Troubled Teen Industry Timeline

Founded in 1915, The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, also known simply as the Orthogenic School or informally as the O’School, is a residential treatment center a day school, and a therapeutic school for children and adolescents typically classified as emotionally challenged. The Orthogenic School specialized in the treatment of youth with behavioral and emotional problems...Read More

Mr. and Mrs. Bert Brown found the Brown Schools in San Marcos, TX. Mr. Brown was an accomplished writer at the time and Mrs. Brown was a former school teacher. Their goal was to establish a school for “children who had not developed normally.” In a newspaper article, Mr. Brown later stated that the school..Read More

Lester Roloff incorporates the Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises to pursue full-time evangelism. Most notably, Roloff preached against homosexuality, communism, television, alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gluttony, and psychology.

Synanon was founded by Charles E. “Chuck” Dederich Sr. as a drug rehabilitation program. Dederich was an alcoholic high school dropout who was inspired by utopian notions put forth by Henry David Thoreau and BF Skinner. In Synanon, members were required to take part in a practice known as “The Game.” The Game is what..Read More

During his undergraduate studies at BYU, Larry Dean Olsen was promised $90 to teach survival skills without modern gear to his fellow students. After an influx of students showed up for his month-long course, the school increased his pay to continue these courses. The university noticed that the students had unexplained improvement in their school..Read More

In 1967, Mel Wasserman and his wife Brigitta founded CEDU Educational Services, Inc in California. Mel Wasserman had previously sponsored recovering addicts at nearby Synanon and highly regarded Charles E. Dederich. The name, CEDU, was thought to be an acronym for “Charles E. Dederich University.” Several Synanon acolytes worked at CEDU such as Bill Lane..Read More

The Seed was founded by Arthur Robert Barker in 1970 as a drug rehabilitation center. During its time in operation, The Seed had locations throughout Florida.  Prior to his time at Seed, Barker was a stand-up comedian and recovering alcoholic with no prior qualifications or credentials. He modeled The Seed directly after Synanon – often..Read More

Provo Canyon School was founded in 1971 by Dr. Robert Crist and Jack Williams. Initially, it was a boys-only school with a campus located in Provo, Ut. Later, they expanded to open a girls’ program in nearby Orem, UT (which later moved to Springville, UT in the mid-2000s). Provo Canyon School has been marketed as..Read More

Founded in 1979, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS)  provides hospital and healthcare services. It is based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In 2020, its annual revenues were $11.6 billion. In 1983, UHS purchased Qualicare, Inc. for more than $116 million. The purchase included 11 acute care hospitals and four behavioral health hospitals. In 2000, UHS..Read More

In 1987, three former Provo Canyon School employees – Robert Lichfield, Karr Farnsworth, and Brent Facer – opened Cross Creek Manor which would be the first of many schools. Later, Robert Lichfield incorporated the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools  (WWASP) and programs operating under the Cross Creek Manor model would be referred..Read More

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) is a United States trade organization of therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, young adult programs, and home-based residential programs for adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It was formed in January 1999 by the founders of six programs..Read More

Sequel Youth and Family Services is a private for-profit firm based in Huntsville, Alabama that runs a nationwide system of residential treatment, private pay residential, therapeutic group homes, community-based programs, and alternative education services in the United States. Sequel operates programs out of over a dozen states catering to troubled teens, foster children, and children..Read More

The SIA Organization is a survivor and advocacy support nonprofit organization that was formed by survivors in 2011. Over the course of 10 years, SIA hosted a number of rallies, newsworthy events, and campaigns. Most notably, SIA supported and promoted private alternative boarding schools and outdoor programs legislation in California (SB524) in 2016, launched a..Read More

After emotional testimony from advocate Jen Shaw and survivors, SB 267 passes in Montana. The bill protects vulnerable persons in residential and outdoor programs from sexual predators by declaring in law that persons under the care of employees for the program cannot consent to a worker affiliated with the program.

Paris Hilton joins survivors and peaceful protesters for ‘Breaking Code Silence.’ Hilton and others shared experiences and talked about the legal action moving forward. “Just walking outside in Provo right now with hundreds of people holding signs, it’s just an incredible feeling and I know that we are going to make a change and this..Read More

On March 22nd, 2021, Breaking Code Silence formally incorporated as a non-profit corporation in California. The mission of Breaking Code Silence is to prevent institutional child abuse in residential facilities and to empower adult survivors to engage in positive self-advocacy. We utilize education, outreach, research, and community organizing to protect the civil and human rights..Read More

Missouri state agencies gain more oversight authority over religious private facilities for troubled teens under a new law written in response to former students’ complaints of abuse. The law was drafted after women who had been placed at the Circle of Hope Girls’ Ranch in rural Missouri came forward with allegations that they’d been hit,..Read More

Oregon State Senator Sara Gelser and advocates had previously rallied to pass her bill, SB710, which would prohibit deadly prone and supine restraints in Oregon residential programs. On August 6th, 2021, SB710 was signed into law on the same day that would have been Cornelius Frederick’s 18th birthday if he had not been killed in..Read More

Unsilenced (US) is a survivor-led non-profit organization that was born out of a grassroots movement to stop institutional child abuse that has spanned over multiple decades. US has evolved from a hashtag (#BreakingCodeSilence) to a social movement, to a groundbreaking nonprofit corporation!