Turn About Ranch (A Rough Guide)

[ArtLew7]

There has been a new lawsuit filed describing "torture" of a 15-year-old girl in 2005. I'm researching behavior mod programs, and I wanted to know if anyone went there since 2006 and had similar experiences? Either post here or contact me directly.
Thanks, ArtLew7;
            http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/06/27/47850.htm
  SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - A mother claims in court that "sadists and psychopaths" at Turn About Ranch, a residential treatment center in Escalante, subjected her teen-age daughter to "torture," including hours of stress positions, threats to suffocate her, exposure to animal abuse and regular public humiliation.
     Elizabeth Verney and her mother, Julia Gordon, sued Turn About Ranch and Aspen Education Group, both California corporations, in Federal Court.
     Turn About "purport(s) to be a Utah licensed residential treatment center" in Escalante. It's owned and operated by the Aspen Group, according to the complaint.
     Verney, now 22, claims Turn About subjected her to "torture" in 2005, when she was 15.
     The ranch billed itself as a place to treat "young people with low self-esteem, depression and mental health problems," according to the complaint, and "boasted [of] daily private therapy sessions, horse riding and outdoor activities with all staff trained as childcare experts."
     Gordon, of London, England, claims the defendants charged her $310 a day to treat her daughter for depression and severe anxiety disorder.
     But Verney says she spent 7 weeks as an "abject captive" and was "constantly frightened and fearing for her life."
     According to the 34-page complaint: "During her stay Elizabeth was subjected to sleep deprivation, denied food, and yet forced to eat and prepare meat, which was abhorrent to her as a vegetarian. The ranch threatened her with restraint and force-feeding with a tube if she did not comply. The ranch forced physical labor and excessive exercise in extreme temperatures. It forced her regularly to put her hands in a sink filled with bleach to wash dishes until they bled, leaving to this day scars on her knuckles.
     "Staff's verbal abuse was unrelenting, humiliating both in private and in group 'denunciation meetings' where she was made to list her faults and listen to her peers taking turns denigrating her and her faults, and what they disliked about her, not as therapy but out of relish.
     "Staff regularly threatened Elizabeth with physical violence, including potential suffocation if she tried to run away. They told her daily that she was a bad person, and described her as 'disgusting, stupid, manipulative, pathetic and bad.' They screamed at her, punished her for crying and for having panic attacks that caused fearful hyperventilation.
     "They forced her to maintain stress positions for many hours at time during the first few days at the ranch, not allowing her to rest her body against any structures, to stretch or to lie down, putting great pressure on her back, neck and joints, all of which was extremely painful. They forced her to sleep on a wooden slab without a pillow or mattress even though she already suffered from ongoing back pain from an injury that her parents had told the ranch about.
     "She was often not allowed to wash for days at a time or change her dirty clothes. They forced her to sleep in clothes that had animal feces on them.
     "Bullying and abuse between those in the program was not only overlooked but actively encouraged. When Elizabeth informed staff about a 13-year-old boy's being bullied by older teens in his dorm room, a staff member said the boy deserved it and joined the ringleaders in taunting and humiliating her all the more, and then excluded the boy from group activities."
     Verney says she was also forced to attend church, "although she and her family are not Christian and found some of the teachings against her beliefs."
     The complaint continues: "In some ways the most harmful experience was the emotional abuse inflicted by her appointed 'therapist' of uncertain credentials, who criticized her, led a denunciation meeting against her, told her that she was a bad person and was 'pretending' rather than suffering from true anxiety or depression, thereby refusing to treat, validate, or even acknowledge the deterioration of her mental health at the Ranch. Notwithstanding being cast as a counselor and liaison between Elizabeth and her parents, she lied to Elizabeth's family about Elizabeth's welfare and physical and mental health, and lied about her parents' communications to the Ranch about Elizabeth; and facilitated, enhanced, and concealed Elizabeth's abuse so as to dissuade her family from making serious inquiry about Elizabeth's welfare and, in order to extort further funding, claimed that Elizabeth needed to remain at the Ranch.
     "Elizabeth saw that animals at the camp were seriously abused and neglected. She was told of animal torture witnessed by other teens, such as the burning of a live rat on a camp fire (apparently the creature was repeatedly tossed into the fire by a member of staff until it died). One staff member showed Elizabeth a knife he used to castrate farm animals without anesthetic, describing the animals' screams, as he knew that she was an animal lover. Dogs were left for days without water in extreme
     "The Ranch intercepted, read, and confiscated Elizabeth's mail. Staff made her write false and glowing letters. Staff censored and manipulated all communication with her family. They lied to her about communications between the Ranch and her parents and vice versa. Staff told her that her parents were colluding with the Ranch to 'punish' her because she was a bad person, that they did not really love her, were angry with her, and were not sure whether they were ever going to come and get her.

