As of 2005, I live in a house with a good friend I met in the program, her… Started as staff at Spring Creek Lodge but left the facility to start a facility in Mexico known as Casa By The Sea. Medical records, he said, including those for therapy sessions, are kept by the individual doctors. Rob opened Cedar Ridge on family property after briefly working at Cross Creek Manor, notoriously violent program (formerly affiliated with WWASP) which has since been shut down after charges of child abuse and sexual assault came to light. Raided by authorities on May 22, 2003 after an investigation into child abuse, Investigated and shut down by the Mexican government after allegations of abuse, Closed in early 2009 due to accreditation issues, closed by Costa Rican child welfare authorities on March 18, 2011, following complaints of abuse by parents of enrollees. Robert or Rob was unlicensed at the time. CROSS CREEK PROGRAMS, ... “Any association that I ever had with World Wide ended nearly a decade ago when I left my employment at Cross Creek Manor as … Robert Lichfield - Started working in the Troubled Teen Industry at Provo Canyon, which is notoriously abusive to children. Give Pro. After some time he was transferred to run the facility Midwest Academy, and still currently is director of the facility. Started working in the Troubled Teen Industry at Provo Canyon, which is notoriously abusive to children. To view a news article about the lawsuit please CLICK HERE. New York’s Department of Education requires the school to store and secure student records for 50 years. I am a program graduate. In July a member of another group, Cross Creek Survivors, posted a picture of a dumpster outside the Cross Creek Manor facility, another former WWASP school in southern Utah. The Academy at Ivy Ridge was a WWASP-affiliated school in upstate New York that closed in 2009. There have been countless claims of abuse from this facility. He currently works with Youth Foundations Inc, formerly Horizons Academy, a WWASP organization. ", Opened in 1998 and closed later that year when Czech police arrested its managers (Glenda and Steven Roach, former police officers from Utah) and charged them with child torture, Shut down by Samoan authorities because an investigation determined credible allegations of abuse, Operated from the late 1970s until January 9, 2009, Raided and closed by Mexican authorities in 1996 over abuse, Subject of several documentaries detailing severe abuse; closed in January 2009. stablished in 2008 as Oceanside Teen Center; the institution states that it subcontracted with WWASP in 2008, but ended the contractual relationship in April 2009. le link between a facility and W.W.A.S.P. 5 Followers•0 Following. The facility, part tough love and part behavior modification, had left a community of traumatized students connected through social media. I returned home after graduating from Cross Creek, less than a week before my 18th birthday. I was there for 18 months starting in Nov 1998. He acknowledged that hundreds of students have contacted him asking for their records, but he has been able to help only those who recently attended the school. Spring Creek Lodge closed in 2009 after a wrongful death suit after a student hanged herself, and the school sat derelict in a Montana forest. Shortly before her birthday in July, she said, she was chained to a log for hours in the Utah desert. • Cross Creek Programs, UT (Cross Creek Center for Boys and Cross Creek Manor) • Darrington Academy, GA • Help My Teen, UT (Believed to promote and market WWASP… You will not see all the features of some websites. In November of 2013, with help from urban explorers adept at sneaking into state asylums, Sean entered Ivy Ridge, which is off-limits but unguarded. While he knew the Lichfields because he was friends and went to high school with the Lichfield sons, at 17 he officially started his career in the Troubled Teen Industry. Jay started working in the Industry at Brightway Adolescents Hospital underneath his father, in the position of security guard. Booth was sent to New Beginnings a month before her 18th birthday in order to finish high school. Brother to Robert Lichfield, Narvin first came into WWASP by starting Carolina Springs Academy. Clinton, Sanders spar over specifics in Iowa, Yoga used to help kids cope with violence in Chicago, Seeking charges against a Chicago officer, Filipina ‘comfort women’ seek official apology from Japan. WWASP also provides services to each of their programs such as seminars, workshops, a web page, consulting, trouble shooting and assistance with parent concerns. Therapists and staff are not licensed, no way for students to voice concerns or complaints to the outside world and there are no regulations or standards this facility has to live up to. WWASPS stated that it was an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled