facility is responsible for any harm caused to you child.

Just as concerning are the many incidences where an employee has lost his temper and physically assaulted a child. Oftentimes the staff member will attempt to excuse the assault under the guise that he was attempting to “restrain” your child because the child was allegedly a danger to himself or others. Such excuses are absurd. The simple truth is, physical harm to your child should never occur, regardless of whether your child required physical restraint. Physically restraining a child is the very last measure that should be employed, and it should only accomplished by an employee that has been appropriately trained on how to physically retrain a child without injuring him. If your child has been injured as a result of being physically restrained, chances are the employee acted with improper aggression and/or was not properly trained by the facility.

The consequences of staff members using excessive and inappropriate means to restrain your child can result in devasting physical injuries – such as, brain damage, broken arms, broken shoulders, broken noses, broken ribs, broken fingers, etc. The emotional trauma a child sustains as a result of being physically assaulted by a staff member is equally damaging. If your child has been injured as a result of being physically assaulted by another student or staff member, your child is entitled to compensation. An experienced lawyer at Carlson Injury Law can ensure your child receives the maximum amount of compensation he or she deserves.

Sexual assaults are rampant in these facilities. A facility’s failure to hire a sufficient amount of staff to supervise students enables the most vulnerable student population to be preyed upon. Oftentimes the vulnerable students are pressured into engaging in sexual activity with other students in exchange for their “safety” or must perform sexual acts as a passage of rights for being the “new guy.” Yet, regardless, of the circumstances behind how the sexual misconduct occurred, it is the facility’s responsibility to ensure your child is safe and protected. If your child has been sexually assaulted by force or through manipulative means by another student, the facility is likely negligent for failing to provide adequate supervision.

Just as troublesome is how prevalent sexual abuse is between staff members and students. Staff members maintain a position of trust and will use that trust to manipulate students into engaging in sexual acts. For instance, staff members may have access to student records that identify a teen’s troubled past, which may include drug dependency, a history of sexual abuse, etc. The staff members will use this knowledge to identify those teens who are most vulnerable to manipulation. The staff member will then “groom” the student, often giving the student favorable treatment, medications, cigarettes, etc. Eventually the favorable treatment will evolve into the staff member seeking sexual favors from the student.

Facilities that have proper policies and procedures should easily detect circumstances where a staff member is grooming a student. Said policies and procedures should also prevent a staff member from ever being alone with a student and having the opportunity to sexually assault a child. If your child has been sexually abused by a staff member, the facility was most likely negligent in failing to supervise its employees and failing to have the necessary procedures and protocols to prevent sexual abuse.

Perhaps as strong and enduring as any other effects of sexual abuse are the shame and guilt that can be overwhelming and debilitating, compounded by a resulting mistrust of others and avoidance of any acknowledgment or conversation concerning the abuse. We recognize how difficult and oftentimes frightening acknowledging the abuse and describing it can be. Be assured that any conversation about your situation with our firm is confidential. When we respond to an inquiry, we do so with the sensitivity, respect and the discretion necessary to provide meaningful feedback. If you prefer to speak with us directly regarding your incident, please call Carlson Injury Law at (801) 845-4577 or send a confidential email to mark.carlson@carlsoninjuryfirm.com.

Therapeutic residential treatment programs for teens have become a billion-dollar industry. With profits being their motivating factors, programs offer to treat nearly every teen behavior imaginable,including low self-esteem, lack of motivation, trouble with teachers, poor grades, depression, confrontational or defiant behavior, substance abuse and addiction, sexual acting out, defiance toward authority, lying, manipulative behavior, entitlement, and/or video game addiction. Moreover, these programs enroll children with almost any learning disability or mental illness including ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s Syndrome, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, sexual behavior problems, reactive-attachment disorder, non-verbal learning disorder, anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), developing personality disorders, and/or trouble with the law.

These programs often assess a child's needs using nothing more than a questionnaire on the program’s web page - and then recommend immediate enrollment in their program. Astonishingly, but unsurprisingly, the “treatment” offered is almost identical for all the above conditions: a rigidly-controlled environment, strict discipline, a “levels system” of behavior change, medication and confrontational “transformation therapy".

Accepted standards of treatment and plain old common sense suggest that this one-size-fits-all form of tough love “treatment” cannot possibly be suitable for children with all these different issues, disabilities and illnesses. In fact, such forms of “treatment” are likely causing more harm than good. What’s more, wrongfully prescribing and over-medicating at-risk youth only compounds the issues they are facing.

One-size-fits-all programs should be approached with great skepticism. Pushing you to enroll your child immediately should be a red flag.

Why is abuse so prevalent at these facilities?