[ArtLew7]

There has been a new lawsuit filed describing "torture" of a 15-year-old girl in 2005. I'm researching behavior mod programs, and I wanted to know if anyone went there since 2006 and had similar experiences? Either post here or contact me directly.
Thanks, ArtLew7;
            http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/06/27/47850.htm
  SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - A mother claims in court that "sadists and psychopaths" at Turn About Ranch, a residential treatment center in Escalante, subjected her teen-age daughter to "torture," including hours of stress positions, threats to suffocate her, exposure to animal abuse and regular public humiliation.
     Elizabeth Verney and her mother, Julia Gordon, sued Turn About Ranch and Aspen Education Group, both California corporations, in Federal Court.
     Turn About "purport(s) to be a Utah licensed residential treatment center" in Escalante. It's owned and operated by the Aspen Group, according to the complaint.
     Verney, now 22, claims Turn About subjected her to "torture" in 2005, when she was 15.
     The ranch billed itself as a place to treat "young people with low self-esteem, depression and mental health problems," according to the complaint, and "boasted [of] daily private therapy sessions, horse riding and outdoor activities with all staff trained as childcare experts."
     Gordon, of London, England, claims the defendants charged her $310 a day to treat her daughter for depression and severe anxiety disorder.
     But Verney says she spent 7 weeks as an "abject captive" and was "constantly frightened and fearing for her life."
     According to the 34-page complaint: "During her stay Elizabeth was subjected to sleep deprivation, denied food, and yet forced to eat and prepare meat, which was abhorrent to her as a vegetarian. The ranch threatened her with restraint and force-feeding with a tube if she did not comply. The ranch forced physical labor and excessive exercise in extreme temperatures. It forced her regularly to put her hands in a sink filled with bleach to wash dishes until they bled, leaving to this day scars on her knuckles.
     "Staff's verbal abuse was unrelenting, humiliating both in private and in group 'denunciation meetings' where she was made to list her faults and listen to her peers taking turns denigrating her and her faults, and what they disliked about her, not as therapy but out of relish.
     "Staff regularly threatened Elizabeth with physical violence, including potential suffocation if she tried to run away. They told her daily that she was a bad person, and described her as 'disgusting, stupid, manipulative, pathetic and bad.' They screamed at her, punished her for crying and for having panic attacks that caused fearful hyperventilation.
     "They forced her to maintain stress positions for many hours at time during the first few days at the ranch, not allowing her to rest her body against any structures, to stretch or to lie down, putting great pressure on her back, neck and joints, all of which was extremely painful. They forced her to sleep on a wooden slab without a pillow or mattress even though she already suffered from ongoing back pain from an injury that her parents had told the ranch about.
     "She was often not allowed to wash for days at a time or change her dirty clothes. They forced her to sleep in clothes that had animal feces on them.
     "Bullying and abuse between those in the program was not only overlooked but actively encouraged. When Elizabeth informed staff about a 13-year-old boy's being bullied by older teens in his dorm room, a staff member said the boy deserved it and joined the ringleaders in taunting and humiliating her all the more, and then excluded the boy from group activities."
     Verney says she was also forced to attend church, "although she and her family are not Christian and found some of the teachings against her beliefs."
     The complaint continues: "In some ways the most harmful experience was the emotional abuse inflicted by her appointed 'therapist' of uncertain credentials, who criticized her, led a denunciation meeting against her, told her that she was a bad person and was 'pretending' rather than suffering from true anxiety or depression, thereby refusing to treat, validate, or even acknowledge the deterioration of her mental health at the Ranch. Notwithstanding being cast as a counselor and liaison between Elizabeth and her parents, she lied to Elizabeth's family about Elizabeth's welfare and physical and mental health, and lied about her parents' communications to the Ranch about Elizabeth; and facilitated, enhanced, and concealed Elizabeth's abuse so as to dissuade her family from making serious inquiry about Elizabeth's welfare and, in order to extort further funding, claimed that Elizabeth needed to remain at the Ranch.
     "Elizabeth saw that animals at the camp were seriously abused and neglected. She was told of animal torture witnessed by other teens, such as the burning of a live rat on a camp fire (apparently the creature was repeatedly tossed into the fire by a member of staff until it died). One staff member showed Elizabeth a knife he used to castrate farm animals without anesthetic, describing the animals' screams, as he knew that she was an animal lover. Dogs were left for days without water in extreme
     "The Ranch intercepted, read, and confiscated Elizabeth's mail. Staff made her write false and glowing letters. Staff censored and manipulated all communication with her family. They lied to her about communications between the Ranch and her parents and vice versa. Staff told her that her parents were colluding with the Ranch to 'punish' her because she was a bad person, that they did not really love her, were angry with her, and were not sure whether they were ever going to come and get her.

[Oscar]

After the murder the local residents worry. Unfortunately the local police only see the teenagers confined at the ranch as criminals instead of teenagers suffering from mental illnesses or simply victims of their parents wealth.

