health
Inside the "troubled teen" industry, when help sometimes does more harm
Taylor Kiesel says she hasn't slept through the night in three years.
TL;DR
- Taylor Kiesel, diagnosed with autism and with a history of self-harm, experienced alleged abuse and neglect at CALO, a residential treatment center.
- Dozens of families, former residents, and staff describe CALO as a violent and out-of-control environment, with over 400 calls to the sheriff's office linked to the facility.
- Police incident reports detail severe incidents, including a child convulsing after swallowing an unknown object and residents attacking staff.
- At least four former CALO staffers have been convicted of crimes, including sexual assault and child pornography possession, committed while employed there.
- CALO denies all allegations of abuse, neglect, and battery, stating all employees passed background checks and incidents were reported.
- A lawsuit filed by 15 families against CALO alleges negligent infliction of emotional distress and battery.
- Federal law lacks minimum standards for youth residential treatment programs, with oversight primarily left to individual states.
- Taylor's placement at CALO was partially funded by her school district through her Individualized Education Program (IEP), highlighting how federal law can facilitate cross-state placements.
- Despite her experiences and injuries during a restraint, Washington state did not remove CALO from its list of approved IEP placements.
- Legislative efforts like the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act have been made, but they focus on studying the issue rather than mandating federal oversight.
- Another family shared a positive experience with a wilderness therapy program and therapeutic boarding school, but noted the extremely high financial cost.
- Families involved advocate for a national database of programs, standardized licensing, a federal bill of rights for children in residential facilities, and longer retention of security footage.