Caleb Jensen

My heart is sick today. I just learned of the May 2 death of a 15-year-old Utah student under the care of Alternative Youth Adventures of Montrose, CO. My old employer.

I suspect Caleb Jensen never should have been recommended for or admitted to the program, but that hardly matters now. The Denver Post reports that he suffered from repeated staph infections since early childhood. Whether this pertinent medical information was lost, ignored or simply overlooked represents one of the core failings of the juvenile justice system. Students often cannot advocate effectively for themselves, parents are too far removed from the student to act as advocate, and case workers and facility staff are far too often overloaded with more students than they can effectively help.

Wilderness programs--also known as wilderness treatment, wilderness therapy, or sometimes just "wilderness"--long stood outside the decaying architecture of the juvenile justice system and showed a degree of promise that has all but vanished from teen detention centers. Students, parents, caseworkers and wilderness staff often talked about the changes seen during and after the course of a 60-day program such as AYA's. Students experienced empowerment based on accomplishments within new skill sets. Learning to "bust" a fire from a spindle and a board, to build a backpack from a tarp, cordage and seatbelt webbing, and to rig a shelter from those same materials, encouraged students to see and believe in the value of their own hard work. This was in many cases a singular experience for students whose successes often lay more in the realm of fighting, "slanging" and stealing, or otherwise deviating from expected norms.

Recent years, however, have brought to light some of the shortcomings of wilderness treatment for adjudicated teens. The complaint I heard the most when I worked at AYA was that student successes were short lived, that without the support and resources made available--and distractions removed--by a group of dedicated and well trained staff, students couldn't sustain the positive decision making skills and hopefulness they learned in the wilderness setting. More often than not my phone calls with caseworkers, as I followed a student's path after graduation from AYA, led at some point or another to a relapse in criminal behavior.

Other complaints about wilderness therapy in general--that wilderness treatment is too militaristic in nature, that staff are ill trained or that the wilderness is simply too volatile and isolated--have been widely observed at and validated by programs across the country. Whether it's terrible judgment (if not abuse) at an Arizona boot camp, neglect at a Utah wilderness program or simply an accident on the trails in Oregon, the image of wilderness therapy for teens has suffered in recent years.

AYA accepts money from the states of Colorado and Utah to work with court-ordered teens as part of a longer term incarceration. AYA used to present a unique opportunity for a small group of carefully screened and selected adjudicated teens. The recent demands of an overburdened juvenile justice system, however, have turned AYA and similar wilderness programs into regular stops for incarcerated youth as overwhelmed caseworkers struggle to find beds for all their clients. At the same time, as state money for wilderness therapy dwindles, programs like AYA find it more and more difficult to turn students down who may not be a good fit for the wilderness.

I don't know whether Caleb Jensen's death can be attributed to neglect or wrongdoing on the part of AYA or the State of Utah. No doubt blame will be assigned, though, as Caleb's family, the public, and the organizations involved struggle to come to terms with the tragedy. AYA's license to practice on the Uncompaghre Plateau in western Colorado has already been pulled and the remaining students relocated to other facilities. What remains now is to wait and see what will happen to AYA, wilderness therapy, the options available to adjudicated teens, and to the juvenile justice system as a whole.