Texas Juvenile 'Reform' Camps among Those Cited for Abuse

WASHINGTON — An undercover investigation has documented torture, abuse and four deaths - two of them in Texas - at private reform camps for troubled youths around the country, a federal watchdog agency reported to Congress on Thursday.

Simulated hangings, forced labor, prolonged restraint and the use of a pit bull trained to bite teens in the crotch were among the horror stories cited by investigators and witnesses describing abuses uncovered in the so-called "boot camps" attended by an estimated 20,000 American teenagers.

The youths, typically sent to the camps by frustrated parents or juvenile service systems, come in for a dose of tough love - and often rough treatment.

"Some of these would appear to be human rights violations happening here in the United States," said Greg Kutz, an investigator with the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office. "I'm not saying these kids don't have issues, but that doesn't give you an excuse to beat them up and torture them."

Kutz presented the GAO's findings to the House Education and Labor Committee.

"It's hard to believe that people would do this to somebody else's child," said committee chairman George Miller, D-Calif.

Committee members were chilled by the description of a 14-year-old Texas teenager who died in 2004 while hiking as part of a program administered by Lone Star Expeditions of Groveton, Texas.

The GAO report alleges that the boy, who was not identified, was part of a group that got lost and wandered in shimmering heat until the victim said he was dizzy. He was accused of "faking" and left to lie in his own vomit until he stopped breathing and was pronounced dead, according to the GAO report.

"He couldn't walk or breathe," Kutz said in an interview after Thursday's hearing.

Melvin Cates, executive director of Lone Star Expeditions, said the organization is "saddened" by the boy's death but the camp provides "a safe environment" and committed no wrongdoing in the incident.

"Lone Star Expeditions is a licensed therapeutic camp," Cates said in an e-mail response. "The circumstances were investigated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which found no violations or wrongdoing on the part of Lone Star. Lone Stare has resolved the matter with the family and, again, sends its deepest condolences."

In 2005, a 12-year-old Texas boy suffocated after being restrained face down in a Texas reform camp that has since been closed.

The inquiry, which looked at eight closed cases from 1994 to 2004 and relied on interviews and covert investigative techniques, also turned up deceptive marketing practices and fraud at some of the camps, many of which bill themselves as prep schools or religious academies.

Miller and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., introduced legislation earlier this week aimed at giving youths more protections against physical, mental and sexual abuse at private residential reform camps.

The legislation, if passed, would take a step toward providing federal scrutiny to the largely unregulated industry of youth reform camps.

"Families who seek out treatment for their troubled sons or daughters should not have to worry that their children will be put in harm's way," said Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas. "It's essential that we put standards in place to protect our nation's youth and hold these privately run residential programs accountable for their actions."

Still, said Kutz, the record of abuse and fraud stands as a cautionary tale for parents and juvenile officials contemplating sending troubled teens to boot camps.

"I'm not saying that they're all bad apples, but there's enough bad apples out there that if you happen to pick one of them you're going to be sorry," said Kutz.

"These parents are kind of at their wits end, and this is a last resort," said Kutz, father of a young daughter. "But, knowing what I know, I would really do everything else I could to find some other way to deal with my own child."