Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy - Cedar City, Utah

[Anonymous]

I was looking at putting my child in Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy in Cedar City, Utah when I started researching the whole business. Now it looks like Mountain Springs is presenting itself as a therapeutic boarding school when it isn't licensed to do the stuff it claims to be doing.  It looks like it used to be some other boarding school that changed its name to Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy recently.

Does anyone have information on this place? Does it really have licensing to do what it is claiming to do? Did it change its name because it killed or injured a kid as it appears so many facilities in this industry do? At this point, I am skeptical about anything people in this industry tell me. I have already been lied to by almost everyone I have talked to. I have changed my mind about putting my kid in a place like this. I feel like I have been groped by a used car salesperson every time I deal with one of these people.

[Anonymous]

We have an article about this facility on Fornits Wiki.

The former name was Academy at Cedar Mountain. They had to sale it because they had no idea about running a school and lost money.

After the checkups on Betton House done by another watch organisation, I would recommend that you check the school they claim to be working together with. Betton House was "borrowing" the name of respected schools and was forced to remove these logos on their homepage.

The sad reality is that there is no central agency where you can check if everything is in order. Even NATSAP is a private member club and we could start a similar tomorrow with some fine name.

I dont know what your situation is. If it is addiction or just lack of appreciating the home, I will recommend a wilderness group where you can go as a family. I won't recommend a special program but presently where Aspen Family Camp is defunct, Soltrek have one. You can only control what you can see. Not being there during treatment means danger.

If it is underachieving or lack of motivation and he is 15 or more send him on Scanrail for 21 days (Inside Scandinavia) with a bagpack for the summer. Don't worry about security as long as he stay inside Scandinavia.

If it is difficulties handling the size of the classes today you have a problem.

[AuntieEm2]

Dear Guest,

You are right to distrust what you are being told and to keep your child out of these programs. Surely there is someone  among your family, friends or neighbors who might be willing to help you? You probably have much more support than you think. My niece was sent away 28 months ago, and has had no contact with family members other than her parents, not even a phone call with siblings, during this entire time. We would gladly have stepped in if her parents had only been willing to talk to us about the situation. The girl could have come to live with us if only we'd known.

You might benefit from reading some of the following:
Warning Signs of Potentially Abusive Facilities
http://www.isaccorp.org/warningsigns.asp

The US House of Representatives just passed legislation to (hopefully) rein in abusive facilities. There were hearings in October and April, and three reports of investigations by the GAO into widespread allegations of abuse, maltreatment and death, and deceptive marketing practices in these facilities.You can read lots more at this link to the House Committee on Education and Labor:
http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/fc101007.shtml
Look for the testimony from parents.  I also recommend the GAO forensic investigation of reports of abuse and death and deceptive marketing practices:
http://edlabor.house.gov/testimony/2008-04-24-GregKutz.pdf

And if you receive any reponse here from a guy called The Who, know that he is paid by the progams to downplay the abuses and hype up the programs to parents.

Be very cautious about licensure and accreditation. Be very very clear what the claims really mean. For example, if they claim to have JCAHO accreditation, you can look up the specifics here:
http://www.qualitycheck.org/consumer/searchQCR.aspx
Often it just means they keep needles clean and check two forms of ID before administering meds, or will give an aspirin if someone is having a heart attack. It has nothing--nothing--to do with effective outcomes for teens having difficulty. Re education, former students here are much better able to tell you what a joke it is at the programs.

I'm guessing you must be pretty stressed out by all this. I wish you well as you navigate this difficulty.  Please keep your mind clear and recognize that the programs have a lot of experience at manipulating parents who are at the end of their rope. Take care and keep your wits about you.

Auntie Em

[Anonymous]

There are some photographs going around on the internet about kids in Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy being duct taped and placed outside for periods of time. One kid had his head smashed through a sheet rock wall when he picked up keys to the facility that a staff member had dropped on the floor.  Although the facility teaches its staff how to use restraints, they appear to forget their training in the adrenalin rush of the moment and do restraints improperly. In one application of restraint, they supposedly pushed a kid's face into the cushions of the sofa until he passed out. Improper restraints is among the leading causes of death in facilities like these.

Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy apparently accepted a kid who had be expelled from another facility for poking the eye out of another kid with a pencil. All without telling any of the parents of the other kids in their facility.