Utah Teen dies in Colorado Wildernes Therepy Program

[Anonymous]

School tied to River Vale hiker's death will allow water bottles  

Wednesday, June 6, 2007
FROM STAFF AND NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
The Record - Bergen County

A Utah wilderness-survival school that ran a hike during which a River Vale man died of dehydration last year is allowing campers to carry 32-ounce water bottles during its grueling desert treks.

"It's about time," said Bradford Buschow, father of Dave Buschow, 29, who collapsed and died on the second day of a 28-day expedition in the searing heat of the Utah desert in July 2006.

"We're very happy to see this. It's a positive step forward. It's one of the things we wanted to accomplish."

Participants on the hike on which Dave Buschow died were given a 24-ounce cup and told to drink water only from natural sources, such as streams, canyon pools or underground springs. But guides didn't find any water for about 10 hours.

The U.S. Forest Service, citing his death, made Dixie National Forest partially off limits to Boulder Outdoor Survival School, or BOSS, until it got advice on providing food and water.

The agency lifted the suspension May 25 after the school filed a new operating plan that allows each hiker a 32-ounce bottle for "obtaining and transporting water" during the early phase of the field course and two bottles during later stages.

"They're allowed to carry them and drink as they go," said Andrew Wright, an attorney for BOSS.

BOSS' survival adventure is designed to test physical and mental toughness. Campers find their own food and water and carry few essentials, but the water restrictions were criticized after Buschow's death.

"Forcing dehydration is a foolish thing to do," his father said. "Everybody's limitations, physically and psychologically, are different. Dehydration is a serious thing to fool around with. You have to really be aware of the symptoms and monitor people carefully."

BOSS referred questions to its attorney because of a lawsuit by Buschow's parents, who claim guides were negligent in the hours preceding their son's death.

While drinking from a stream on the morning of his death, Buschow was seen with a bottle and told by instructors to put it away. He became delusional as hours passed in the hot sun and never was told about emergency water carried by guides.

He died with a guide at his side, less than 100 yards from a pool of water.

Buschow's mother, Patricia Herbert, welcomed the new policy on water bottles.

"To me, it's acknowledging that something very wrong happened last year," she said Tuesday. "If he had been able to take sips along the way, that would have made all the difference."

A wilderness-safety consultant, Deb Ajango of Eagle River, Alaska, suggested BOSS allow campers to ask a guide for water if they've "had enough" and believe a "situation has become dangerous."

It was not known if the school had agreed to adopt that recommendation.

"They incorporated some changes. Some they did not," Hamilton said. "They felt they were contrary to the philosophy of the program -- the idea of stretching yourself, so to speak."

Staff Writer Walter Dawkins contributed to this article, which contains material from The Associated Press.

[Deborah]

AYA surrenders license to state after boy's death
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer
Published on Tuesday, July 24, 2007

MONTROSE — The Alternative Youth Adventures program, under investigation following the death of a participant, voluntarily surrendered its license to the state.

The surrender did not include an admission of wrongdoing. AYA's parent company, Community Education Centers, Inc., also announced long standing negotiations to sell the Montrose facility to its current director.

The AYA is a wilderness therapy program for at-risk youth. It came under the investigation of the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services, Colorado Attorney General and local district attorney after program participant Caleb Jensen died on an outing.
 
Jensen, 15, succumbed to a staph infection while camping with a group on Little Red Mountain May 2. The program's licenses for residential childcare and therapeutical childcare were suspended the following week.

"Since May 9, the date that our license to operate was suspended, we have not maintained or accepted any other children into the program. As a result, we have continued to carry expenses and salaries for a program that is no longer receiving revenues," John Clancy, chairman and CEO of CECI wrote in a July 11 letter to the state.

Clancy wrote that quality programs were important and the company has not been able to renew its customer contracts because of AYA's suspended status.

"We wish to keep our reputation intact. In that regard, it was our initial intent to pursue reinstatement of our license, as it is our firm belief that our program and its staff performed exactly as it should have and at all times in full compliance with the regulations that govern it," Clancy's letter stated.

"We are...without admission of wrongdoing of any sort, surrendering our license to operate the AYA Colorado facility."

