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Montrose Daily Press
Montrose Daily Press
AYA surrenders license to state after boy's death
July 24, 2007
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
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MONTROSE — The Alternative Youth Adventures program, under investigation following the death of a participant, voluntarily surrendered its license to the state.
The surrender did not include an admission of wrongdoing. AYA's parent company, Community Education Centers, Inc., also announced long standing negotiations to sell the Montrose facility to its current director.
The AYA is a wilderness therapy program for at-risk youth. It came under the investigation of the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services, Colorado Attorney General and local district attorney after Jensen, 15, succumbed to a staph infection while camping with a group on Little Red Mountain May 2. The program's licenses for residential childcare and therapeutical childcare were suspended the following week.
"Since May 9, the date that our license to operate was suspended, we have not maintained or accepted any other children into the program. As a result, we have continued to carry expenses and salaries for a program that is no longer receiving revenues," John Clancy, chairman and CEO of CECI wrote in a July 11 letter to the state.
Clancy wrote that quality programs were important and the company has not been able to renew its customer contracts because of AYA's suspended status.
"We wish to keep our reputation intact. In that regard, it was our initial intent to pursue reinstatement of our license, as it is our firm belief that our program and its staff performed exactly as it should have and at all times in full compliance with the regulations that govern it," Clancy's letter stated.
"We are...without admission of wrongdoing of any sort, surrendering our license to operate the AYA Colorado facility."
He said the decision to surrender the license was a business one and that, despite its "noble mission," the AYA program wasn't achieving financial gains. Clancy's letter also said CECI had already decided to sell the Montrose facility to program director Jim Omer when Jensen tragically died.
The surrender does not address any possible criminal cases that could arise from Jensen's death, state officials said.
"It essentially takes care of the administrative side of the issue," Nate Strauch, spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General's office said. "It wouldn't affect any criminal proceedings. It's a favorable outcome for the state."
District Attorney Myrl Serra said he is still investigating and considering whether to pursue charges. "I will make an independent decision when my investigation is complete. It (license surrender) has no effect on how I want to proceed or not," he said.
Bill Palatucci, CECI's senior vice president and general counsel, said he could not comment beyond the confines of Clancy's letter. He previously called Jensen's death a tragedy and said the company did not believe anyone had done anything wrong.
Contact Katharhynn Heidelberg via e-mail at katharhynnh@montrosepress.com
http://www.montrosepress.com/articles/2007/07/24/news/doc46a58b35dbdcc296658895.txt
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Teen who died at wilderness camp wrote mother that he wanted to come home
May 18, 2007
By Nancy Lofholm
In a last letter to his family from a wilderness camp for troubled youths, Caleb Jensen wrote about the difficulties of surviving in the wild and added a postscript: "I want my mommy."
Jensen's mother, Dawn Boyd of Salt Lake City, received the letter from her youngest child during the week before he died of an untreated staph infection. He was participating in a court-ordered wilderness therapy program through Alternative Youth Adventures near Montrose, Colo.
The program's license to operate was suspended in the wake of Jensen's death.
Boyd said she believes camp staff ignored her son's assertions that he was sick and needed to go home. She also believes the Utah Division of Juvenile Justice Services, which placed her son in the rough and remote program, failed to take into account her son's frequent problems with staph infections
Boyd said her son's letters from camp recently said he was feeling better about his life but badly wanted to come home.
Jensen described a different life in camp. He wrote he had to climb mountains every day until he was exhausted. He was able to wash only twice a week using tiny amounts of water. He had to clean his dishes after meals by licking them and then using dirt to scour them.
"That's not how he should have been treated, like a dog or a lizard," said his grandmother, Ella Reese of Idaho.
Jensen expressed some optimism along with the complaints. "Mom, I think I'm going to make it this time," he wrote in a letter.
Jensen, 15, died May 2 of a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection. The bacterial infection traditionally is seen in hospitalized or very ill or elderly patients.
Jensen's mother said he had been treated for numerous staph infections since he was a toddler and suffered a related skin problem called impetigo. He was treated for three infections while he was in other juvenile justice programs in Utah before being sent to the camp, she said.