teenagers, all operating in accordance with WWASP guidelines. World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs, In this section we will be explaining the relations of staff members and where they are or have worked within the Troubled Teen Industry. In July a member of another group, Cross Creek Survivors, posted a picture of a dumpster outside the Cross Creek Manor facility, another former WWASP school in southern Utah. Troubled Teen Programs - 25 Plaintiffs Join In Lawsuits Against WWASPS - 2006 Other Wwasp Survivors Help Line Gulf Coast Academy - Formerly Eagles Point Christian Academy, Bethel Girls' Academy and Bethel Boys Academy. - ) is generally recognized as the founder of WWASP. It may take up to one month to process the request,” the person wrote in an email. We will research your concerns and find any possib. The bin appeared to be filled with former students’ documents. Schools that once operated under the umbrella of the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), with leadership and strong ties to the state of the Utah but with campuses around the world, have left a trail of shuttered programs and, for many students, unknown fates for academic and medical records. Narvin Lichfield has controlled and started numerous facilities, most of which have been shut down due to child abuse and torture. Many of those who heard about their efforts were disgusted that the school, which took so much from them emotionally, might retain a physical component as well. “It’s almost like none of this ever existed.”. “So for them not to properly dispose of these records is an incredibly low blow.”. Teen Mentor was shut down in 2011 after countless complaints of child abuse. © 2016 Al Jazeera America, LLC. In rooms with circled mold patches and Chinese characters (a Delaware corporation bought the building in 2009 to teach English to Chinese students) were rows and stacks of cardboard boxes and file cabinets. Narvin Lichfield has controlled and started numerous facilities, most of which have been shut down due to child abuse and torture. Teen Mentor was shut down in 2011 after countless complaints of child abuse. Â. “It’s like a big rock, and I’m trying to erode it down and disburse it out,” he explained. “I don’t know how,” Speerdecker said. Academic records should have been forwarded to the Browning Academy, an online distance learning center, Kay said. Jay has admitted to pepper spraying children in his care at Tranquility Bay. Sarah Artim and her mother, Nancy Artim, sued Cross Creek Manor, and its operator, the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs, in Federal Court. After some time he was transferred to run the facility Midwest Academy, and still currently is director of the facility. ¶8 Around 1997, Lichfield and Facer formed Teen Help, LLC (Teen Help); National The Department of Licensing in Utah, for example, has no rules regarding facilities’ keeping documentation, said licensing director Diane Moore. It is a place to share our experiences, gain insight into the brainwashing, torture, and humiliation that to us is past, but to thousands of girls and boys worldwide is a part of daily existance. • Cross Creek Programs, UT (Cross Creek Center for Boys and Cross Creek Manor) • Darrington Academy, GA • Help My Teen, UT (Believed to promote and market WWASP… She considered seeking legal action eventually, when she was ready, but is not hopeful, with the program — and any record of her attendance — possibly extinct. He left Provo Canyon and started WWASP with David Gilcrease who was with LifeSprings Seminars. “The problem … is that we have all been through so much trauma in and out of the program, and that’s a very private thing for most of us,” said Astle. Recent academic records are stored off-site, and older records have been destroyed, he said. A representative of Browning confirmed the academy sends out records when it has them. Cross Creek Manor, L.L.C. I would never send my kids, ever, anywhere, just because I’m scared they would get sent to some place like I was at.”, “‘Closure’ is a good word for it,” said Mathew Foley, who was unable to track down records of his attendance at Spring Creek Lodge for his disability application. Lilly Speerdecker spent three months at the troubled-youth facility Casa by the Sea, in Ensenada, Mexico, until it was closed by Mexican authorities in 2004. This facility is owned and operated by a notorious umbrella organization called World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP). Officials who visited the facility reported that "physical, psychological and verbal mistreatment" were "apparent. Jay has admitted to pepper spraying children in his care at Tranquility Bay. Breaking The Vow Of Secrecy - A True Story About Teen Help/WWASP. Cross Creek Programs was a reform school facility in La