He said the decision to surrender the license was a business one and that, despite its "noble mission," the AYA program wasn't achieving financial gains. Clancy's letter also said  CECI had already decided to sell the Montrose facility to program director Jim Omer when Jensen tragically died.

The surrender does not address any possible criminal cases that could arise from Jensen's death, state officials said.

"It essentially takes care of the administrative side of the issue," Nate Strauch, spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General's office said. "It wouldn't affect any criminal proceedings. It's a favorable outcome for the state."

District Attorney Myrl Serra said he is still investigating and considering whether to pursue charges. "I will make an independent decision when my investigation is complete. It (license surrender) has no effect on how I want to proceed or not," he said.

Bill Palatucci, CECI's senior vice president and general counsel, said he could not comment beyond the confines of Clancy's letter. He previously called Jensen's death a tragedy and said the company did not believe anyone had done anything wrong.  :rofl:

Contact Katharhynn Heidelberg via e-mail at [email protected]

[Deborah]

Appears Matt is ill informed of the facts, but raised some good questions.

Saturday, July 28, 2007
End of an Era
 
I am saddened, though not surprised, to read today that AYA Colorado, my former employer, has closed its doors for good. AYA (Alternative Youth Adventures) provided treatment services to incarcerated teens in the desert and mountains of western Colorado. The Colorado program was the newest in a family of programs that had at one time operated in Montana, Utah and Colorado simultaneously. One by one these programs have proved unsustainable, generally for financial reasons and because state regulations make it very difficult to provide wilderness therapy opportunities to wards of the state.
 :question:

What makes the closure of AYA Colorado--the last of AYA's programs--most disheartening is that this action was taken in response to the tragic death of a student in the field. Caleb Jensen was 15 when he died of a bacterial staph infection in the backcountry under the supervision of AYA.

There are questions about whether a student prone to staph infections, as Caleb was, should have been placed in a wilderness setting where, among the cacti, granite and sandstone of Colorado's rugged Uncompaghre Plateau, it is very easy to get pick up scratches and scrapes and difficult to keep them clean. My understanding is that a lot of finger pointing has gone on as to who placed Caleb in harm's way. Was it the state agency that recommended Caleb for AYA's program? Was it the state record keepers who didn't include all Caleb's pertinent health information in his medical file? Was it AYA, for admitting him in the first place and then, once in the field, not attending carefully enough to a condition they weren't aware of?

His death is shocking and inexcusable, regardless of whether blame can or cannot be assigned to AYA. Responsibility for every student comes down to the care facility, and in this case, regardless of whether this student should have been in the program or not, AYA finds itself ultimately responsible. An investigation is underway to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against either the field staff or the program administration.

I sincerely hope that Caleb's death is seen for the tragic accident it was. Nothing will be gained from criminal action against those involved. I do not believe this is a case were justice can be meted out, where society will be safer when those involved are brought to trial or even incarcerated. AYA is done. Public funded wilderness therapy is, by and large, a dinosaur. With all appropriate empathy for the family of Caleb Jensen, and with full acknowledgment that I can't begin to fathom their loss, I fail to see what can be gained from criminal proceedings. Similarly, while the state of Colorado has a responsibility to monitor and regulate youth programs statewide, there is little to suggest that criminal consequences for those involved will help make future conditions safer for wards of the state.

Posted by Matt Plavnick at 12:19 PM  

Tags: Alternative Youth Adventures, AYA Colorado, Caleb Jensen
http://plavwriter.blogspot.com:80/2007/ ... f-era.html

[Anonymous]

Indictments against 4 dropped in Utah boy's death
December 30th, 2008 @ 11:04am
MONTROSE, Colo. (AP) -- A hearing is set Jan. 29 for the lone defendant accused in the death of a Utah teen assigned to a Colorado wilderness therapy camp.

Fifteen-year-old Caleb Jensen died from a staphylococcus infection in May 2007 while in an Alternative Youth Adventures program in southern Colorado. Prosecutors allege his disease went untreated despite glaring symptoms.

West Caldwell, N.J.-based Community Education Centers Inc. is AYA's former corporate parent. Attorney Colleen Scissors says there's no basis in grand jury transcripts for the indictment against CEC.

