The World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS or WWASP) is a nonprofit organization based in Utah, United States. WWASPS was founded by Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. WWASPS states that it is an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled adolescents, all operating in accordance with WWASP guidelines. Many outside observers believe, however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions are actually owned (through limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street address) by WWASPS or its principal officials or their close relatives.[1] WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing;[2] and Premier Educational Systems, LLC (also called Premier Educational Seminars), which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents.[3] Since its inception, WWASPS claims to have helped over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior.[4]
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Facilities
WWASP operates, formerly operated, or is associated with, several facilities in the United States and in other countries, including the following:
Currently operating
United States
- Academy at Ivy Ridge in Ogdensburg, New York (no longer affiliated with WWASP)
- Carolina Springs Academy in South Carolina
- Cross Creek Programs in Utah
- Darrington Academy in Georgia
- Majestic Ranch Academy in Utah
- Midwest Academy in Keokuk, Iowa
- Horizon Academy in Amargosa Valley, Nevada
- Red River Academy in Lecompte, Louisiana.
- Royal Gorge Academy in Canon City, Colorado
- Sky View Christian Academy, for boys, in Hawthorne, Nevada. Enrolled about 120 students and employed about 63 staff and teachers, with a total annual payroll of $1.57 million. Closed abruptly in 2007 after a hazing incident.[5]
- Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Montana (claims to be no longer affiliated with WWASP)
- Woodland Hills Maternity Home in Utah
Other countries
- Pillars of Hope, (previously the site of closed school Academy at Dundee Ranch) in Costa Rica
- Tranquility Bay in Jamaica (subject of several documentaries detailing severe abuse)[6]
- Seaside Academy near Ensenada, Mexico (previously the site of Casa By The Sea) [7]
Now closed
United States
- Bell Academy in California (shutdown after issues with state Social Services)[8]
- Bethel Girls Academy in Mississippi (shutdown after state officials investigate reports of abuse)[9]
- Brightway Hospital in St. George, Utah (closed by authorities for providing inadequate care and abuse)[10]
Other countries
- Casa By The Sea Ensenada, Mexico (Investigated because of allegations of abuse and shutdown by the Mexican government)
- High Impact in Tecate, Mexico (Investigated because of allegations of abuse and shutdown by the Mexican government)[11]
- Morava Academy, Czech Republic (closed in 1998, when Czech police charged and arrested its managers with child torture)[12]
- Sunrise Beach, Cancún, Mexico (raided and closed by Mexican authorities over abuse)[13]
- Paradise Cove, Samoa (shutdown by Samoan authorities because an investigation determined credible allegations of abuse)[14]
In July 2007 World Wide's president, Ken Kay, told the Salt Lake Tribune that only two schools remained in the WWASPS network, including Majestic Ranch Academy, which he said was likely to sever its ties with the organization.[15]
Related and spinoff programs and projects
Some personnel formerly associated with WWASP schools and programs have gone on to establish or work at other similar institutions:
- In 2005 Robert Lichfield and the Utah-based holding company, Golden Pond Investments Ltd., made an offer to buy the campus of the Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, to open a new school for adolescents needing help with discipline, responsibility and leadership skills. It was announced that the school would be directed by former WWASP staff member Randall Hinton and his brother Russell Hinton. The Hintons told Boonville officials that the proposed school would not be a part of WWASP.[16] The Boonville City Council rejected the proposal.[17]
Controversy
The treatment methods employed by WWASPS institutions are said to be controversial, as there have been allegations of severe abuse and torture by staff at programs supported by WWASPS.[18] The programs have been the subject of legal investigations by several U.S. states.[19] Numerous former students or their parents have filed lawsuits against WWASPS, its personnel, or individual schools. Most have been settled out of court or dismissed for procedural reasons. For example, a 2005 lawsuit filed in California on behalf of more than 20 plaintiffs was dismissed because the judge found that California lacked jurisdiction. In June 2007, Utah attorney Thomas M. Burton told a reporter that six suits he had filed against WWASPS on behalf of his clients had been dismissed on procedural grounds. WWASPS president Ken Kay told an interviewer that lawsuits against WWASPS are ploys to get money, brought by people who "are never going to be happy."[20] A lawsuit filed in 2007 against WWASPS and its founder, Robert Lichfield, on behalf of 133 plaintiffs alleging physical and sexual abuse and fraudulent concealment of abuse has brought negative publicity to Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, because Lichfield is one of six co-chairs of the Utah state fundraising committee for Romney's campaign.[20][21] In August, 2007, Randall Hinton was convicted of one count each of third degree assault and false imprisonment, for mistreating students at the WWASP-affiliated Royal Gorge Academy, of which he was manager and co-founder. However, the jury returned verdicts of "not guilty" on four other counts of third-degree assault and one other count of false imprisonment. [22]
References
- ^ See Investigation shows troubled school may be buying interest with lawmakers (Associated Press, September 20, 2004), Utah-based school owner banned (Deseret News, July 6, 2003), and Former student alleges months of abuse (John Sullivan, Columbia Daily Tribune, April 15, 2005.)
