Utah Teen dies in Colorado Wildernes Therepy Program

[Bunnie]

This I have not heard about!  :cry:  Anyone know about this?




Utah teen dies in Colorado wilderness therapy program
Last Update: May 4, 2007 11:29 PM

 Story by:
Larry Warren
[email protected] A Utah teenager ordered by a juvenile court to attend a wilderness therapy program died in the program Wednesday in Colorado. His mother says her son died of a simple staph infection which could easily have been treated. And, she told ABC 4 News, employees of the company running the program informed her callously that her son was dead without offering much in the way of sympathy or explanation.

"Couldn't it have been more compassionate?" the mother of 17-year-old Caleb Jensen asked. She said a representative of Colorado based Alternative Youth Adventures called and said "Caleb was life flighted out of the program and Caleb is dead."

Caleb had been ordered into the wilderness therapy program by Juvenile Justice Services in Utah. He died in a camp near the Montrose and Mesa County lines in Western Colorado, near Grand Junction.

"They did say it would be a tough program," Caleb's mother Dawn Boyd told ABC 4. But she said court officers said "There was nothing to worry about, that this would be a good thing for Caleb and that there was no reason to worry."

A spokesman for Alternative Youth Adventures, senior vice president Bill Palatucci e-mailed a Colorado newspaper saying, "We are saddened by this sudden, tragic incident and will review the circumstances surrounding it. It is important to note that AYA is a program with an excellent reputation and strong track record of providing safe, effective services for troubled youth."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Boyd says no one has offered to help pay the costs of transporting her son's body home. She is a single mom and low income, and can't afford the burial expenses. Friends have set up a donation account at Credit Union One to help her.

[Anonymous]

http://www.cecintl.com/Bios/default.aspx

[Anonymous]

Since so many wilderness programs are in Utah, I wonder why a Utah court didn't send him to one of their own. Maybe because the programs in Utah have a long history of killing kids...

[webdiva]

utah what a fucking surprise!

[webdiva]

Since so many wilderness programs are in Utah, I wonder why a Utah court didn't send him to one of their own. Maybe because the programs in Utah have a long history of killing kids...

yeah and the government has a long history of being paid to keep the laws VERY LOOSE in utah and arizona.

[Deborah]

ASPEN YOUTH SERVICES DIVESTS
ADJUDICATED PROGRAMS
Contact: Larry Stednitz, Senior Director,
Alternative Youth Adventure
406-443-8579

(December 13, 1999) - Aspen Youth Alternatives, a subsidiary of Aspen Youth Services has merged with a leader in the adult corrections, field, Community Education Centers of New Jersey. This merger enables Community Education Centers to focus their efforts on juveniles. Although they have adolescent programs in New Hampshire and Wyoming, Community Education Centers have until this point concentrated their efforts in developing treatment approaches in pre-release centers, operating 2,000 adult beds in five states.

Aspen Youth Alternatives was formally the segment of Aspen Youth Services, which focused on adjudicated youth, operating programs in Utah, Montana, and South Carolina. Modeled after the successful Aspen Achievement Academy, in just four and half years, Aspen Youth Alternatives grew from a very small program to one of the largest backcountry-based programs in the country. Currently it operates four programs in three states, serving nearly 200 youth every day and is developing a fifth program.

The programs developed by this new merger will not retain the Aspen name; they will be called Alternative Youth Adventures, or “AYA.” Of particular interest to consumers is that the Montana, and Utah program has recently begun to open “AYA” to the private market. They will continue to focus on adjudicated youth, now accepting referrals both from the states as well as from professionals in the private pay sector.

According to AYA’s national director, Gordon Birch, “consumers should be reassured of AYA’s quality!” He is referring to the fact that AYA will be regularly monitored by a state agency, whose officials interview every youth who leaves AYA. Gordon Birch remarks, “in these days of concern over quality programming, AYA’s proven track record of safety and quality is only enhanced by the state’s involvement. AYA is perhaps the only private pay program of it’s kind to have this kind of scrutiny.”~~

[Oz girl]

Is that the same man who writes for Struggling Teens

[Deborah]

Yes.
LARRY STEDNITZ, PhD

1969-1979 - Provided Administrative and Direct Services to students at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Boys Town, Nebraska and Santa Ana, California. Provided school psychology and counseling services to students. Provided consultation to parents and professional staff.

