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The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP/WWASPS)

March 7, 2007
By Isabelle Zehnder

Parents, it is important to be able to differentiate between therapeutic residential programs for children and teens and programs that do not offer children and teens the care, guidance, or therapeutic environment many of them need.

Many programs and facilities are neither licensed nor regulated, and often hire untrained staff as young as 19 years old to care for children and teens. Some of these staff have no life-skills and have no training in working with children and teens - let alone children and teens who have special needs or who have been involved in drugs, alcohol, sex, who suffer from ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, bulimia, to name a few.

Below are facts and information about facilities and programs that are or have been under the umbrella the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS) and their marketing agents.

Some of these programs are withdrawing their affiliation with WWASPS. One must ask - has anything changed? Do people change? Take, for example, Randall Hinton. He pepper-sprayed a boy multiple times a day, every day, for months years ago when he worked at Tranquility Bay in Jamaica - a WWASPS program - and admitted to it on video. Many of these programs are named in a recent lawsuit filed in Texas, Wood, et al. v. WWASPS, et al..

List of the facilities believed to be under the umbrella of WWASPS/Robert Lichfield.

About WWASPS:

Founded by Robert Lichfield and incorporated in 1998, the World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS or WWASP) is an organization based in the state of Utah that operates as an umbrella company. This company endorses a number of facilities which are operated both inside and outside the United States.

The Internet is flooded with websites selling these programs. Slick marketing agents have manipulated parents when parents were reaching out for help for their child or teen. They have convinced parents to do things that they would normally never do - such as hiring a teen transport company to come into their home in the middle of the night to transport their child to a place they had never even visited. Time and time again parents have reported they were told if they did not do something immediately their child would most likely die. This is something no parent wants to hear. Acting in haste is not something that is recommended when choosing a facility for your child. There are things to look for and to look out for. Click here for Questions to Ask and Warning Signs. If you have doubts and feel you are being pressured into something, feel free to contact us at info@caica.org.

It is vital that parents understand some programs for children and teens are not beneficial. They do not hire trained and qualified staff, they are not regulated. Again, often the staff they do hire are young people who have no college education and who are not much older than the children in their care. Many have no training in caring for children, let alone children who have special needs. Many children are being enrolled into these programs that do not belong in these programs. Many of the programs do not offer therapy and the schooling is inadequate. Children are not taught by a credentialed teacher but rather are forced to read a text book and answer questions in a work book.

Parents and teens have indicated they believe the seminars they are forced to attend use brain-washing techniques.

WWASPS claims they can change the behavior of children and teens. Their programs serve children, teens, and young adults ranging from ages 7 to 22. I personally interviewed four staff from WWASPS' Majestic Ranch facility in 2005. In her report "Majestic Ranch: A Living Nightmare for Kids", four staff members were interviewed and shared their testimony. They testified that children as young as seven were being restrained with their faces in horse manure, some were beaten, some forced to stand on milk crates in the snow, some forced to move dead animal carcasses, among other things.

A lawsuit filed in August 2006 has grown from 3 plaintiffs to 82 plaintiffs, and another 40 or more are expected to join. Former WWASPS' enrollees are alleging they were forced to eat their own vomit, kicked, beaten, thrown, and slammed to the ground, bound and tied by their hands and/or feet, chained to dog cages, forced to stay in isolation for long periods of time, locked in small boxes or cages, locked in basements, forced to lie in or wear urine and feces as a method of punishment, forced to sleep on cold concrete floors, forced to assume distorted and painful positions for long periods of time, forced to live in unsanitary conditions, denied adequate food, denied even a minimally sufficient education, denied proper medical and dental treatment and care, and the list goes one.

This is not a thing of the past - parents continue to report they are forced to write positive statements about the facility in order to retrieve their children from these programs. Children have repeatedly reported to us that when their parents came to pick them up from the program prior to the child completing the program and without notice, they were told they were worthless, that they would amount to nothing, and that going back to their parents would be the worse thing that could happen to them.