- ^ John-Thor Dahlburg, Key to His Schools' Success? It's God, Founder Says, Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2003.
- ^ See http://www.premier-ed.com/
- ^ http://www.wwasprebuttal.com/
- ^ Housing slump indefinitely delays Hawthorne project, Reno Gazette Journal, December 2 2007, and Hawthorne project postponed, by David C. Henley, Lahontan Valley News, December 1, 2007.
- ^ Joanne Green, Rough Love,Miami New Times June 22, 2006
- ^ Sandra Dibble & Anna Cearley, Baja raids shut boarding schools for U.S. teens, The Union-Tribune, September 11, 2004
- ^ Henry Winckel, The Porterville Recorder, September 26, 2003
- ^ CAROL MARBIN MILLER, [1], Miami Herald, June 1, 2005
- ^ Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse
- ^ Sandra Dibble & Anna Cearley, Baja raids shut boarding schools for U.S. teens, The Union-Tribune, September 11, 2004
- ^ Too-tough love?, Forbes Magazine, March 22, 1999
- ^ Denver Rocky Mountain News
- ^ Legal Affairs
- ^ Loophole in state law has allowed some in teen-help industry to go unlicensed, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 16, 2007
- ^ Boonville to discuss Kemper proposal: A company involved in the plan has faced abuse allegations, Columbia Missourian, April 11, 2005, and John Sullivan, Kemper suitors plan new military school, Columbia Daily Tribune, April 5, 2005.
- ^ Amy Joi Bryson, Utah-based group under fire, Deseret Morning News, April 21, 2005
- ^ Joanne Green, Rough Love: Kids from South Florida and beyond are sent to Jamaica to straighten up. Or else, Miami New Times, June 22, 2006.
- ^ Amy Joi Bryson, Utah-based group under fire, Deseret Morning News, April 21, 2005.
- ^ a b Alexander Bolton, Lawsuits hit a Romney money man, The Hill, June 20, 2007
- ^ Maia Szalavitz, Romney, Torture, and Teens: The former governor's connections to abusive "tough love" camps, Reason Magazine, June 27, 2007.
- ^ Hinton guilty on two counts: Jury finds Royal Gorge Academy official guilty of assault, false imprisonment, The Cañon City Daily Record, 9/1/2007, Page A8.
External links
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The external links in this article may not comply with Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. |
Web sites for WWASP facilities and affiliated institutions:
- Academy at Ivy Ridge
- Cross Creek Programs
- Carolina Springs Academy
- Spring Creek Lodge Academy
- Midwest Academy
- Tranquility Bay
Parent action sites
- - WWASP
- International Survivors Action Committee - WWASP
- AntiWWASP, a revolution for a voice that can't be heard.
- Spring Creek Lodge Experience
- Parents Divided Over Jamaica Disciplinary Academy by Tim Weiner, The New York Times, June 17, 2003
- WWASP - Tranquility Bay. Testimony of Aaron Kravig, Lindsey Wise & Nick Violante
- The Last Resort by Decca Aitkenhead, Observer Magazine, June 29, 2003.
- Want Your Kid to Disappear? by Nadya Labi, Legal Affairs, July|August 2004.
- Loving Them to Death
- Tranquility Bay and WWASPS
- The Trouble with Troubled Teen Programs