Verkin, Utah, operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). Cross Creek Programs, operated by the controversial World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (and Schools) WWASP(S) Opened in 1988 was Robert Lichfield's first facility and largely considered the "hub" of the WWASP conglomerate. Now 40 and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, which she said stems from her time at the program, Booth said she cannot find a trace of the program on the Internet. Many former students have reported abuse at the facility. We recommend that no parent send their child to one of these facilities, immediately. Joined 2012 or World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. I don’t think about it every day … but it’s made me who I am today,” Booth said of her time at New Beginnings. She has never been back. The problem, according to Kay, is that some schools never forwarded their transcripts to Browning. I was 14 years old and had just run away from home. The bin appeared to be filled with former students’ documents. At Cross Creek (or "Browning Academy" as WWASP likes to refer to the fictional "school" associated with their programs), I was given a remedial level text book for each respective class, and instructed to complete the chapter exercises and a chapter test. With the help of David, Robert was able to begin the umbrella corporation known as W.W.A.S.P. In May of 1993 I was sent to a girls home called Cross Creek Manor (CCM) in southern Utah where I lived for four and a half months. He left Provo Canyon and started WWASP with David Gilcrease who was with LifeSprings Seminars. She is now an active member of the online survivor community — which includes Facebook groups like WWASP Survivors, Stop WWASP and Spring Creek Lodge Survivors Community — made up of mostly former WWASP program participants critical of the industry. While there is no data on the exact number of children in residential programs, ASTART estimated there are hundreds of such facilities, with as many as 14,000 children in a peak year, with annual revenue of up to $1 billion. In 2007 and 2008 there were several U.S. Government Accountability Office reports as well as hearings before Congress on abuse at youth residential treatment facilities. He appeared in the industry for the first time when he was nightwatchman at Provo Canyon School in late 1970's. I am a student at New York University and have decided that it is time for someone to compile a factual research paper on Cross Creek, WWASP, and specialty boarding schools in general. Astle recalled spending time at Spring Creek in isolation in a room known as the hobbit hole, which was often covered in feces, urine and blood. Not only does Nicole Booth not have school records from her attendance 22 years ago at New Beginnings, which is in Utah on the property of WWASP founder Robert Lichfield, but she also has no record of the school itself, she said. More than half had experience in seclusion. “I feel bad because there is nothing I can do.”. I was struggling to understand my sexuality, had started using drugs and was caught drunk on two occasions. “I'm not sure how deeply you want me to go into my experience of the program, but I will give you the short version. However, there is no federal regulation of for-profit troubled-youth programs (other than federal HIPAA regulations regarding medical files), leaving oversight of the programs up to individual states. I have lived the textbook life of CPTSD. Narvin Lichfield - Brother to Robert Lichfield, Narvin first came into WWASP by starting Carolina Springs Academy. Cross Creek Manor In May of 1993 I was sent to a girls home called Cross Creek Manor (CCM) in southern Utah where I lived for four and a half months. All rights reserved. It was quite awhile ago (1994) and now I'm 25. When asked about student concerns regarding records and documents left over from programs, former WWASP president Ken Kay said that what individual schools did with their records was not his organization’s responsibility. or World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. Now she runs the Safe Teen Schools website, which provides information on abuse at tough-love facilities like Casa by the Sea. I do not remember most of my childhood prior to WWASP. “We weren’t responsible for [the schools], but we failed the responsibility to try to coach them,” he said. Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. WWASP Fails – Florida Mom Prevails (Jury Rules in favor of Mom) WESTON, Florida (August 8, 2004).. Corporate giant, World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), came after a single Florida mom, Sue Scheff, and her organization Parents Universal Resource Experts (P.U.R.E.