Carol Sisco, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services that oversees the juvenile justice programs, said Jensen passed a physical before he was sent to the camp March 28. She said he had a physical in the field the week before he died and a session with a therapist the day before his death. No one reported that he was ill. His mother said he did not report being ill in his last letter.
Jensen's family has been unable to get much information about Caleb's death. Reese said they pieced together information that shows Jensen was sitting on his sleeping bag in the camp during a rest day on the day he died. Jensen, who had been exhibiting behavioral problems for several days before his death, told a counselor he didn't feel well and needed to go home. After the counselor moved on, Jensen slumped over. Less than 10 minutes later when a counselor checked on him, he was dead, Reese said.
Bill Palatucci, a spokesman for Community Education Centers, Inc., the Roseland, the company that created the youth camp, said complaints from troubled youths are common.
"They hear a lot that youths want to go home. The staff is taught to sort through those and determine the genuine issues and the non," Palatucci said.
Palatucci would not reveal the amount of medical training the four camp counselors have. He said their training meets state licensing requirements.
Community Education Center is contesting the Colorado Department of Human Services suspension of its license to operate the camp. A hearing is expected to be scheduled within the next month. The other 26 participants in the camp have been moved to youth detention facilities in Utah and Colorado.
Boyd said she is working with an attorney to try to find out more about the death of her son, who had been in and out of state custody "for anger issues" since she and her children moved to Salt Lake City in 2004.
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Mother: My son fought to live Last letter home before death at remote camp reveals 15-year-old's pain, hope
May 16, 2007
By Nancy Lofholm
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"I want my mommy." Dawn Boyd said her son Caleb Jensen's letters said he was feeling better about his life but badly wanted to come home. (Special to The Post)In a last letter to his family from a wilderness camp for troubled youths, Caleb Jensen wrote about the difficulties of surviving in the wild and added a postscript: "I want my mommy."
Caleb's mother, Dawn Boyd of Salt Lake City, received the letter from her youngest child during the week before he died of an untreated staph infection. He was participating in a court-ordered wilderness therapy program through Alternative Youth Adventures near Montrose.
The program's license to operate was suspended after the 15-year-old died May 2.
Boyd said she believes camp staff ignored her son's assertions that he was sick and needed to go home. She also believes the Utah Division of Juvenile Justice Services, which placed her son in the rough and remote program, failed to take into account his frequent problems with staph infections.
"He should have been cared for. He should be alive today," a sobbing Boyd said during a telephone conversation from her home. "I know my baby told them. He always knew when he had a staph infection."
Boyd said her son's letters from camp recently said he was feeling better about his life but badly wanted to come home, "so he could get in his SpongeBob pajama pants and his big slippers and curl up with me and his sisters to watch TV."
Caleb described a different life in camp. He wrote he had to climb mountains every day until he was exhausted. He was able to wash only twice a week using tiny amounts of water. He had to clean his dishes after meals by licking them and then using dirt to scour them.
"That's not how he should have been treated - like a dog or a lizard," said his grandmother, Ella Reese of Troy, Idaho.
Caleb expressed some optimism along with the complaints. "Mom, I think I'm going to make it this time," he wrote in a letter.
Caleb died of a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection. The bacterial infection traditionally
(click to enlarge) is seen in hospitalized or very ill or elderly patients. Caleb's mother said he had been treated for numerous staph infections since he was a toddler and suffered a related skin problem called impetigo. He was treated for three infections while he was in other juvenile justice programs in Utah before being sent to the camp, she said.
"When I saw my son in the casket and looked at his little face, there was a sore on each side of his mouth under the makeup. ... I knew," she said.
Actions at camp defended
Carol Sisco, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services that oversees the juvenile justice programs, said Caleb passed a physical before he was sent to the camp March 28. She said he had a physical in the field the week before he died and a session with a therapist the day before his death. No one reported that he was ill. His mother said he did not report being ill in his last letter.
Caleb's family has been unable to get much information about his death. Reese said they pieced together information that shows Caleb was sitting on his sleeping bag in the camp during a rest day on the day he died. Caleb, who had been exhibiting behavioral problems for several days before his death, told a counselor he didn't feel well and needed to go home. After the counselor moved on, Caleb slumped over. Less than 10 minutes later when a counselor checked on him, he was dead, Reese said.
