"DESPITE claims by Dundee defenders that the Academy's extreme "tough-love" tactics were necessary to help youth dealing with extreme discipline problems, the Ombudsman's final report confirms allegations made by the former facility's many critics."
"The program was based on a "methodology of behavior and environmental modification" without proper professional support, according to the report. The program was drastic, using extreme measures to control the teenagers, such as food deprivation, harsh living conditions and diverse punishments to force the kids to behave."
"The Health Ministry also found several heavy drugs - psychotropic, sedative and anti-convulsant medications - that were distributed in the Academy infirmary, even though it lacked a proper license from the Health Ministry. The finding seemed to lend credence to allegations made by several former students that youths were drugged with "morphine" and a "lithium knock-off" to keep them under control."
"The U.S. Congress also has taken interest in the Utah-based WorldWide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), the behavior-modification umbrella organization to which Dundee belonged.
House Representative George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, last month asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review WWASP's tax-exempt status and investigate whether the organization has received any special tax treatment in the past.
One of Rep. Miller's congressional aides said this week that the congressman also is preparing to ask U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to open a federal criminal investigation into alleged child mistreatment at WWASP programs."
Tico Times