Indictments against AYA, program director James Omer, medical director Keith Hooker and emergency medical technician Ben Askins have been dismissed.

Colorado officials closed the camp two months after Caleb's death.

Information from: The Montrose Daily Press

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5191902

[Anonymous]

Camp death indictments dropped
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer
Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 4:11 AM MST

MONTROSE — Community Education Centers, Inc., is the last defendant standing in the alleged negligent homicide of Caleb Jensen.

Its bid to obtain certain grand jury information from the courts was denied Monday, but more motions, including whether its attorney can make a probable cause argument, are pending.

Jensen was 15 when he died of a staph infection last year during a wilderness therapy outing run by Alternative Youth Adventures in Montrose County. The state contended AYA, its former parent company, CEC, and staff members failed to respond to Jensen’s evident medical distress and that he died as a result.
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The indictment against AYA  program director, James Omer, was formally dismissed Dec. 23 at the request of the district attorney’s office. The DA’s motion stated he could not meet the burden of proof at this time.

According to the Montrose Combined Court, indictments against Ben Askins, camp EMT for AYA, and the AYA organization itself, were dismissed Dec. 16, also on prosecutorial motions, with prejudice.

The indictment against AYA’s doctor, Keith Hooker, was dismissed in November after defense attorneys argued it was defective.

The other defendants also claimed the indictments were defective. Community Education Centers’ attorney said her client was improperly named in the indictment.

Monday, Omer’s attorney praised the decision to drop the charges against his client.

“I don’t understand how it got to this point,” Philip Cherner said. “I’m glad it was dismissed. He (Omer) never met, to my knowledge, Caleb Jensen. He was the onsite manager. He wasn’t up in the hills with them (staff). Our position is, and was, that he never did anything wrong.”

Cherner expressed sentiments similar to Hooker’s attorney, Stephen Dooley, who previously said he could find no basis for indicting his client.

“It was extremely stressful, but (Omer) was able to let us do our work,” Cherner said. “I want to thank him for having the patience to let this play out.”

In a written statement, Cherner also said it was high time the charges were dismissed. “Dismissal of the charges months before the scheduled trial reaffirms Mr. Omer’s innocence. We applaud the district attorney for making this decision despite the grand jury indictment.”

In court Monday, CEC attorney Colleen Scissors said there was no basis within grand jury transcripts to support the indictment against the corporation. Therefore, the basis was either contained in formal conversations between DA Myrl Serra and the grand jurors — called colloquy — or it was nonexistent.

Scissors said the jury had insufficient instruction to make a finding of criminal liability on the part of a corporation, and she further alleged “material misrepresentations and falsehoods” on the part of the DA and his investigator.

“There are some clear improprieties here,” Scissors said, alleging the DA’s investigator deliberately misinformed the jury as to Jensen’s behavioral problems to make them appear simultaneous to the onset of his illness.

In fact, Scissors said, Jensen was a disciplinary problem within days of embarking on the program, not three weeks into it, as the prosecution’s investigator reportedly testified.

She said Jensen was physically and verbally aggressive with staff; refused to hike, laid out in the rain, and urinated on himself well before developing the staph infection.

She also said there was “no evidence” he’d ever apprised staff of his vulnerability to infection, or informed them of any symptoms.

Scissors argued the need for secrecy of grand jury proceedings was outweighed by her client’s need to view, or at least have a judge review, the colloquy transcripts.

Serra refuted allegations of impropriety and asked Herron to keep intact the secrecy of the proceedings as set forth by law.

“The fact is, secrecy for secrecy’s sake is not the rule ... but one of the reasons for secrecy here is this grand jury is still sitting.”

Serra said grand jurors and witnesses operate on the assumption the proceedings will be secret. What the court needed to decide, he said, was whether there had been prosecutorial misconduct.

“Colloquy is not record. The standard is very, very high (for release).”

Serra said if Herron could find evidence of inappropriate conduct, he should turn over the colloquy, but, he added, such proof did not exist.

“This grand jury came back with a finding of probable cause,” he said, pointing out that while he’d dismissed the other defendants, there was a reason he hadn’t also moved to dismiss the case against CEC.

Herron agreed clear evidence of misconduct was required for the release of colloquy.