Bill Palatucci, a spokesman for Community Education Centers Inc., the Roseland, N.J.-based company that created the youth camp, said complaints from troubled youths are common.
"They hear a lot that youths want to go home. The staff is taught to sort through those and determine the genuine issues and the non," Palatucci said.
Palatucci would not reveal the amount of medical training the four camp counselors have. He said their training meets state licensing requirements.
Community Education Center is contesting the Colorado Department of Human Services suspension of its license to operate the camp. A hearing is expected to be scheduled within the next month. The other 26 participants in the camp have been moved to youth-detention facilities in Utah and Colorado.
Mother gets few answers
Boyd said she is working with an attorney to try to find out more about the death of a son who had been in and out of state custody "for anger issues" since she and her children moved to Salt Lake City in 2004.
She said a representative of Alternative Youth Adventures phoned her to say her son was dead more than five hours after his body was airlifted out of the remote camp. She received few details and no offers of help. A week later she received a two-paragraph letter of condolence.
It ended: "The memory of Caleb will inspire us to continue our good work on behalf of all the juveniles in our care."
Utah human services authorities gave Boyd $1,500 to help with transporting Caleb's body to Utah and with the cost of the funeral. She has not received her son's belongings.
Sisco, of Utah's Human Services agency, said officials there can't help Boyd without more facts. "The hard part is that we don't know all the answers yet. We don't know yet if there was staff negligence or if this was something that couldn't be caught," she said.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
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Utah teens back from wilds after boy's death
May 12, 2007
By Angie Welling
Three Utah teenagers who had been placed in the same youth wilderness program where a 15-year-old Salt Lake City boy died earlier this month have returned home.
Staff members from Utah Juvenile Justice Services, which had custody of all four boys, drove to southwest Colorado on Thursday to pick up the teens, agency director Dan Maldonado said. Two of the teens had recently completed the 60-day program for at-risk youths and were ready to come home, while the third will be placed in another program based on his needs.
On the orders of state officials, Caleb Jensen entered Alternative Youth Adventures in Montrose, Colo., on March 28. He died May 2 from what the Mesa County coroner has determined to be natural causes.
Concerns about whether Jensen suffered from an untreated staph infection, however, have led Colorado authorities to suspend the facility's license pending an investigation by the Montrose County Sheriff's Office.
Utah has a long history with Alternative Youth Adventures, contracting with the facility when it was located near Loa, Wayne County, and continuing the relationship when it moved to Colorado, said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services.
"We've had a very good track record with them," she said.
The state has placed 20 youths in the Alternative Youth Adventures program since July 1, 2006, according to Maldonado. The facility is the only wilderness therapy program with which Utah Juvenile Justice Services currently contracts, though that three-year contract was set to expire on June 31.
The agency typically has custody of about 1,300 youths under the age of 21 who have been referred to them by the juvenile court system. It places the children in a variety of programs, depending on an assessment of their individual needs.
"We have a wide array of programs, and most of them are much longer custody programs," Maldonado said. "Something like a wilderness program is indicated for someone whose offense profile suggests that we might be able to have a shorter-term custody arrangement."
In this case, staff members advised that Jensen be placed in the wilderness program and a juvenile court judge accepted the recommendation. The teen was placed with eight other at-risk youths for a two-month "outing" with four AYA staff members to take part in character-building exercises intended to build their self-esteem and communication skills, said Bill Palatucci, senior vice president of Community Education Centers Inc., which operates Alternative Youth Adventures.
"This is a well-known, well-regarded program and so this incident is really out of character and unprecedented for AYA Colorado," Palatucci said. "That makes it all the more difficult to explain."
Jensen passed a physical exam the day he arrived at the facility, as well as a checkup the week before his death. He also visited with a counselor the day before he died in the base camp, Sisco said.
Staff members are trained to identify medical conditions in the youths, according to Palatucci, and medical assistance is always available.
"They're very used to adolescents with behavioral problems, but also with claims of medical conditions," he said. "They have to know how to recognize symptoms and problems and the track record has been that they've been able to do that very well.