ANOTHER CASE OF TURN-ABOUT YOUTH “RUNNERS”
April 26, 2018

ESCALANTE – A group of four youths, known locally as “runners,” made their way off the lower campus of Turn-About Ranch, a residential treatment program for troubled teens, on the night of Saturday, April 14. Each of the youths—who had split up during their run—were apprehended by late the following evening, on Sunday night.

No injuries or damages within the local community were reported, but this most recent incident has fueled Escalante residents’ concerns over both security conditions at Turn-About Ranch, as well as the notification system to Escalante locals—and around the region—when runners are at large.

The current episode happened just six weeks after two other youths escaped the Turn-About campus, committed a burglary, and stole and wrecked an Escalante resident’s vehicle, in February. In December of 2016, another youth in the treatment program murdered one Turn-About staff member, seriously injured another, and also stole and wrecked a vehicle during a police chase.

“They [Turn-About Ranch] have an obligation to the community for safety and security, but they appear to be tone deaf,” one local resident said in response to the recent incidents.

Michelle Lindsay, Turn-About’s executive director, said “I think there is a little more alarm. There is some additional concern since that period of time [in reference to Jimmy Woolsey, the staff person who was killed in December 2016]. So to some it seems like things are worse, or that they are happening more often. And certainly a car theft is a lot more visible.”

“I think we consider the incident with Jimmy an anomaly,” Lindsay added.

“Students have always ran, and that is something that is difficult to predict,” said Shane Young, who serves as Turn-About’s admissions director. “We’re not a ‘lock-down’ facility.”

Lindsay and Young did not identify any additional security procedures that have taken place since the more serious incidents have occurred, and said that their best source of security is doing good screening of incoming students.

“Some of this is dependent on parent reporting, what is the history of the student, what have they done in the past,” said Lindsay. “But the question is—what will they do here. That’s part of the process and something that is ongoing. And being more vigilant. We don’t want our staff to become casual. We have ongoing staff trainings. But you can’t always predict what a student is going to do.”

Stories circulating locally included that the youths managed to walk out the door of the facility, unimpeded.

According to Lindsay and Young, Turn-About staff had just completed a bed check prior to the youths’ escape.

“There was no altercation or aggression with any of the staff. They ran out the door, they didn’t just walk off. We have procedures that are state-mandated that are followed very closely, so we were on this within five minutes,” said Young.

While one youth was discovered relatively soon on the Turn-About campus, others were out all the following day.

Several local individuals had interactions with the missing youths, without incident. Steve Angle, who has property adjacent to Turn-About, said, “The one kid found my motor home open. He went in there and spent the night on a soft bed with a cover and a blanket on him. He treated it nice, he didn’t tear anything up.”

On Sunday evening, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office activated their Emergency Telephone Notification (ETN) System public alert. According to Garfield County Sheriff’s office public information officer Denise Dastrup, a “robo” call was issued to 502 selected phone numbers in the Escalante area, although it was not implemented until 5:46pm on Sunday, April 15.
The emergency message stated: “This is a message from Garfield County Sheriff’s office. We have three runaways from Turn-About Ranch. Please lock your cars and your home. If you see anything suspicious please report it to the Sheriff’s Office at 435-676-2678.”

(One of the youths had already been captured by the time the emergency notification call was made.)

Still, many Escalante residents said their phone numbers were not on the emergency notification list, and they had no idea the youths were on the run.

An Escalante resident who frequently hikes near town alone said she was planning on a day hike with a friend up Bailey’s Wash, when another local resident told her, “be careful, three runners are out there.”

“This really unnerved me,” she said. “We ended up changing where we were going to walk.”

“We need to know when these kids are running around, and we also need to know when they’re caught. I hike alone a lot, and I really want to know,” she added.

Regarding notification to the community, Michelle Lindsay said, “There is a fine line between, ‘do you want to notify the community?’ and, ‘we don’t want to create alarm.’”

Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said this was the first incident where the sheriff’s office has used the ETN system to notify local residents about Turn-About runners, and he said they are working with a new emergency alert phone system and still need to work out some of the kinks.

“They were gone about a day before we finally sent the alert out. We should have done it a little before that,” said Sheriff Perkins. Perkins also noted that on the night the last two youths were found walking through Escalante, “We had a helicopter about halfway there.”

Sheriff Perkins said his goal is for everyone to be on the Emergency Alert phone system list that would like to be on it, and he encouraged anyone who wants to make sure they are on the list to call the Garfield County Sheriff public information office or go online to enter or update their information.

Turn-About director, Michelle Lindsay, said that their staff also makes calls to an opt-in notification list when there are runaways, and flyers are also placed at businesses in town.

Sheriff Perkins shared several of the concerns that have been expressed by Escalante residents, related to Turn-About runners.

“They are like criminials,” said Perkins. “You don’t know what they are capable of. I’ve had conversations with citizens, and everyone agrees that Turn-About is an asset to the community, but everyone also agrees they need to beef up their security.”