One boy reported that he was taken to a field where it was silent. He was asked, "do you hear anything?" He responded that no, he did not hear anything. He was repeatedly asked, and repeatedly he said no. Finally, the staff member told him to listen again and to tell the staff what he heard. Getting frustrated, he replied, "Nothing! I hear nothing!" The staff member then said, "OK, listen to that nothing. That's you, you are nothing. You are nothing today, you'll be nothing tomorrow, and you'll be nothing for the rest of your life." To this day this young man suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and cannot be in a room alone. He must have noise around him and cannot be in silence. These abuses have life-long effects on some of these kids.

A 14-year old girl was recently removed from one of the WWASPS facilities prior to graduation. When her mother went to pick her up she was forced, by the director of the school, to write positive statements about the school. She reluctantly wrote a few sentences and was told that was not good enough, she would have to write more. She did, because she was afraid, felt intimidated, and wanted to take her daughter home. In the meantime, her daughter was taken to a room alone. This director then went into the room and told the girl that she was going to fail in life because she did not finish the program. He told her that she was weak and a failure, that she would not amount to anything, and that going home to her mother would destroy her.

Randall Hinton has worked in many WWASPS programs. He pepper-sprayed a boy, Kerry Layne Brown, multiple times a day every day for nine months and admitted to it on videotape. He has bounced from one WWASPS program to another. In 2005 he attempted, with the financial backing of Robert Lichfield, to purchase the Kemper Military School campus in Boonville, Missouri. The facility was to be a school for adolescents needing help with discipline, responsibility, and leadership skills. It was announced that the school would be directed by former WWASPS staff Randall Hinton and his brother Russell Hinton. The Hintons told Boonville officials that the proposed school would not be a part of WWASPS (news & information). After county and city officials were made aware of the allegations of child abuse against Hinton, and when they reviewed the videotape, they sent Hinton and his brothers home. Since then, Hinton has opened Royal Peak Academy. Not long ago Royal Peak Academy was renamed Royal Gorge Academy. It is located in Cañon City, Colorado. He was recently arrested when an employee reported he was abusing one of the female students there. Children were interviewed and told police Hinton had abused other children. Other employees have since come forward to report allegations of child abuse. Hinton is scheduled for a sentencing hearing March 7, 2007.

The current lawsuit, Wood, et al. v. WWASPS, et al., filed against WWASPS and its affiliates includes allegations that children were forced to eat their own vomit, forced to remain in painful physical positions for long periods of time, forced to live in unsanitary living conditions, denied adequate food, denied even a minimally sufficient education, denied proper medical and dental treatment and care, exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures for long periods of time, forced to exercise beyond their physical capacity, forced to carry heavy bags of sand or logs around their neck throughout the day over many days, sexually abused, including sexual relations and acts of fondling and masturbation performed on them, emotional abuse by subjecting children to near total parental and societal isolation; personal visits, correspondence, and telephone calls were either forbidden or discouraged, to name a few.

Communication with the outside world is restricted to letters between the child and parent and those letters are censored. Many former enrollees have reported they received letters that were blacked out, or did not receive some letters at all. Many former enrollees were not allowed to speak with their parents, or anyone else outside of the facility, for 7 months or more. We have heard of a child that did not speak to his parents for 18 months and his first visit was not until he had been in the program for 21 months. Some have been even longer than that. Children have reported they were not even told about 9/11 when it happened - they learned about it from staff, though staff was not supposed to tell them what was going on outside of the facility. They were not allowed to read newspapers or to watch television.

Children have been forced to sleep with the lights on. Many children have reported they were not allowed to wear normal tennis shoes with laces. Some wore sandals, some wore no shoes at all.

Many former female enrollees have reported they stopped menstruating while they were in the program. Many have said they started again almost immediately after leaving the program.