"Our contention is that this medical condition was just something that was not easily detectable."
Maldonado is in daily contact with Colorado authorities and is awaiting the outcome of the investigation there before taking any action in Utah.
"The nature and depth of our review will be contingent on the results of the investigation that comes out of the county sheriff's office," he said. "At this point, what we are waiting for are some answers from Colorado about their judgment about staff error or negligence."
The director has also been in contact with Jensen's family, who are understandably struggling with the young man's death.
"They are not doing very well at all. My staff tell me that mom is having a very difficult time with this," he said. "There are people in our staff that are having a hard time and there are people in Colorado having a hard time, too."
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The Pueblo Chieftan
Wilderness program loses license as result of boy's death
May 12, 2007
State human services officials suspended the license of a wilderness-based program for at-risk children after the death of a 15-year-old boy during a routine outing.
Colorado Department of Human Services spokeswoman Liz McDonough told The Salt Lake Tribune that Caleb Jensen was showing ‘‘observable signs of staphylococcus infection that were neglected.’’
Jensen died May 2 in a remote area outside of Montrose during a ‘‘routine outing’’ with Alternative Youth Adventures, program officials said. The boy had been ordered by the Utah Division of Juvenile Services to enroll in the two-month program, which aims to teach youths about the consequences of their actions by forcing them to rough it in the woods.
The company is licensed through the state as a child-care provider.
‘‘We suspended their license (Wednesday),’’ said McDonough. ‘‘That obviously is very serious, and we took what we believe is appropriate action.’’
A spokesman at the Roseland, N.J., headquarters for Alternative Youth Adventures told the Tribune that the program’s staff had acted appropriately.
‘‘We are at a loss to explain this at this point,’’ said William Palatucci. ‘‘We are cooperating fully with the investigation. We know this is a good program. We’ve never had any fatalities.’’
Chief Deputy Coroner Rob Kurtzman said an autopsy determined the boy died after suffering a serious bacterial infection. He forwarded the results to the 7th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.
Scott Wagner, chief investigator for the Montrose County District Attorney’s Office, said a prosecutorial review is standard procedure and there had been no request for prosecution.
Utah Juvenile Justice Services spokeswoman Carol Sisco told the Tribune that Jensen passed a physical exam when he entered the program on March 28.
In 2001, Colorado corrections officials investigated an incident where campers cursed and threatened counselors with sticks and rocks, saying the Alternative Youth Adventures program was too difficult. Counselors called sheriff’s officials for help.
The outcome of that investigation was not immediately clear Thursday.
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Mother Sues Over Son's Death
Mother Sues Over Son's Death At Wilderness CampBy Paul Foy, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― After a month in a wilderness therapy camp, Caleb Jensen's body was being ravaged by disease.
The Utah teenager, sentenced by juvenile authorities to 60 days at a rigorous boot camp, was being forced to take long hikes in the Colorado backcountry without water. He was dragged by arm and wrist restraints when he stumbled in pain by counselors who believed he was faking an illness, according to a lawsuit filed in Utah by his mother last week.
At night the boy was "tarped" or bound tightly in a tarp to prevent his escape. Other times, his shoes were taken away. He was given a diaper when he soiled his sleeping bag. Eventually, he couldn't summon the strength to crawl out of the bag, later discarded as a "bio hazard," the lawsuit alleges.
Jensen died the following day, May 2, 2007. He was 15.
Dawn Boyd Woodson, of the Salt Lake city suburb of Murray, says the staff of Alternative Youth Adventures ignored obvious signs of her son's deteriorating medical condition and instead accused him of "behavior issues." It planned to keep him longer as punishment, she said in court papers.
Woodson is suing West Caldwell, N.J.-based Community Education Centers Inc., which ran the former Montrose, Colo.-based wilderness camp. CEC operates in 20 states, providing treatment for criminal defendants and managing a Delaware prison. It shut down the Colorado boot camp for troubled teens two months later.
The company also faces a Colorado criminal trial in March over the boy's agonizing death; indictments against some of its staff members have been dismissed by Montrose County prosecutors, who nonetheless contend the boy's disease went untreated despite glaring symptoms.
