NC - 12-year-old dies at Trails Carolina wilderness therapy camp, Lake Toxaway, February 2024

[ifindedout]

and in other news, the camp has restored their website

RSBM
Though without the chatbot that was there before.

 

[ch_13]

The site also missing quite a few pages that used to be there, including the list of staff. Here's that page from the Wayback Machine: Trails Carolina Staff | Top Wilderness Therapy Programs 10-17

I wonder how many have already left.

 

[borndem]

I think this is correct, but it's only part of the story. We live in a throwaway society whereby some parents abdicate the raising of their children to schools, coaches, psychiatric medications, and yes, groups like this that promise to make difficult children easier to deal with.

But (in MOO) that doesn't mean these camps should exist. There's a lot of money to be made in taking in the children of wealthy parents and straightening them out, via methods CHS would likely remove them from their home if parents were to try.

If you or I put our child in a sleeping environment so restrictive they had panic attacks or forced our children to wear clothing they soiled because we wouldn't give them bathroom breaks, we'd lose our children.

And that's what needs to happen to these camps. They need to lose the ability to enroll any children.

bbm
Absolutely, GRT, you are totally on target, sad to say.

I can't help but think there are some truly good places for
troubled children -- well-staffed with properly trained & educated teachers, counselors, qualified nurses, good and nutritious food, nice sleeping quarters, areas for family visits, good athletic areas with qualified trainers, hobby areas, regularly-issued report cards (or whatever they are called now), etc., etc. JMO.

 

[Izzylizzy]

Jan 21, 2022 — No federal laws govern these private, for-profit residential treatment programs, boot camps, and wilderness programs. Efforts to pass federal ..

https://lawreview.law.miami.edu/the-trouble-team-industry-should-the-federal-government-intervene/

State Laws Aim to Regulate 'Troubled Teen Industry,' but ...​

kffhealthnews.org
https://kffhealthnews.org › news › article › state-laws-ai...

 

[Izzylizzy]

MOO: This is a typical 100% cover-one's-bum statement carefully crafted by lawyers/reputation management professionals to cover every aspect of what the camp wants to project to parents and the public and probably covers every aspect of legal vulnerability.

...and one more thing. Did the camp have a handbook of best practices and protocols for staffers for all the difficult situations they were going to encounter and be expected to handle?

imo:
Lawyers should be the first to know that during an investigation and/or a civil/criminal trial what looked good on paper to Trails Carolina and parents may not pass the muster when they have to prove each claim.

There's civil 'deceptive practices" and criminal "deceptive practices" and Trails Carolina is first and foremost a business.


"The children were receiving high-level clinical care for complex mental health diagnoses requiring experienced professionals with full knowledge of critical medications and specialized treatment regimens."

Trails Carolina responds to officials removing children from camp following recent death

A 12-year-old was found dead at the camp on Feb. 3.

www.foxcarolina.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

RSBM
Though without the chatbot that was there before.

They're now offering parent and family tours.
I don't remember seeing that on their prior site, anyone?
You can still contact them and tell them all about your child.
Since they've been closed down I'm curious if they're recommending other camps and getting a kick-back which is common practice in this evil web of torture camps.

Contact Trails Carolina | Wilderness Therapy For Ages 10-17

Contact Trails Carolina to find out if Wilderness Therapy is the right fit to help your child succeed. Our Admissions Team is here to help!

trailscarolina.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

A Look Inside Controversial Wilderness Therapy Camps​

The Daily Yonder
https://dailyyonder.com › 2023/08/01



Aug 1, 2023 — The GAO's report showed that many programs employ deceptive marketing, including false statements and misleading representations of practices ...

Deceptive Marketing in the “Troubled Teen” Business​

ASTART for Teens
http://astartforteens.org › assets › files › ASTAR...

PDF

Deceptive Marketing in the “Troubled Teens” Business ... The wilderness programs and therapeutic boarding schools that market to parents of “troubled teens”.
8 pages

Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing​

Government Accountability Office (GAO) (.gov)
https://www.gao.gov › assets

PDF

Apr 24, 2008 — Posing as fictitious parents with fictitious troubled teenagers, GAO found examples of deceptive marketing and questionable practices in certain.
28 pages

 

[ChatteringBirds]

some parents abdicate the raising of their children to schools, coaches, psychiatric medications, and yes, groups like this

It does take a village to raise a child, though.