™), because she spoke out about the company’s alleged abuses against children. Started as a night staff at Brightway Adolescents Hospital and was bumped up to director of the facility until it shut down in 1998. WWASP PRESS RELEASE ON UTAH LAWSUITS (In November, 1998, two lawsuits were filed in the State of Utah against Cross Creek Manor, Teen Help and the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs. Along with the possible destruction that have followed their careers within programs. Explore wwaspsurvivors's 101 photos on Flickr! Robert Walter Lichfield (Robbie) - In 2010 Robbie's father, Robert Lichfield, gave Robbie control of a facility in Costa Rica named Teen Mentor. “I didn’t have any control over the schools,” he said, “how they stored their records or anything.”. “I’m very leery of people. I was 14 years old and had just run away from home. The seven causes of action include fraud and slavery. A list of the most popular browsers can be found below. Jay Kay - Jay started working in the Industry at Brightway Adolescents Hospital underneath his father, in the position of security guard. “It makes me nervous,” she said. WWASPS states that it is an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled teenagers, all operating in accordance with WWASP guidelines. Jade Robinson - Started as staff at Spring Creek Lodge but left the facility to start a facility in Mexico known as Casa By The Sea. With the help of David, Robert was able to begin the umbrella corporation known as W.W.A.S.P. Two years later, the Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate Use of Residential Treatment (ASTART) testified on its findings of an online survey of hundreds of former students of residential youth programs. According to another alum who allegedly returned to the facility, the abandoned school was still filled with fragments of past students’ lives — journals, progress notes, letters and medical and mental health records. The members of this entity are Karr Farnsworth and … The World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS or WWASP) is an organization based in Utah, in the United States.WWASPS was founded by Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. shift supervisor at Cross Creek Manor, a Utah-based facility for wayward youth, owned by Lichfield and Facer. Has had countless allegations of abuse. Cross Creek Manor/Youth Foundation - Closed suddenly in 2013, one of the longest running WWASP facilities. And, Jade Robinson is now working at Horizon Academy (another WWASP program in Nevada). Scalia’s death could affect court decisions long before his seat is filled, Deadly strikes on Syrian schools, hospitals denounced as ‘war crime’, New black mayors make a difference, one Georgia town at a time, Renewed deficit hysteria based on flimsy CBO projection, A blurry line divides addicts and dealers in heroin underworld, take precautions to ensure the security of student academic records. Atkin is a trustee of WWASP and is also their legal representation. There have been countless claims of abuse from this facility. “I was able to get a lot of closure for myself,” he said, “but now I’ve taken on a new burden.” He wants to help other students get their records back too. Jade has countless allegations of abuse against him. “In September of 2004 I was sent to Cross Creek Manor (CCM) Utah- One of the therapeutic boarding schools that were operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP). So Astle organized a Facebook group she called Operation Spring Creek Lodge to galvanize former students in an attempt to retrieve their records or at least make sure they were properly disposed of. Ken Kay is now the Vice President of WWASP. Closed by Mexican authorities for human rights violations against children in their care. But what Sean, a former Ivy Ridge student whose last name is withheld for his legal protection, said he found at his old campus was conflicting. This community is designed to link together the survivors of WWASP, also known as "Teen Help," and Browning Academy. In 2005, 34 states reported to the Health and Human Services Department’s National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System 1,503 incidents of abuse by government and private residential facility staffers — the majority alleging neglect or deprivation of necessities (44 percent), with physical abuse second (24 percent). Robert Lichfield (? It has known security flaws and a limited feature set. I was 16 years old then. SALT LAKE CITY — Ashley Astle left Spring Creek Lodge, a residential facility for troubled youths in Montana, over a decade ago. Former students seeking records for colleges, disability claims, lawsuits regarding past abuse or simply a sense of closure have had little recourse. Â, The Department of Education in New York, tasked with regulating the Academy at Ivy Ridge, another WWASP-affiliated school now closed, requires schools to store student records for 50 years and “take precautions to ensure the security of student academic records.”.