How Troubled Teens Became a Billion Dollar Industry

Alone. Subjected to Hard Labor. Physical Violence. Psychological Damage. These are not conditions of an extensive stint in a federal penitentiary. Rather, they encapsulate experiences endured by 13-year-old children enlisted in programs established to correct at-risk youth in the United States. Whilst their families perceive them to be wayward adolescents, such camps pledge answers. But endless court cases, a mix of those already resolved and others still pending, indicate that strategies to address rebellious teens are not merely unproductive, but in certain instances, fatal.

Netflix’s recent cinematic production, "Hell Camp," explores the initiation, subsequent lawsuits, and eventual closure of one such establishment. The now-deceased Steven Cartisano, a combat veteran and entrepreneur, established the Challenger Foundation. The foundation advertised itself as a wilderness survival institution, aiming to transform misbehaving and manipulative youths into leaders through a rigorous 500-mile trek across the Utah desert. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Cartisano's program gained wide acceptance, until multiple claims of maltreatment, a teenager’s death, and a federal lawsuit induced its closure in 1994. Regardless of the dissolution of the Challenger project, Cartisano went on to establish other reform institutions, such as HealthCare America and Pacific Coast Academy, which later shut down, again following abuse allegations.

Despite Cartisano’s subsequent retrenchment and eventual passing, the appeal of such reform institutions remains undeterred. In America, the troubled youth industry encompasses boot camps, therapy centers, wilderness courses, and faith-driven academic institutions. This industry, grossing in billions of dollars, is admittedly under-regulated and suffers from inconsistent state and federal legislation.

According to the National Youth Rights Association, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting young victims of institutional abuse, punitive discipline intervention programs are detrimental, increasing the likelihood of the child repeating their behavior by eight percent. In contrast, licensed therapy can potentially reduce reoffending rates by 13 percent.

Revelations from the documentary "Hell Camp" highlight pervasive abuse in these institutions at disturbingly high rates, often perpetrated by unqualified staff. These instances of abuse range from physical torture to sexual abuse. A 2007 report by the US Government Accountability Office found thousands of allegations of maltreatment directed towards these programs.

The distress from these institutions can occasionally lead to fatalities. In 1990, Cartisano and the Challenger were sued by a grieving family after their 16-year-old daughter, Kristen Chase, succumbed to heat exhaustion following a hike.

In 2021, heiress and media personality, Paris Hilton, spoke before the legislative body on Capitol Hill advocating for a bill of rights for adolescents in group care facilities. Hilton was herself once deemed a troubled teenager and shared her personal experiences of grave trauma encountered in a similar institution. Hilton, along with other advocates, continue to seek further federal regulation of these troubled teen programs. Thus far, there is no federal law prohibiting such conduct.