I know many children receiving special help at school, having a needed role model through their sports or hobbies, and taking medication for diagnoses like ADHD and anxiety. That isn't abdicating parenting; I just don't see anyone doing that. I think all of that is finding resources to help a child do well in life. What exactly are you seeing?

You can't raise a child by yourself. They only thrive when feeling an important part of a large community. But it has to be a safe and positive community.

Some people don't know where to find one. That's why these abusive camps shouldn't even be an option. It's shocking that for the cost, there aren't safe caring programs.

 

[GRT]

It does take a village to raise a child, though.

I know many children receiving special help at school, having a needed role model through their sports or hobbies, and taking medication for diagnoses like ADHD and anxiety. That isn't abdicating parenting; I just don't see anyone doing that. I think all of that is finding resources to help a child do well in life. What exactly are you seeing?

You can't raise a child by yourself. They only thrive when feeling an important part of a large community. But it has to be a safe and positive community.

Some people don't know where to find one. That's why these abusive camps shouldn't even be an option. It's shocking that for the cost, there aren't safe caring programs.

I get where you're coming from--and there's a lot of truth to what you say about children benefitting from a strong role model.

But, I'm not talking about socializing kids or the benefit of a positive village--I'm talking about parents who are too busy working, or golfing, or anything else to spend the time with their children that it takes to help them develop healthy minds and goals.

A child can be raised in virtual seclusion like Abraham Lincoln was, and turn out to be an amazing adult, but the child must have parents who care enough to put in the time and effort.

It's nice when others nearby help out, but sometimes, a boy is just being a boy. Sometimes, the boy doesn't need psychiatric medications to keep him from fidgeting in a class with more children than a teacher can handle. Children need challenges, but not the sort that causes them to soil their underwear or have panic attacks.

By the time a child is sent to a place like Trails, something has broken down in that child's life. Unreasonable expectations? Parents too busy to interact with the child? I can't say, but my guess is that somewhere along the line, the vital bond of respect and mentorship was severed and now the parent is abdicating in hopes someone else can pick up the pieces.

Of course, that's all MOO.

 

[MyBelle]

It does take a village to raise a child, though.

I know many children receiving special help at school, having a needed role model through their sports or hobbies, and taking medication for diagnoses like ADHD and anxiety. That isn't abdicating parenting; I just don't see anyone doing that. I think all of that is finding resources to help a child do well in life. What exactly are you seeing?

You can't raise a child by yourself. They only thrive when feeling an important part of a large community. But it has to be a safe and positive community.

Some people don't know where to find one. That's why these abusive camps shouldn't even be an option. It's shocking that for the cost, there aren't safe caring programs.

BBM. I don't understand why these camps are even legal.

While I agree it does take a village to raise a child, it is wrong to thrust them into the hands of complete strangers and abandon them. That alone would be emotionally traumatizing.

JMO

 

[tlcya]

Trails Carolina has filed an answer in the lawsuit alleging SA by previous camper. Won't post a link here as I have no wish to derail the discussion of THIS instance of possible wrongdoing. Articles are out there for those who are interested to look for them.

I wish LE would tell us something about this investigation. COD, is the investigation still ongoing? Given the apparent friction between the camp staff/administrators and LE, I would have thought we would eventually hear of some sort of progress in the death investigation.

 

[brow3665]

Hmm. The comment under the article by an actual attendee holds much more weight with me, and yes, Mr Bloom, I have experienced, and still do, many of the things you mentioned. Would I send my child to Trails or anyplace like it? Over my dead body!.

* @MsMarple beat me to it!.

I absolutely agree. The comment on that article is super telling.

 

[brow3665]

The connections brought forth by the audio recording regarding the facility's political involvement/donations, job opportunities, etc., is something I think is totally KEY in this case.

I was actually placed in a Residential Treatment Center as a young adolescent, while one of my closest friends was in a Wilderness Residential Treatment program. While overall I will say that I believe the facility ultimately saved my life, it came with some really traumatic and horrific experiences. While the majority of the staff meant well, there was never enough supervision. Similar to past allegations at this facility, one of the individuals that was at my facility at the same time as I was did end up being sexually assaulted by another peer at the facility.

