WWASPS (the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools) is a "teen gulag" in some people's eyes. Maia , the author of "Help At Any Cost" likens the WWASPs program to mental health care of the 19th century.
Now a family has filed suit against one of the WWASPS schools and all the interlocking directors of other schools.
It isn't the first time WWASPS has been sued. CAFETY (Community Alliance for Fair And Ethical Treament of Youth) maintains a list of litigation against WWASPS
WWASPS' rebuttal page is here.
I wish these places weren't so popular with parents.
Update: links to complaints and how to join.
There are two suits going against the organizations Robert Lichfield has invested in. One is specific to Ivy Ridge; the other is broader.
Class action suit (The "Wood Complaint"): (defendants include Lichfield, Ken Kay, Karr Farnsworth, David Gilcrease, and "John Does I through XX).
I imagine Randall Hinton will be one of the Does.
Download WoodAmendedComplaint.pdf
If you want to join the suit, go to http://www.wturley.com/
Ivy Ridge class action suit:
The complaint alleges that the program routinely
Update -- other sources on WWASPS, Ivy Ridge, Robert Lichfield, and the "troubled teen" industryforcing a teen to eat his own vomit, to clean toilets with a toothbrush and brush his teeth afterward, and locking him in a dog cage among other abuses.
William and Tammy Wood of Dallas say they enrolled their son, Chase, in the Cross Creek Center for Boys in 2000 and 2001, and in another California program - both owned and operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools Inc. (WWASPS)
In a complaint filed in Utah's federal court Friday, the parents allege Chase was sexually and emotionally abused during his stays, denied adequate food, and put into long periods of isolation that left him with no education and ill equipped for the outside world.
The couple have asked a judge to find the WWASPS and its facilities have violated federal anti-racketeering laws by scheming to conceal abuses from parents who enroll their children.
The complaint asks a judge to issue an injunction preventing what the Woods called "further false advertising" misleading parents about the facilities. The lawsuit also seeks an unspecified amount of damages, including punitive damages, to be determined at trial.
Named defendants in the lawsuit are: World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools Inc.; Cross Creek Center for Boys LLC; Cross Creek Manor LLC; High Impact; Robert Browning Lichfield Family Partnership; Teens in Crisis LLC; Teen Help LLC; R&B Management Group LLC; R&B Billing LLC; Robert Lichfield; Ken Kay; Karr Farnsworth; Jeff Voorhees; Does 1-20.
History of Academy at Ivy Ridge
2000--Robert Lichfield purchases the campus in Ogdensburg, NY.
Litigation Against Ivy Ridge and Similar Organizations
There are two suits going against the organizations Robert Lichfield has invested in. One is specific to Ivy Ridge; the other is broader.
General class action suit (The "Wood Complaint"): (defendants include Lichfield, Ken Kay, Karr Farnsworth, David Gilcrease, and "John Does I through XX).
I imagine Hinton will be one of the Does. The amended complaint:
Download WoodAmendedComplaint.pdf
If you want to join the suit, go to http://www.wturley.com/
Ivy Ridge class action suit:
Download IvyRidgeClassAction.pdf
Previous Posts on WWASPS and WWASPS-related issues:
- Challenge Day & WWASPS --March 30 2005
- Thinking of Sending Your Troubled Teen to a Boot Camp? -- March 31, 2005
- Boonville Says No to WWASPS--April 10 2005
- The Enduring Lure of "Gunny Therapy" -- April 15, 2005
- Riot at Ivy Ridge--June 8 2005
- The Road to Whatever -- July 2005
- Academy at Ivy Ridge--August 23, 2005
- Why "Therapeutic Schools" are Booming January 2 2006
- Advice for Parents Looking for A Therapeutic School -- January 21, 2005
- Maia Szalavitz On Debunking "Tough Love" Schools -- April 11 2006
- WWASPS Suit--September 6 2006
- Exploitation of Youth and Families December 6 2006
- Ivy Ridge "Not A School" -- December 7 2006
- On Accreditation -- December 11 2006
- Northwest Association of Accredited Schools -- December 11 2006
- Randall Hinton, WWASPS Heavy, Arrested for Abuse -- January 12, 2007
- What Alternatives Are There for Parents of Troubled Teens?-- January 13, 2007
- Randall Hinton's Qualifications and Biography--January 13, 2007
- Patty Pacheco, Whistle-blower at Royal Gorge Academy -- January 29, 2007
- Royal Gorge Academy in the News--March 20, 2007
- Four Students Flee Ivy Ridge--March 20, 2007
- Robert Lichfield, One of Mitt Romney's Money Men, Has Legal Troubles -- June 22, 2007
- Testimony from An Academy at Ivy Ridge Graduate--July 28, 2007
- Shawn Jones, Academy at Ivy Ridge Victim --October 23, 2007
- A Message from an Academy at Ivy Ridge Survivor--November 15, 2007
Series on Questions Parents Should Ask Before Enrolling A Child in a NonPublic School:
- NonPublic Schools: Part I--Overview
- NonPublic Schools--Part II Evaluating Mission, Values, & Goodness of Fit for Your Child
- NonPublic Schools--Part III Faculty and Staff Qualifications
- NonPublic Schools--Part IV: Evaluating Academic Program
- NonPublic Schools:Part V--On Accreditation
- NonPublic Schools:Part VI--More Detail on Financial Issues: IRS Status
Other Sources of Information:
- Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse (CAICA)--Royal Gorge Index
- International Survivors Action Committee ISAC --WWASPS Index
- WaspsInfo.net ("home of all the information WWASPS wants you to ignore.") --includes Randall Hinton's bio
- NoSpank on residential treatment
- Community Alliance on Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY)
- John Gorenfeld on Tranquility Bay
- John Gorenfield's writings on boot camp abuse
- List of Organizations Opposing "Therapeutic Schools" and "Specialty Schools"
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