For the general population, “authorized kidnapping” sounds like an absolutely absurd oxymoron. However, for the thousands of desperate parents across the United States, orchestrating a staged abduction is really not that absurd. These parents willingly hire strangers to degrade their unconsenting child by handcuffing them, then relinquish authority over the youth to supposed miracle conversion facilities. To such parents, the kidnapping is justified and not a total violation of basic human rights. 

Unfortunately, such a possibility is reality. This is Paris Hilton’s testimony, and the four congregate treatment centers Hilton transferred to and from are only a facet of a much larger web of for-profit conversion programs: the “Troubled Teen” Industry (TTI). Notably, although numerous clients cite positive results associated with attendance, there is no evidence that programs effectively rehabilitate troubled youth. Since the earliest days of their operation, TTI programs have been the subject of countless child abuse controversies. Behind the deceit of its clever marketing, the “Troubled Teen” Industry proves to resemble a cult more than the collection of revolutionary “therapy camps” the industry claims to be.  

TTI is a network of youth-focused programs such as “therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, religious academies, wilderness programs, and drug rehabilitation centers” (Rubino, 2024) that are owned and operated by private companies or faith-based groups. Supposedly, TTI programs “fix” perceived behavioral and mental issues: everything from drug use and video-game addiction to homosexuality and gender identity. Generally, it is parents that privately seek out these programs as a solution to behavioral challenges, but minors can also be pipelined straight into the TTI system through school district programs, mental health providers, or child welfare and juvenile justice institutions.  

TTI adopts a number of promotional schemes to generate profit by welcoming in more teens to their climbing 120,000 to 200,000 residents. One method is offering referral and headcount bonuses for consumers. For instance, parents that refer other parents to the program may be promised monetary rewards or a free month of tuition. Another is deceptive marking. TTI programs invest heavily in ensuring websites are appealing to visitors; mistaking a wilderness camp page for that of a mountain resort or park is not unheard of. Moreover, in 2008, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Residential Programs: Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing.” GAO agents posed as potential clients and were instructed to submit an application before further considerations could be made. However, after a separate call, the fictitious child was accepted by the program though no application was ever submitted. Rather than presenting itself as it is, TTI has always prioritized generating as much yield as possible.

Once parents are manipulated into sending their children to TTI programs, life is brutal for those teens. Elan School, one particularly infamous TTI program, was nothing short of a cult. The school partnered with youth escort services—a euphemism for parent-authorized kidnappings, like what Paris Hilton experienced—to transport students to Elan. These ethically dubious services were and are not legal, but they exist to this day.

 In the Elan school, there was a bizarre, rigid social hierarchy. Each hierarchy was subject to different regulations that dictated everything from when you could eat to who you could talk to. Furthermore, thanks to their location in the remote Maine wilderness, Elan limited contact with the outside world. But students were allowed the privilege of phone calls home as a reward for good behavior. All outside correspondence was strictly monitored by staff as any bad-mouthing about Elan was considered a severe offense. Having “bad thoughts,” drawing, slouching or yawning, looking outside, looking at the floor, feeling tired, being attracted to someone, not talking enough or talking too much, smiling without permission, not sleeping, and oversleeping were among some of Elan’s list of forbidden activities. Elan’s impossibly draconian standards dehumanized students–but that was the point, of course. Even today, TTI camps have a similar design. 

GAO’s report identified thousands of allegations of abuse–several of which resulted in death–in private TTI residential programs across the country. GAO examined eight closed cases and found three involving physical child abuse. In one, a 16-year-old male who had been suffering from asthma and chronic bronchitis complained of chest pain and difficulty breathing. The program nurse dismissed the symptoms, and authorities denied the teen proper medical treatment and punished him for showing reluctance to participate in activities. That year, sometime in March of 1988, the victim passed away. A post-mortem investigation revealed more than 70 injuries, including blunt force injuries, indicating physical abuse prior to death. 

Absence of rigorous legal oversight fuels an “incestuous cycle” (Myers, 2023) of corruption. Because TTI has no profound federal regulations, meaning that existing regulations are weak because of government inaction, and operates under very inconsistent or mostly non-existent local and state laws, abuse is rarely addressed. Cases like sexual assault are swept under the rug, and offenders are simply removed from one post and redesignated to another, free to reoffend or free to not.  

For decades, lawsuits were the only way to shut down programs, but momentum for government intervention has been building since. In 2021, Oregon became the first and only state to pass any concrete regulations on teen kidnapping services, thereby banning handcuffs and requiring registration with the Department of Human Resources. For many, this was a fundamental victory and should be the first of many more pivotal and very necessary legal installments.  

Because of the Troubled Teen Industry, thousands of children live with the trauma of abuse, neglect, demoralization, and dehumanization. These conditions should not be further tolerated. Of course, it has been decades since the first TTI programs sprang up, so it may be difficult to imagine what can be done to regulate the billion-dollar industry and how fruitful reform would even be. However, that is not to say legislation is not at least a prerequisite to putting down the cult for good.  

For reference, I have provided a website that lists known victims of the ‘Troubled Teen’ Industry. Please understand that the page is not entirely comprehensive, but it is my hope that this resource will bring a greater sense of scope and urgency to readers.  

https://1000placesudontwanttobe.wordpress.com/victims-of-the-troubled-teen-industry/ 

Information retrieved from “Suffer the Little Children: Élan School and the Industry of Legalized Child Abuse” (2019) from Suzuki’s Thoughts, “Retribution Without Rehabilitation: How the ‘Troubled Teen Industry’ Infringes on the Rights of Privately Placed Youth” (2024) from UIC Law Review, “More Than Troubling: The Alarming Absence of 'Troubled Teen Industry' Regulation and Proposals for Reform” (2024) by Morgan Rubino from the Journal of Legislation, “Survivors of wilderness therapy camps describe trauma, efforts to end abuses” (2023) by Sam Myers from Arkansas Advocate, and “Residential Programs: Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing” (2007) from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.