It was absolute HELL for my parents to be able to choose a facility and pursue this process and they weren't given much of a choice by the circumstances at the time. They toured the few places that they could, but otherwise relied heavily upon word of mouth and reviews from friends/family.

I can all but GUARANTEE that this likely comes down to a complete lack of adequate training for staff, a lack of ENOUGH staff, and a total lack of oversight to even ensure that this place was being run appropriately- regular oversight of employees, annual (or more) required trainings, inspection of facilities/equipment on a regular basis, protocols for newly admitted patients, etc.

It is completely inexcusable, and based on all of the past citations and concerns that have been documented on the facility, it is even criminal!

At the very least, this was a horrific scenario of poorly trained staff with good intentions. At the worst, this is a horrific scenario of a young boy being intentionally harmed and ultimately murdered at a place where he should have been safe. I cannot blame the parents for sending him off, as my parents did the same with the absolute best intentions.

I will be anxious to learn of toxicology report results, however, being that the boy is a minor I find it unlikely we will find out unless someone close to the investigation/family releases this information.

 

[tlcya]

good to read a current article that states the camp is still being investigated. I was worried this case would slide right under the ole rug.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has suspended admissions to Trails Carolina, a residential therapeutic camp in Transylvania County, after a 12 year boy died there Feb. 3, according to a letter DHHS sent the camp. The state also removed all attendees from the camp’s care on Feb. 16 and is still investigating the incident.
[snip]
Gertie Siegel thought she was just going to summer camp in North Carolina for a week, she said. Instead, her three months spent at Trails Carolina in 2016 felt like “a nightmare,” she said.
[snip]
Another former attendee, Clara Mann, also filed a lawsuit against Trails Carolina in 2023 and settled. Like Siegel, Mann’s lawsuit said she was sexually assaulted by another attendee while she attended Trails at age 14. Mann was also sent to the camp to help her depression.
[snip]
Investigators were granted search warrants for two Trails Carolina locations in the county, according to the sheriff’s office. The medical examiner’s report is still pending, as well as computer forensics on the devices seized under warrants, the office said in a March 19 email to CPP.
https://carolinapublicpress.org/63565/camp-nc-mountains-dhhs-scrutiny-camper-death-sexual-assault-transylvania/

Inadequate camp regulation
Laws governing wilderness therapy camps vary state to state, Appelgate said.

In North Carolina, the programs are licensed as mental health treatment facilities, so state health inspectors are supposed to conduct annual surveys and investigate complaints, according to a DHHS spokesperson.

If they find deficiencies, the facility must submit a plan of correction to address it within ten days. If the plan is accepted, surveyors are supposed to follow up to make sure the facility is in compliance again, the spokesperson wrote over email.

But there’s not enough staff to complete all these surveys on time, according to the spokesperson, partly because of staff vacancies and turnover. The mental health licensure section has 33 surveyors, while there are over 1,900 licensed residential and almost 1,600 non-residential mental health facilities in the state, the spokesperson said.

The division’s workload has “increased dramatically” in the past few years, yet there’s insufficient staffing and uncompetitive salaries, the spokesperson wrote.

Gov. Roy Cooper included additional staff for the division in each of his last recommended budgets, but only in the past session did the General Assembly enact four new positions for mental health facilities, according to DHHS.

Surveyors have difficulty seeing the full scope of activities in these programs, Appelgate said, as much of the attendees’ time is spent far from the base facility. For example, it would be difficult to see when water filters break during long hikes, she said.

If participants are at base camp when the inspectors come, they likely would not see all the children, she said.

State health inspectors interview clients and counselors both at base camp and remote camps sites, according to DHHS.

Another issue is that many wilderness programs don’t have staff with significant behavioral health training, Dunn said.

North Carolina laws require facilities to have a program director with a minimum of two years’ experience in child or adolescent services specific to the campers’ needs, as well as “educational preparation in administrative, education, social work, nursing, psychology or a related field.”

Facilities must also have at least two staff members on duty for every eight or fewer campers. Staff must be trained to “manage the children or adolescents individually and as a group,” and on alternatives to restrictive interventions. Only staff who have been trained in seclusion, physical restraint and isolation time-out may use those procedures.