CURRENT WWASPS PROGRAMS (below is a list of programs believed to be under the umbrella of WWASPS. Some are withdrawing their affiliation with WWASPS, however, to the best of our knowledge, the directors and staff are the same):

Academy of Ivy Ridge, NY (Recently withdrew their affiliation with WWASPS - news & information)

Bethel Girls Academy, Mississippi (news & information)

Bethel Boys Academy, Mississippi - Renamed Eagle Point Academy - Renamed Pine View Academy - Founder Rev. Herman Fountain allegedly abused and tortured children. He now operates City of Refuge, a facility for men over 18 who have drug and alcohol issues (news & information)

Canyon View Park, MT

Camas Ranch, MT

Carolina Springs Academy, SC (former director Narvin Lichfield forbidden to return to CSA after he was accused of sexually abusing children there) (news & information)

Cross Creek Programs, UT (Cross Creek Center for Boys and Cross Creek Manor) (news & information)

Darrington Academy, GA

Help My Teen, UT (Believed to promote and market WWASP/WWASPS/Robert Lichfield-affiliated programs)

Horizon Academy, NV

Lifelines Family Services, UT (Believed to promote and market WWASP/WWASPS/Robert Lichfield-affiliated programs)

Majestic Ranch, UT (Ages 7-14) (staff reported children were abused and neglected - read report "Majestic Ranch: A Living Nightmare for Kids") (news & information)

Midwest Academy, IA (Brian Viafanua, formerly the Director of Paradise Cove - a facility that was closed by the Western Samoan government - as shown on Primetime, is the current Director here)

New Hope Maternity Home, Utah (director was the former owner of New Beginnings Maternity which is closed) - New Hope closed after 3 girls ran away (news & information)

Pine View Christian Academy (Borders FL, AL, MS) (formerly Bethel Boys and Eagle Point Academy - see above)

Reality Trek, UT

Red River Academy, LA (Borders TX)

Royal Gorge Academy, previously Royal Peak Academy, CO (Randall Hinton - who admitted using pepper spray on teens - was arrested on charges of abusing children at Royal Gorge - his hearing date is March 7) (news & information)

Sky View Academy, NV

Spring Creek Lodge, MT (Article: Spring Creek's Short Leash; news & information)

Teens In Crisis, LLC (Believed to promote and market WWASP/WWASPS/Robert Lichfield-affiliated programs)

Teen Help, LLC (Believed to promote and market WWASP/WWASPS/Robert Lichfield-affiliated programs)

FACILITIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES (please note: the laws of the United States do not protect children outside of its borders):

Pillars of Hope, Costa Rica (previously Dundee Ranch that was raided and closed in 2003 after authorities confirmed child abuse. It is believed Pillars of Hope was set up for 18-22 year olds and that a new program has opened in Costa Rica for pre-teens and teens. Narvin Lichfield in believed to be in Costa Rica operating Pillars of Hope. Lichfield was forbidden to return to Carolina Springs Academy in South Carolina after he was accused of sexual abuse. CAICA has recently learned that Narvin Lichfield was not found guilty in his recent trial in Costa Rica. We also learned families whose children were allegedly abused and neglected at Dundee Ranch were not able to return to Costa Rica to testify.)

Seaside Academy near Ensenada, Mexico (previously the site of Casa By The Sea, a facility that was closed on allegations of child abuse and neglect) (news & information)

Tranquility Bay, Jamaica (news & information) Described my many former WWASPS enrollees as the most abusive WWASPS program.

Most of the above-listed facilities are not licensed or regulated. Those that are licensed are not properly monitored and there is no Federal oversight that monitors their activities.

THE FOLLOWING WWASPS FACILITIES HAVE BEEN CLOSED:

Casa by the Sea - closed after allegations of child abuse and neglect by Mexican government

Dundee Ranch Adademy, Costa Rica - raided and closed on May 22, 2003 after authorities confirmed child abuse (news & information)

Brightway Hospital, Utah - closed by authorities in 2002 for providing inadequate care and abuse of teenagers

Morava Academy, Czech Republic - closed in 1998 after authorities confirmed abuse and arrested the directors Glenda (aka Glenn) and Steve Roach

Sunrise Beach, Cancun Mexico - closed in 1996 after authorities alleged abuse Glenda (aka Glenn) and Steve Roach were directors.

