Problems With Therapy Camps For Troubled Teens

Were you at your wit’s end when it came to your teen’s attitude and behavior? Maybe you’d tried everything you could think of to develop a connection and some trust, but your efforts were rewarded with rebellion and outright dangerous behaviors.  As a last resort, you investigated youth camps for troubled teens, and settled in on one that sounded like it might help.  Hoping that someday soon the camp would return your child to you with the love and trust you once had, you contracted with the camp to do their magic.  That’s when the real nightmare began.

The Therapy Camp Industry 

Pre-teens and teens have been placed in so-called therapy camps across the country by the thousands. This industry collects billions of dollars through government funding and from families who have been through the wringer and are grasping for some sort of intervention to restore their families to health.  But the industry is not federally regulated, in spite of the fact that allegations of abuse abound. As for-profit institutions continue to suck funding from taxpayers and families (an average of about $20,000 monthly), federal oversight remains virtually non-existent. Perhaps that’s why some say the practices in many such programs include what would be violations of the Geneva Convention, the international agreement regulating the treatment of prisoners of war.

Abuse 

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) thousands of cases of abuse, and even death (over 300), have occurred, dating back to at least 2008. The reported abuses include:

• Sanctioned strip searches;
• Pseudoscientific programs;
• Neglect and negligence;
• Physical and sexual abuse;
• Hiking with heavy backpacks and rocks in pockets;
• Conversion therapy to address homosexuality;
• Bans on communication of any kind;
• Isolation that can last for as long as years;
• Mental/emotional abuse;
• Being housed in buildings infested with vermin;
• Denial of bathroom privileges;
• Meaningless physical labor;
• Restrictions on basic needs like food and water;
• Sanctioned fight clubs;
• A lack of evidence-based treatment or care for trauma victims;
• Lack of medical treatment;
• Restraining residents mechanically or with chemicals.

Maryland Abuses 

Does it all sound horrifying? Like the kind of thing that happens someplace else? Well hold, on, because nearly 40 people say they endured sexual abuse right here in Maryland at a residential youth treatment program. The majority of the complaints allege that young girls were drugged and then abused by priests and nuns working at the center.

The Aftermath 

The experiences many survivors of these camps share are truly heartbreaking. Many are left with long term damage like PTSD, nightmares and emotional problems included. Those are the lucky ones—as some did not live to tell about their nightmares. If your child suffered severe injury or death as a result of crackpot practices, neglect, or reckless treatment, you may be entitled to damages to address the medical costs and more.  To discuss the possibilities, schedule a confidential consultation with a compassionate Baltimore personal injury lawyer at The Law Office of Hasson D. Barnes in our office today.

Source:

americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/childrens-rights/five-facts-about-troubled-teen-industry/#:~:text=The%20%E2%80%9Ctroubled%20teen%E2%80%9D%20industry%20is%20a%20big%20business.%20It%20receives%20%E2%80%9Can%20estimated%20%2423%20billion%20dollars%20of%20annual%20public%20funds%20to%20purportedly%20treat%20the%20behavioral%20and%20psychological%20needs%20of%20vulnerable%20youth.%E2%80%9D