“I’m stating for the record that doesn’t exist in this case,” he said, also finding he had no legitimate basis to turn the colloquy over to the defense.

A hearing on other motions was set for Jan. 29.

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Copyright © 2008 Montrose Daily Press

[Anonymous]

Published/Last Modified on Thursday, January 22, 2009 10:50 AM MST

SALT LAKE CITY ??” A civil case was filed today against Montrose-based Alternative Youth Adventures, Community Education Centers, and other defendants.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants are responsible for the death of Caleb Jensen, 15, who died of a staph infection while attending the camp in 2007.

The suit names the Utah Division of Juvenile Justice Services, the Utah State Division of Child and Family Services, camp director James Omer; camp EMT Ben Askins and Dr. Keith Hooker, a Utah doctor associated with AYA.
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AYA was a wilderness therapy camp for at-risk youth. Jensen developed a staph infection during an outing in rural Montrose County; both the suit and a criminal complaint filed locally alleged his infection produced visible symptoms that staff failed to treat.

Though Omer, Hooker, Askins and AYA were indicted, the charges have since been dropped, leaving CEC the lone defendant in the criminal case being prosecuted in Montrose.

[Anonymous]

Though Omer, Hooker, Askins and AYA were indicted, the charges have since been dropped, leaving CEC the lone defendant in the criminal case being prosecuted in Montrose.

Indictment in camp death dismissed
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:00 PM MST

MONTROSE — The criminal case in Caleb Jensen's death came to a halt Thursday when the final defendant succeeded in having charges dismissed.

New Jersey-based Community Education Centers, Inc. saw the charge of child abuse resulting in death dropped Monday by court order. Its defense then moved for the dismissal of the remaining count of criminally negligent homicide, which was granted Thursday after prosecutors had no response.

Because the dismissal was without prejudice, a new complaint can be filed.
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Community Education Centers was indicted in 2007, along with Montrose-based Alternative Youth Adventures and three individuals, whom the state blamed for Caleb's death at the age of 15.

Caleb succumbed to a staph infection during the AYA wilderness therapy outing in Montrose County. The state contended the infection produced visible signs that went untreated until it was too late. It suspended AYA's license for therapeutic and residential childcare.

The defendants argued the infection was anything but obvious and that Caleb was a disciplinary problem well before the onset of staph-induced delirium. Some of the defendants had limited to no involvement with Caleb, and hence, no way of knowing there was a problem, attorneys argued.

One by one, the indictments were dropped. Until this week, CEC stood as the lone defendant.

"The court conducted a very thorough review of the allegations in this case and correctly concluded that there is no factual basis for finding that CEC or any of CEC's employees engaged in criminal conduct," CEC Public Relations Manager Christopher Greeder said in a prepared statement.

"The court's dismissal of the remaining criminal charges confirms our position that the death of Caleb Jensen was an unfortunate and tragic event."

The decision left Caleb's father reeling. Joel Jensen of Glenwood Springs said he was angry no one would be held accountable.

"Why are they dropping it against the company? Somebody's got to be liable for that," he said.

Jensen, who had a fractured relationship with his son, said he'd only recently processed through the emotions resurrected when the other indictments were dismissed late last year.

"I just got through all the pain," he said. "Nobody's going to do anything? There are no repercussions at all? This is ridiculous. There's got to be something I can do. There's got to be some recourse."

CALL GEORGE MILLER. IF FOR NO OTHER REASON, HE SHOULD BE MADE AWARE.

Jensen said Caleb was placed into the program by a Utah court after he kept violating his probation for shoplifting a shirt. He never imagined his son would die while on the camp outing.

Jensen said he is considering a civil suit.

Caleb's mother, Dawn Woodson, has already filed suit against CEC, AYA, the state of Utah, Dr. Keith Hooker, camp EMT Ben Askins, and the then-owner of AYA, Jim Omer.

Her attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.

District Attorney Myrl Serra hasn't decided whether to file new charges against CEC.

"We will assess the status of the case, continue with the investigation as we had been, communicate with the victim's family and decide what is in the best interests of Caleb Jensen, his family, the community and justice overall," he said.

[Ursus]

LINK for the above ^^^^ post:

http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2 ... 320838.txt