Dunn said that level of experience “feels like a low bar.”
Former attendees describe ‘nightmare’ at therapy camp in NC mountains. DHHS suspended admissions after 12-year-old died

NCDHHS staff declined to comment March 20 on the ongoing regulatory investigation into last month's death of a 12-year-old at the camp. A spokesperson for Chuck Owenby, sheriff of Transylvania County, where the camp is based, said the criminal probe was still on hold as deputies awaited an FBI forensic analysis of camp computers and a toxicology report from the state medical examiner.
WNC camper death: NC Health records show prior child death violations; delayed search

 

[Izzylizzy]

I see the big problem is that trials has 10 days to submit a "plan of correction" and of course appeals.
IMO:
It's the same old BS that let the abuse and staff incompetence continue for years at Trails enabling the eventual death of Clark.

The letter sent to Trails is in the link and also a redundant update from the sheriff.

NC department notifies Trails Carolina of violations, intention to revoke license​

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has notified a local wilderness therapy program that it intends to revoke its license.The l

wlos.com

 

[Izzylizzy]

I don't get why the NC Health Dept. didn't wait until the investigation/autopsy into the 12 yr old boy's death is completed before they notified Trails about their violations and gave them the right to submit a "Plan of Correction".

IMO:
As it stands they remain clueless to what criminal activity may have taken place in and around his death.

 

[Campizi67]

I don't get why the NC Health Dept. didn't wait until the investigation/autopsy into the 12 yr old boy's death is completed before they notified Trails about their violations and gave them the right to submit a "Plan of Correction".

IMO:
As it stands they remain clueless to what criminal activity may have taken place in and around his death.

IMO....
Speculating on reasons for a favorable relationship between an organization like Trails Carolina and a government entity might include:

Political Connections: There could be influential individuals or groups with ties to both Trails Carolina and the health department, leading to preferential treatment or support.

Financial Interests: There might be undisclosed financial arrangements or incentives involved, such as contracts, funding, or donations, that benefit both parties.

Regulatory Leniency: Trails Carolina may have leverage or influence that results in less stringent enforcement of regulations or oversight by the health department.

Confidential Agreements: There could be confidential agreements or understandings between Trails Carolina and the health department for reasons not publicly disclosed.

As always... if there are questions with no answers, follow the money.

IMO

 

[Izzylizzy]

IMO....
Speculating on reasons for a favorable relationship between an organization like Trails Carolina and a government entity might include:

Political Connections: There could be influential individuals or groups with ties to both Trails Carolina and the health department, leading to preferential treatment or support.

Financial Interests: There might be undisclosed financial arrangements or incentives involved, such as contracts, funding, or donations, that benefit both parties.

Regulatory Leniency: Trails Carolina may have leverage or influence that results in less stringent enforcement of regulations or oversight by the health department.

Confidential Agreements: There could be confidential agreements or understandings between Trails Carolina and the health department for reasons not publicly disclosed.

As always... if there are questions with no answers, follow the money.

IMO

BBM:

It was in this Mike Collin's radio interview that had been posted by iamstilla.grandma that a local reporter who has been following/reporting on Trails for quite sometime said that LE went easy on Trails (3 days to go for a search warrant etc.) due to donations from Trails.

Trails Carolina camp death and the troubled teen industry

The death of a 12-year-old at a North Carolina wilderness camp has given rise to many questions about his death, about residential treatment camps and about why so many kids nationwide are attending them. We explore.

www.wfae.org

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The department said that it determined the violations “endanger the health, safety, and welfare of clients in your facility” and that it intends to revoke Trails Carolina’s license. The camp was given 10 days to provide a written statement saying why it believes it is in compliance with the rules, along with supporting documents or a plan of correction. The department also fined Trails Carolina $18,000 for the violations and extended its suspension of admissions indefinitely.

In a statement on Friday, Trails Carolina said it was “surprised and disappointed to learn of the state’s intent to revoke the program’s license, given the progress we’ve made and continue to make.”

“We will continue cooperating with the state to satisfy their concerns so we can continue providing compassionate quality care to kids and families for whom every other treatment option has failed,” the camp said in an email to NBC News.

North Carolina moves to revoke license of a wilderness camp where a 12-year-old died

State officials cited Trails Carolina for violating several regulations, including one requiring mental health facilities to protect clients from abuse.

www.nbcnews.com

Trails Carolina responds to latest action from NC regulators

WBTV Investigates: Wilderness camp shut down after 12-year-old boy died in February

www.wbtv.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]