Academy at Dundee Ranch

Academy at Dundee Ranch was a behavior modification facility for United States teenagers, located on La Ceiba Cascajal, 10 km West of Orotina, province of Alajuela, Costa Rica. It was promoted as a residential school, offering a program of behavior modification, motivational "emotional growth seminars," a progressive academic curriculum, and a structured daily schedule, for teenagers struggling in their homes, schools, or communities. [ [http://www.dundeeranch.org/ Academy at Dundee Ranch website] , accessed January 31, 2007.]

The facility was associated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP).

In May 2003, the facility was shut down by the authorities in Costa Rica due to claims of child abuse, and investigated the school and its managers. The facility reopened in 2004 as Pillars of Hope.

Controversy

There were claims from both parents and detainees about food being withheld as punishment [http://insidecostarica.com/specialreports/dundee_ranch.htm Dundee Ranch: Riots at Costa Rica school for troubled young Americans raises questions about programs (Inside Costa Rica, June 2003)] . Former students complain of emotional scars due to their stay there [ [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=273168 Desperate steps, dark journey] , "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"] .

A judgment in Louisiana caused Costa Rican authorities to investigate the facilities [http://www.ticotimes.net/archive/01_17_03_2.htm Officials to Investigate 'Tough Love' Facility Here (The Tico Times)] . A riot occurred at the facility in May 2003 [http://www.newsfrombabylon.com/?q=node/3195 Rioting, escapes put teen facility under scrutiny (Miami Herald-News from Babylon)] [http://insidecostarica.com/specialreports/dundee_ranch_timeout.htm Tough love school sent to timeout (Inside Costa Rica, June 2003)] , leading to its closure. Reportedly the Costa Rican immigration authorities found that 100 of the 193 children enrolled in the program did not have appropriate migration papers. [ [http://www.amcostarica.com/022307.htm Dundee Ranch owner rips police after his acquittal] , "A.M. Costa Rica", Vol. 7, No. 39, Feb. 23, 2007]

Due to the closure U.S. Representative George Miller asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate WWASP [ [http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2003_11/week1/11_05_03.htm U.S. Federal Probe of WWASP Requested] , The Tico Times, November 5, 2003)] .

Narvin Lichfield, who was the director at the time of the facility's closure, was jailed in Costa Rica for a brief period at the time of the closure. He was later tried in Costa Rica on charges of coercion, holding minors against their will, and "crimes of an international character" (violating a law based on international treaties, specifically referring to torture).

On February 21, 2007 a three-judge panel returned a verdict of innocence on all charges. Narvin Lichfield was declared innocent of ordering the abuse. During closing arguments the prosecutor had told the court that the evidence and testimony presented during the two-day trial were insufficient to link Lichfield to the crimes of which he was accused. "The Tico Times" reported that the judges said they believed the students at Dundee had been abused, but there was no proof that that Lichfield ordered the abuse. Lealand Baxter Neal, [http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2007_02/022207.htm#story1 Lichfield Declared Innocent] , Tico Times - Daily News. Three other Academy employees, all Jamaicans, had reportedly been wanted in connection with the same case, but they fled Costa Rica following the closure of the Academy. [Leland Baxter-Neal, [http://www.caica.org/Tough-Love%20article%2007-06.pdf Tough-Love’ Camp Owner Faces Trial] , "The Tico Times", July 2006.]

Following the acquittal, Lichfield claimed in an e-mail to "A.M. Costa Rica" that when the school was raided, police stood by and watched youths sexually assault each other, that police held parents and staff at gunpoint and that one parent was ordered at gunpoint to hang up the phone when she attempted to phone the U.S. Embassy for help, and that police left the school in a shambles. [ [http://www.amcostarica.com/022307.htm Dundee Ranch owner rips police after his acquittal] , "A.M. Costa Rica", Vol. 7, No. 39, Feb. 23, 2007]

Today - Pillars of Hope

A new program, Pillars of Hope, opened on the same site in 2004.

The main target group for Pillars of Hope is young adults age 18 and over, including enrollees from other WWASPS programs who would turn 18 before they graduate. As an alternative to an "Exit Plan" parents and staff can pressure the enrollee to apply for a stay at this facility [http://www.caica.org/Taylor%20Kirkpatrick's%20story.htm Seven Days I Will Never Forget (Taylor Kirkpatrick)] .

Although they still have have a very strict conduct code for the persons enrolled in the facility they no longer use punishment like observation placement, where the detainees were forced to sit on their knees with their hands behind their backs for hoursMark Johnson, [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=273497 Academy's grip lingers as son, family transform] Paragraph "Postscript", JS Online. Instead the persons staying at the facility can be expelled [http://www.pillarsofhope.com/academic.amp Academic Honesty, section "Honor Code Committee Involvement"] , facility homepage

References

External links

* [http://www.isaccorp.org/archives.asp#dundee International survivors action committee on Dundee Ranch]
* [http://www.pillarsofhope.com Pillars of Hope homepage]
* [http://pillarsofhopeschool.com Pillars of Hope alternate homepage]
* [http://www.secretprisonsforteens.dk/CR/AcademyAtDundeeRanch.htm Secret prisons for teens about Dundee Ranch/Pillars of Hope]