1979-1992 - Served as Clinical Director for Capistrano by the Sea hospital, a 100 bed psychiatric treatment center located in Dana Point, California. Over this 13 year period of time, managed a day treatment program for emotionally disturbed adolescents, a 22 bed adolescent treatment program, a 20 bed adolescent substance abuse program, a 12 bed psychiatric assessment center, an adult psychiatric program and an adult substance abuse program. Accountable for a 12 million dollar budget, served on the Board of Directors and responsible for the design and development of all programs.

1999-2002 - Administrator for Alternative Youth Adventures located in Montana. Responsible for the administration of multiple services for boys and girls aged 13 through 18. The program worked with neglected and abused adolescents, delinquent youth, and emotionally disturbed youth. The program included assessment, wilderness treatment, residential treatment, outpatient therapy, case management, aftercare programs and substance abuse treatment. The program served over 100 youth daily. Responsible for design and implementation of all services and responsible for a 4.5 million dollar budget, enrollments, and plant operations. Managed a staff of over 100.

1980-2003 - Assessment and Placement for troubled youth - Developed and operated the Western Youth Network, a service that helped parents and professionals to find the right help for their children and clients. This service was provided in both outpatient and inpatient settings. The Network served 1000's of youth and parents and is still active as the National Youth Network.

2002-2003 - Program Leadership - School Director of Boulder Creek Academy located in Idaho. Responsible for the administration of a 70 bed facility for youth who had emotional, social, and learning disabilities. The school specialized in working with socially and emotionally delayed boys and girls aged 14 through 18. Responsible for all aspects of the program including a 5 million dollar budget, enrollments, program delivery and plant operations. Managed a staff of over 60 and was a member of CEDU Education senior management.

Direct Youth Services - Worked for 14 years as a teacher, counselor, coach, and school psychologist in public and private schools. Began career at Boys Town, Nebraska as a school counselor and coach. Provided individual and group counseling for personal, educational, and vocational issues. Developed peer counseling, staff training, and administered education programs including gifted and special needs students. Provided case management services for special education students. Conducted psychological and educational evaluations for students and served as an expert witness in non-public school funded residential treatment program placements. ~~

Larry Stednitz, an educational consultant who refers parents to youth facilities and has visited Mission Mountain, defended work regimens as a useful way of keeping kids occupied. "If you don't structure things pretty tightly," he said, "you're going to have problems."

More on Stednitz
http://www.fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?p=41302#41302

[Bunnie]

thank you, everyone for your reply's, it is strange nothing much has been reported on this young man.  I sure hope the mom gets a attorney, and gets depositions, I can bet he was sick for a long time and suffered terribly.  I just wanted to be sure this was posted so it will be out there, and added to the list of death and abuses, by so called professionals, in the great money makeing industry.
Too many political party members are either part owner or owners, or getting funds for their campaigns, to get anything done about the  abuses and deaths, and make them license and be what they say they are.  But then humm .......they would have to shut them down.

[psy]

Is that the same man who writes for Struggling Teens

Oh.. Now there's a surprise.

[Anonymous]

I live on the west slope of Colorado where this tragedy took place and this story has been all over the news. I heard that this was the first kid that ever died in their program and that the staff did a very good job of taking care of him and other kids in the program.

[exhausted]

They didn't take that good care of him did they?

He's dead, just another brick in the wall - the poor mother, how terrible for her  

[TheWho]

They didn't take that good care of him did they?

He's dead, just another brick in the wall - the poor mother, how terrible for her  

It appears they were set up to take very good care of him. We should all wait for the final reports to come out before pointing fingers. Seems they have a very good track record also.

[exhausted]

This may seem a little odd to you Guest

But speaking as a parent of troubled teens, I would say that a child who has ended up dead while in the care of others, wasn't looked after - if it was a complete and utter accident that could have/would have happened to anybody, then I eat my words, if it was neglect, then, they didn't care for him

But as you said, when the final report comes out....

[hanzomon4]

I live on the west slope of Colorado where this tragedy took place and this story has been all over the news. I heard that this was the first kid that ever died in their program and that the staff did a very good job of taking care of him and other kids in the program.

Thats what they all say, smoke and mirrors....