Reporter Seeking Students Enrolled in Aspen Education Programs, 2006 to present

The key question: Did the investment by CRC and its parent Bain Capital change in any way the Aspen Education experience?

Aspen Education advertises itself as

recognized nationwide as the leading provider of education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. As the largest and most comprehensive network of therapeutic schools and programs, Aspen offers professionals and families the opportunity to choose a setting that best meets a student's unique academic and emotional needs.

Well, not so fast.  It is also a for-profit venture, required to maximize returns to its ultimate owner, Bain Capital.

Mitt Romney and partners founded Bain Capital in 1984.  In the fall of 2005, Bain Capital  purchased CRC Health Group. In September 2006, Aspen Education merged with CRC Health Group ( Download Aspen to CRC  PDF document announcing merger). 

The key question:

Did the investment by CRC and its parent Bain Capital change in any way the Aspen Education experience?

A reporter from Washington DC is seeking to interview parents and students who attended an Aspen program between the fall of 2006 and the present. 

To contact the reporter, email [email protected] Cafety stands for Community Alliance For the Ethical Treatment of Youth, and it  is "a member-driven, peer-support, and advocacy organization that promotes and protects the human rights of youth who are at risk or have been confined in residential programs."

At one time, Aspen Education Group operated 38 programs in 13 states. The last two years have seen a series of program closures, consolidations, and restructuring.

Partial List of Programs and Schools Operated by Aspen Education, 2006-present

• Academy at Swift River
• Adirondack Leadership Academy
• Aspen Achievement Academy (Loa, UT)
• Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment
• Aspen Ranch (Loa, UT)
• Bromley Brook School
• Copper Canyon Academy
• Four Circles Recovery Center
• Island View Residential Treatment Center (Syracuse, UT)
• Oakley School
• Outback Therapeutic Expeditions (based in Lehi, UT)
• Mount Bachelor Academy
• New Leaf Academy North Carolina
• New Leaf Academy Oregon
• NorthStar Center (Bend, OR),
• Passages to Recovery
• Pine Ridge Academy
• Stone Mountain School
• SunHawk Adolescent Recovery Center (St. George, UT).
• Turnabout Ranch
• Youth Care (Draper, UT)