"This camp had an excellent reputation and stellar grades from the state agency that oversaw it," Colleen Scissors of Grand Junction, Colo., the company's criminal defender, said Thursday. "Caleb had a staph infection, not something you're normally looking for. You're worried about them having blisters."
Woodson's lawsuit also targets Utah's state divisions of Child and Family Services, which had custody over him, and Juvenile Justice Services, which shipped him off to the boot camp. Other defendants are the camp's operations director, James Omer, its emergency medical technician, Ben Askins, and medical director, Dr. Keith Ronald Hooker of Provo, Utah.
"It was a horrible tragedy but there was no wrongdoing by our company or staff," Bill Pallatucci, the senior vice president, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Pallatucci said he couldn't respond to specific allegations, "except to say in this matter we were always in full compliance with government regulations governing the program."
Woodson didn't immediately return a message left by the AP on her husband's cell phone. Filed in 3rd District Court, the lawsuit says Caleb Jensen was her youngest son by a different man, an absent father, and that the boy had a troubled childhood and medical problems. In court papers, she said she warned camp officials her son was prone to serious infections.
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N.J. company faces lawsuit, criminal charges
N.J. company faces lawsuit, criminal charges in death of teen
By Editor, Politicker New Jersey
January 23, 2009
The mother of a Utah teenager who died after a month in a wilderness boot camp is suing the West Caldwell-based Community Education Centers, Inc., (CEC) alleging that the staff at their facility in Colorado ignored signs of what turned out to be a staph infection. The company is also facing a criminal trial in March.
CEC operates treatment facilities for criminal defendants in twenty states and manages a prison in Delaware, according to the Associated Press. The Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Public Affairs for the company is William Palatucci, who is also a top advisor to Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie. Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci,, the law firm where Palatucci and Christie were partners, represented CEC for fifteen years before Palatucci joined the firm full time.
The 15-year-old, Caleb Jensen, had been sentenced to sixty days at a "rigorous boot camp," according to an Associated Press Report. He was "forced to take long hikes in the Colorado backcountry without water. He was dragged by arm and wrist restraints when he stumbled in pain by counselors who believed he was faking an illness."
The lawsuit claims that Jensen "bound tightly in a tarp to prevent his escape" at night, and that "he was given a diaper when he soiled his sleeping bag. Eventually, he couldn't summon the strength to crawl out of the bag."
"It was a horrible tragedy but there was no wrongdoing by our company or staff," Pallatucci, the told The Associated Press. He did not respond to specific allegations made in the Jensen complaint, "except to say in this matter we were always in full compliance with government regulations governing the program."
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Editor, Politicker New Jersey
By Editor, Politicker New Jersey
January 23, 2009
The mother of a Utah teenager who died after a month in a wilderness boot camp is suing the West Caldwell-based Community Education Centers, Inc., (CEC) alleging that the staff at their facility in Colorado ignored signs of what turned out to be a staph infection. The company is also facing a criminal trial in March.
CEC operates treatment facilities for criminal defendants in twenty states and manages a prison in Delaware, according to the Associated Press. The Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Public Affairs for the company is William Palatucci, who is also a top advisor to Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie. Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci,, the law firm where Palatucci and Christie were partners, represented CEC for fifteen years before Palatucci joined the firm full time.
The 15-year-old, Caleb Jensen, had been sentenced to sixty days at a "rigorous boot camp," according to an Associated Press Report. He was "forced to take long hikes in the Colorado backcountry without water. He was dragged by arm and wrist restraints when he stumbled in pain by counselors who believed he was faking an illness."
The lawsuit claims that Jensen "bound tightly in a tarp to prevent his escape" at night, and that "he was given a diaper when he soiled his sleeping bag. Eventually, he couldn't summon the strength to crawl out of the bag."
"It was a horrible tragedy but there was no wrongdoing by our company or staff," Pallatucci, the told The Associated Press. He did not respond to specific allegations made in the Jensen complaint, "except to say in this matter we were always in full compliance with government regulations governing the program."
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January 23, 2009
January 23, 2009
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer
Montrose Press
SALT LAKE CITY — The mother of Utah teen Caleb Jensen filed suit Thursday against those she believes were responsible for his untimely death at 15.
