Logan River Academy

The program's tuition is variable, depending on whether private or public money is being used for tuition. The treatment center bills separately for school, residential hours, and therapy sessions. However, tuition generally exceeds ten thousand U.S. dollars per month, and children generally stay at the program year-round.[2]

Logan River Academy is licensed as a residential treatment center through the Utah State Department of Human Services.[3]

Although the academy used to be active and engaging in local sports teams, currently the school as of May 2020 has no active teams or groups of this sort.[7] In Winter 2014 Logan River Academy had 2 basketball teams. In 2012, two Logan River Academy students were allowed to try out for a team at the local high school, but the Utah High School Activities Association did not allow them to play for the team.[8]

The troubled teen program has been the subject of a campaign of criticism led by Anonymous, which alleged that the school uses a form of solitary confinement on students.[9][10][11] This is denied by the school, which says the allegations are "unfounded" and that there is "no basis for the allegations out there".[12][13] Despite the denials, many former students have reported severe abuse and torture at the hands of school staff as part of the school's behavior modification techniques. Some have compared the abuse against students at the school to the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.[14] The campaign against the school has used an online petition on change.org as well as campaigning on social media.[15]

The school terminated some of the practices that were the subject of criticism. Among them was the practice of Development, or "Devo", a dormitory with stricter rules where students would be sent for misbehaving. As of early 2019, the school focused on helping students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and mild to moderate behavioral disorders.[16]

In addition to Anonymous, other groups have criticized the school over a variety of issues, such as the fact that many of the school's employees are not professionally licensed by the state of Utah.[17]

To counter the harsh criticism the residential treatment center has received and abuse claims made by former residents, the school has published a website with a statement denying such abuse.[18] In its statement, the troubled teen program also claims it has never been involved in litigation regarding its care.[19] However, in 2019, a former resident sued Logan River Academy, claiming that she had been "repeatedly sexually abused" by a Logan River employee, while the resident was under Logan River's care.[20]

Also in 2019, a female resident at Logan River, accused of molesting a younger student, pleaded no contest to three counts of misdemeanor sexual battery.[21] She was sentenced to continue treatment at the center, amongst the other residents.[22]