High Impact, Mexico - closed on the heels of an investigation into abuse

Paradise Cove, Samoa - closed on the heels of an investigation into abuse

WWASPS-PROMOTING WEBSITES:

Schools for Teens:
http://www.schoolsforteens.com/

Help My Teen:
http://www.helpmyteen.com/index.html?kw=misc&src=ga&gclid=CKqNlaaP4ooCFQUvYAodFAa2fA

Teen Help Us:
http://www.teenhelp.us/index.php?adgroup=330043041&campaignid=11522541&cfacct=10002&engine=adwords&gthtrak=teen+help&keyword=teen%20help&match=broad&match_type=Search&gclid=CODdgceP4ooCFSpOhgod5CS0vw

Troubled Teen Schools:
http://www.parentteenguide.com/index.html?ptggo=teen+help&gclid=COran9GP4ooCFQbsYAodDAegvg

Teen Solutions:
http://www.teensoulutions.com/index.php?src=GA&kw=msc&gclid=CPzoiOiQ4ooCFQloYAod9zWCzw

Troubled Teen Programs - Teen Revitalization:
http://www.troubledteenprograms.org/

Carolina Springs:
http://www.carolinasprings.com/

Academy of Ivy Ridge:
http://www.academyivyridge.com/

Bethel Girls Academy:
http://th.bethelacademy.org/girls/

Pine View Academy (formerly Eagle Point Academy formerly Bethel Boys Academy):
http://www.eaglepointacademy.com/

Canyon View Park:
http://www.canyonviewpark.com/main/index.php

Camas Ranch:
http://camasranch.com/main/

Teen Help for Camas Ranch:
http://www.specialtyboardingschools.com/camas-ranch-montana/school-details.html

Teen Help:
http://www.specialtyboardingschools.com/

Cross Creek Manor:
http://www.vpp.com/teenhelp/ccm.html

Teen Paths:
http://www.teenpaths.org/cross_creek_manor/

Cross Creek Programs:
http://www.crosscreekprogram.com/ccc/journal_sep_2006.asp

Family First Aid:
http://www.familyfirstaid.org/
http://www.familyfirstaid.org/cross_creek_programs.htm

Darrington Academy:
http://www.darringtonacademy.org/
http://www.myboardingschool.com/dir/USA/GA/DARRINGTON+ACADEMY
http://therapistunlimited.com/rehabs/US/GA/BLUE+RIDGE/Darrington+Academy/
http://www.darrington-academy.com/
http://educationseek.com/schools/USA/GA/FANNIN/BLUE_RIDGE/DARRINGTON_ACADEMY/
http://www.darringtonacademy.us/
http://www.darringtonacademy.info/
http://www.teenpaths.org/darrington/
http://www.darringtonacademy.net/

Parent Support Services:
http://www.parentsupportservices.com/

Teen Recovery:
http://www.teenrecovery.com/

These are just a few - the Internet is flooded with websites all leading to the same programs.

DEFENDANTS NAMED IN CURRENT LAWSUIT AGAINST WWASPS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
(Click here)

Academy of Ivy Ridge
Brightway Adolescent Hospital
Carolina Springs Academy
Casa by the Sea
Cross Creek Center for Boys, LLC
Cross Creek Manor, LLC
David Gilcrease
Dixie Contract Services, LLC
Dundee Ranch
High Impact
Karr Farnsworth
Ken Kay
Majestic Ranch Academy, Inc.
Paradise Cove
Peacock Enterprises, LLC
Premier Educational Systems
R & B Management Group, LLC
R & B Billing
Resource Realizations Inc.
Robert B. Lichfield
Robert Browning Lichfield Family Partnership
Spring Creek Lodge, Inc.
Teen Help, LLC
Teens in Crisis, LLC
Tranquility Bay
World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, Inc.
John Does I through XX.