Caleb was attending an Alternative Youth Adventures outing for at-risk youth in rural Montrose County in 2007. He died of a staph infection May 2 of that year.
The state acted quickly, suspending AYA’s license for residential and therapeutical childcare. AYA later surrendered the license, which it had originally hoped to renew.
In July 2007 came the indictments against AYA, its former parent company Community Education Centers of New Jersey; camp director James Omer; camp EMT Ben Askins and Utah physician Keith Hooker.
The criminal complaints alleged the infection that claimed Jensen’s life produced visible signs, which the defendants failed to act on. Charges included manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death, but by last December, only CEC remained as a criminal defendant.
Hooker’s attorney succeeded in having the indictment dismissed in November last year.
The indictments against Askins and AYA were dropped the following month and charges against Omer were also dismissed.
But the end of criminal proceedings does not preclude the filing of a civil suit. Caleb’s mother, Dawn Boyd Woodson is suing AYA, CEC, Omer, Askins and Hooker, along with the Utah State Division of Juvenile Justice Services and the Utah State Division of Child and Family Services.
According to an announcement provided by Woodson’s attorney, Tom Boyle, the suit’s allegations are similar to those in the criminal matter: that camp staff did not provide appropriate treatment for Caleb, even though the staph infection produced visible symptoms.
“Of the many abuse cases that I have handled, including incidents of abuse involving religious organizations, a county board that oversaw a juvenile boot camp and mothers in the wrongful deaths of their children, this case is one of the most egregious and the most heartbreaking,” Boyle said in his announcement.
Boyle said the Utah juvenile justice and family services divisions were named as defendants because they erred in sending Caleb to the AYA program. “I do not believe the state should have sent Caleb to the wilderness camp,” he said, declining further comment.
Boyle also declined to comment on what Woodson was seeking by way of damages. He said he did not want the suit tried in the media.
“We believe our claims are meritorious and we will present (case) to the appropriate forum at the appropriate time,” he said.
A copy of the suit, filed in Salt Lake City, was not immediately available.
Court documents in the Montrose criminal case said Caleb was delirious and in obvious pain for days before he collapsed and died. The documents alleged Caleb received insufficient examination and treatment for complaints he kept bringing to staff, and, after he could no longer control bodily functions, he was placed on “group separates” as a form of discipline.
He then behaved oddly, other kids in the camp said, and stayed out in the weather.
But defense attorneys later argued there was no evidence Caleb complained to staff specifically; instead, he wrote of his discomfort in a journal staff could not access. Additionally, he had a history of staph infections and knew enough about them to seek help immediately, but didn’t, they claimed. Caleb was also a discipline problem well before the onset of symptoms, they said.
Askins’ attorney said Thursday she had not been retained for the civil case. The other AYA defendants’ attorneys could not be reached for comment, and it was not known who had been retained to defend against the suit.
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A Letter from Brian Calebs Bio, big brother
I Love you Caleb, I will always miss you. Your in my heart. I will take you with me where ever I go. Love for ever Your big Brother Brian
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Calebs last letter to his Mom
Hey Mom Whats up? Thanks for the letter. It was really, really, great. I can't wait to come home to you. So you love the seasons huh? Try being here for them. Please get this other letter to Heather. Thanks Love you. LOVE YOUR LITTLE PUNKIN HEAD CALEB
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Caleb my beautiful baby brother
I love my little brother he was always the sweetest big cuddly teddy bear. He is such a strong boy (young man).Even though he is younger than I am, he is like my big brother because I learned so many things from him and he was always so much taller and stronger than me. He is an awesome person because he always stayed strong so he could get through everything that he needed to stay strong through. He is a role model to me in the fact that he never had hate towards anyone. No matter what the person did he still loved them because his love was so deep. If I was put through half the things he was I would have so much hate and animosity twards everyone. But he just kept loving and showing his love. I remember all those times we would play together and make up funny stories and plays he was always the brightest funniest kid to be around. Even when all the rest of the kids were down and sad Caleb was always the one that would be wearing a smile no matter what. He was and still is my angelic teddy bear.
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