In 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office published the results of a comprehensive study investigating the underlying causes of abuse in residential treatment facilities. According to the GAO, there was “significant evidence of ineffective management” in most cases it studied “with program leaders neglecting the needs of program participants and staff. This ineffective management compounded the negative consequences of (and sometimes directly resulted in) the hiring of untrained staff; a lack of adequate nourishment; and reckless or negligent operating practices, including a lack of adequate equipment. These factors played a significant role in the deaths GAO examined.”

Consistent with the GAO’s findings, most abuse cases in residential treatment facilities are the result of the facility’s failure to follow 3 common sense safety rules - which state a residential treatment facility must:

Hire qualified staff;
Train its staff; and
Supervise its staff.

These basic but important safety rules are the front-line defense in preventing abuse and harm to our children.

Residential treatment facilities must hire qualified employees to prevent harm to children.

Residential treatment facilities must conduct regular background checks to verify whether the employee has a criminal history. Background checks should be conducted annually to ensure the employee is continuing to abide by the law and has not demonstrated a propensity for violence, sexual misconduct, or abusing alcohol or illegal drugs. Beyond the background check, residential treatment facilities should call the prospective employee’s past employers and references. The facility should be especially aware of red flags commonly associated with sexual predators who often seek employment at these facilities. Such red flags include sporadic employment history, living in different states, volunteering for youth groups in which he/she does not have a child, etc.

Residential facilities should also seek employees who have experience working with troubled teens provided the employees’ history and credential have been verified the employee’s former employer. Too often, residential treatment facilities seek to maximize their profits by employing an inexperienced individual (without a significant employment history to investigate) simply because the individual will accept working for a lower wage. Such hiring practices opens the flood gates for predators and places our troubled youth at risk.

Residential treatment facilities must train employees to prevent harm to children.

Residential treatment facilities are required to train staff members on it policies and procedures to protect the children they serve. Such training should include:

When physically restraining a student is necessary and the proper methods of doing so to prevent physical injury to the child,
Proper boundaries between staff members and students - including the prohibition of any student and staff member being left alone together,
Protocols establishing how students and staff members should communicate and interact with one another,
Protocols for medication administration,
Identifying and reporting any forms of abuse by a staff member or student
Protocols for handling reports of abuse

Residential treatment facilities must supervise employees to prevent harm to children.

Training employees on proper protocols and procedures is a useless endeavor if the residential treatment facility does not supervise its employees to ensure its policies and procedures are being followed. For instance, having a policy prohibiting one on one staff interaction with a student is merely lip service and does nothing to protect our children if the facility allows one on one interactions to occur without consequence.

The same holds true when a facility does not have standards in place to review employee conduct and fails to discipline employees who violate safety policies. When a facility turns a blind eye to employee misconduct, it is ratifying the misconduct. Thus, the residential treatment facility is responsible for any harm the employee perpetrates on an innocent child.

At Carlson Injury Law, we specialize in holding residential treatment facilities accountable for betraying the trust of parents and allowing children under their watch to be abused.

What should I do if I suspect abuse?

If abuse is suspected, Utah requires that the suspected abuse be immediately reported to the “nearest peace officer, law enforcement agency, or office of the division.” Utah Code Ann. §62A-4a-403. By law, your identity will be kept confidential if you desire it to be. Though the law only requires that you report the suspected abuse to a law enforcement agency or to the Department of Child and Family Services, we strongly recommend that you report the abuse to both agencies to ensure swift action is taken to protect your child.

An experienced lawyer at Carlson Injury Law can assist you in making sure appropriate action is taken by these agencies to protect your child.

It is imperative that you document the signs of the abuse. Being very specific in your statements and reporting can make all of the difference. This will also be very helpful for your attorney if legal action is necessary. These documentations include:

Writing down the descriptions of the injuries and the suspicious events (dates and times are important!)
Writing down interactions with staff members (including date, time, staff member name)
Written statements from any witnesses who saw/suspects the abuse
Taking pictures of your child’s injuries
Noting any changes in the child’s behavior (including when the changes began)

You should never feel like you are overreacting when you see signs of abuse. It is better to report possible abuse and it turn out to be nothing than to have to deal with a tragic ending.

If there is any suspicion your child has been abused, you should immediately remove your child from the facility. At Carlson Injury Law, we have a developed strong understanding of what to look for in a therapeutic facility to ensure your child is being placed at the safest facility possible. Please contact Carlson Injury Law today at (801)845-4577 to receive a free parent guide listing the red flags you should be aware of before placing your child in a residential treatment facility.

You should see immediate medical treatment for your child if abuse is suspected. A doctor’s examination will hep identify any signs of physical abuse and can run appropriate tests, including blood work to ensure your child has contracted any sexually transmitted diseases if he or she was sexually abused. Additionally, your child should be seen by a mental health professional who can identify the emotional trauma your child sustained and recommend the best course of treatment. From years of experience handling abuse cases, Carlson Injury Law has built a strong network of leading medical experts. Please feel free to contact us today at (801)845-4577 for guidance on seeking medical treatment for your child.

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