More on AYA & Caleb Jensen from the Montrose Daily

UPDATE: Dr. Keith Hooker submitted a not guilty plea last week in Montrose.
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I don't like reading any of this. The Montrose Daily Press has more details (from two weeks ago) on the grand jury investigation into the wilderness death of AYA student Caleb Jensen. I especially don't like reading this quote: "Scissors said Monday that CEC’s Alternative Youth Adventures is distinct from the registered corporation, Alternative Youth Adventures of Colorado Inc., owned by Omer."

Sounds like CEC is trying to protect itself at the expense of Jim Omer. Even if there really were two distinct entities at the time of Jensen's death (I was under the impression that negotiations were ongoing, at the time), I don't like seeing Omer get hung out to dry. Situations like these are exactly when direct care providers need the protections available to the larger organizations that own and operate such programs.

Obviously, my information is limited and my perceptions are biased. I wait to learn more.

Indictments in AYA Colorado Youth Death

I am stunned and saddened. From the Montrose Daily Press: "Two organizations and three individuals are facing serious charges after a Montrose grand jury indicted them in the death of 15-year-old Caleb Jensen."

I wrote before that nobody comes out the better from charges in this case, and I stand by that now:

I sincerely hope that Caleb's death is seen for the tragic accident it was. Nothing will be gained from criminal action against those involved. I do not believe this is a case where justice can be meted out, where society will be safer when those involved are brought to trial or even incarcerated. AYA is done. Public funded wilderness therapy is, by and large, a dinosaur. With all appropriate empathy for the family of Caleb Jensen, and with full acknowledgment that I can't begin to fathom their loss, I fail to see what can be gained from criminal proceedings. Similarly, while the state of Colorado has a responsibility to monitor and regulate youth programs statewide, there is little to suggest that criminal consequences for those involved will help make future conditions safer for wards of the state.

My heart goes out to the family of Caleb Jensen, and to the other families, some of whom I know, who are deeply affected by this continuing tragedy.

End of an Era

I am saddened, though not surprised, to read today that AYA Colorado, my former employer, has closed its doors for good. AYA (Alternative Youth Adventures) provided treatment services to incarcerated teens in the desert and mountains of western Colorado. The Colorado program was the newest in a family of programs that had at one time operated in Montana, Utah and Colorado simultaneously. One by one these programs have proved unsustainable, generally for financial reasons and because state regulations make it very difficult to provide wilderness therapy opportunities to wards of the state.

What makes the closure of AYA Colorado--the last of AYA's programs--most disheartening is that this action was taken in response to the tragic death of a student in the field. Caleb Jensen was 15 when he died of a bacterial staph infection in the backcountry under the supervision of AYA.

There are questions about whether a student prone to staph infections, as Caleb was, should have been placed in a wilderness setting where, among the cacti, granite and sandstone of Colorado's rugged Uncompaghre Plateau, it is very easy to pick up scratches and scrapes and difficult to keep them clean. My understanding is that a lot of finger pointing has gone on as to who placed Caleb in harm's way. Was it the state agency that recommended Caleb for AYA's program? Was it the state record keepers who didn't include all Caleb's pertinent health information in his medical file? Was it AYA, for admitting him in the first place and then, once in the field, not attending carefully enough to a condition they weren't aware of?

His death is shocking and inexcusable, regardless of whether blame can or cannot be assigned to AYA. Responsibility for every student comes down to the care facility, and in this case, regardless of whether this student should have been in the program or not, AYA finds itself ultimately responsible. An investigation is underway to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against either the field staff or the program administration.

I sincerely hope that Caleb's death is seen for the tragic accident it was. Nothing will be gained from criminal action against those involved. I do not believe this is a case where justice can be meted out, where society will be safer when those involved are brought to trial or even incarcerated. AYA is done. Public funded wilderness therapy is, by and large, a dinosaur. With all appropriate empathy for the family of Caleb Jensen, and with full acknowledgment that I can't begin to fathom their loss, I fail to see what can be gained from criminal proceedings. Similarly, while the state of Colorado has a responsibility to monitor and regulate youth programs statewide, there is little to suggest that criminal consequences for those involved will help make future conditions safer for wards of the state.

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.