When Abuse and Neglect Occur at Residential Treatment Facilities

Residential treatment programs provide a range of services, including drug and alcohol treatment, confidence building, military-style discipline, and psychological counselling for troubled boys and girls with a variety of addiction, behavioural, and emotional problems. In October 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified before the Committee regarding allegations of abuse and death in private residential programs across the country such as wilderness therapy programs, boot camps, and boarding schools. The GAO found thousands of allegations of abuse, some of which involved death, at residential treatment programs across the country and in American-owned and American-operated facilities abroad. This book examines the abuse and neglect that occur at some of these facilities and presents investigative reports and written testimony from relatives of victimised teens who have been affected by these programs.