GAO Study Reveals Boot Camp ‘Nightmare’
The first federal inquiry into boot camps and wilderness programs for troubled teens cataloged 1,619 incidents of abuse in 33 states in 2005, a congressional investigation released Oct. 10 reveals. The study, by the Government Accountability Office, also looked at a sample of 10 deaths since 1990 and found untrained staff, inadequate food or reckless operations were factors. In half of those cases, the teens died of dehydration or heat exhaustion.
Investigators counted “thousands” of abuse allegations against the facilities using lawsuits and Web sites, but there is no central clearinghouse. States submit incidents to the federal database on a voluntary basis. Five of the 10 programs where teenagers died under questionable circumstances are still operating — sometimes under a new name or in a different location.
There are no federal rules governing residential facilities for children, and some states do not license such programs. The findings are scheduled to be presented at a hearing of the House Committee on Education and Labor, whose chairman, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., requested the investigation.
Go to original by Ken Dilanian, USA Today
