These for-profit programs masquerade as therapeutic treatment centers and operate with impunity due to lack of government oversight. Teens can be held for years in facilities that claim to treat mental health and perform behavior modification but do not follow psychological guidelines for treatment.

The “treatment” these children receive is far from therapeutic. Instead, the abuse can leave survivors with lifelong trauma, including PTSD. This systemic abuse goes back decades – many of these programs have been shut down only to have others take their place.

Without government intervention, thousands of teens will continue to suffer abuse. Some have even died or taken their own life to escape the trauma. Countless victims have suffered after returning home from these facilities as a result of the lack of mental health treatment and unresolved trauma.