Trinity Teen Solutions (2002-present) Powell, WY

Catholic Residential Treatment Center

History and Background Information

Trinity Teen Solutions is a behavior-modification program that opened in 2002. It is marketed as a Catholic Residential Treatment Center for teenager girls (12-17) who struggle with a variety of emotional or behavior challenges, including depression, low self-esteem, grief/loss, negative peer influence, underachievement, rebelliousness, anger, defiance, impulsivity, and hyperactive behaviors. The average length of stay is reportedly between 8 and 12 months, and the cost of tuition is unknown.

The program is located on a 4,000 acre ranch at 112 Safe Haven Rd, Powell, WY 82435, in a very rural part of Northern Wyoming.

In 2010, TTS also opened a program for young adults (18-25) called ‘Journey to Life’. This program consists of learning life skills, social skills, vocational skills, high school and/or college curriculum, spiritual formation, and individual, and group and family counseling.

Founders and Notable Staff

Angie Woodward is one of the Founders of Trinity Teen Solutions. She is married to Jerry Woodward. She also works as an RN and the Director of TTS. Woodward is not a licensed mental health professional in Wyoming. Her prior employment is unknown.

Jerry Woodward is one of the Founders of Trinity Teen Solutions. He is married to Angie Woodward. He also works as the Administrative Director of TTS. Woodward is not a licensed mental health professional in Wyoming.

Melissa Ginest currently works as a Therapist at Trinity Teen Solutions. She has worked at TTS since September 2016. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since April 1st 2019. Her prior employment is unknown.

Jane Dukart currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. She has been a Certified Social Worker since May 19th 2020. Her prior employment is unknown.

Kara Woodward works as a Staff Supervisor at Trinity Teen Solutions. She is the daughter of the owners, Jerry and Angie Woodward.

Kyle Woodward works as the Assistant Director, Marketing Director, and Equine Specialist at Trinity Teen Solutions. He is the son of the owners, Jerry and Angie Woodward.

Olla Gbadamosi currently currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. His prior employment is unknown.

Linsay Sandoval currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. Her prior employment is unknown.

Tristen Utter currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. His prior employment is unknown.

Cara Gibbons currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. Her prior employment is unknown.

Alyssa Myrick currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. Her prior employment is unknown.

Kimberly Clinesmith currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. Her prior employment is unknown.

Janet Carroll currently works as a Behavioral Health Assistant at Trinity Teen Solutions. Her prior employment is unknown.

HEAL Program Staff Information

Program Structure

Like other behavior-modification programs, Trinity Teen Solutions utilizes a level system consisting of six levels. The levels are reported to be:

Orientation and Compliance
Identifying Problems
Putting to Death the Old Self
Discovering My New Identity in Christ/Identifying New Tools and Solutions
Mentor—Evaluate solutions
Discharge

These levels are also used by TTS’s young adult program, as outlined here.

Rules and Punishments

The teens at TTS are forced to abide by a very strict set of rules. If they do not follow the rules, they are reportedly punished in the following ways:

forcing them to wear a sign around their neck which is aimed at humiliating them
forcing them to wear a “leash”
forcing them to wear wet clothes in the cold winter months
restricting their access to the bathroom/food
solitary confinement/isolation tactics (such as forcing them to sit in a chair alone all day without speaking)
forcing them to sleep on a floor
humiliating interventions (such as carrying around a backpack filled with rocks)
excessive and strenuous exercise
sleep deprivation

Abuse Allegations and Lawsuits

In 2011 and 2012, DFS officials looked into a litany of allegations against Trinity Teen Solutions. At the time, unnamed former patients alleged that Trinity failed to provide adequate medical care; humiliated them by making them wear signs, calling them names or putting girls on “leashes;” forced girls to wear wet clothes in the winter; punished them by restricting access to the bathroom and food; forced girls to sit in a chair all day without speaking; and censored communications with family members. However, the DFS investigation concluded that all of those allegations were unsubstantiated, finding there was either no evidence or not enough evidence to support any of the claims.

More complaints were lodged against the program in 2014 and 2018, and the reports show that Trinity Teen Solutions was exonerated in those DFS investigations as well.

In 2016, Trinity Teen Solutions sued three former patients for defamation for various online posts; the Woodwards alleged that the three women — Florida residents Claire Malone Matson and Mollie Lynch and Chanel Plander of California — had knowingly made “wildly false statements” about the center in an effort to damage it. The lawsuit ended with a confidential settlement, Woodward said, and the reviews and postings in question from the women appear to have been removed from the web.

In late February through March of 2020, more than a dozen women contacted the Park County Sheriff’s Office to report being abused at Trinity Teen Solutions. The allegations — from 15 former patients of the program — dated as far back as 2007 to as recently as 2015. Records show that the Wyoming Department of Family Services, which licenses the program, had previously received complaints.

In Novemebr of 2020, a class-action lawsuit with roughly 25 members and hundreds more eligible was filed, seeking millions of dollars in retribution from Trinity Teen Solutions and Triangle Cross Boys Ranch on charges of human trafficking and abuse. Triangle Cross ranch is another program in Wyoming which is owned by Angela Woodward’s father. The main allegation in the complaint involves the claim the defendants profited from services performed through the unpaid labor and abusive conditions forced upon internees at both Trinity Teen and Triangle Cross. The nature of this alleged abusive treatment included forced silence for weeks at a time; unsafe working conditions; heavily restricted bathroom access; food and sleep deprivation; unqualified therapists; and unheated living quarters. Many alleged experiences were common to all of the plaintiffs in the suit:

Jail-style strip searches upon arrival.
Staff read all incoming and outgoing mail. Staff forced residents to re-write any critical comments about the facilities.
If a telephone conversation was permitted, a staff member observed the communication and could stop it at any time.
They were forced to write positive testimonials for use in advertising before being released.
They were subjected to physical, verbal, psychological and emotional abuse.
They were threatened with further confinement and forced labor unless they completed all chores and ranch duties.
They routinely would have a device placed on their foot or leg to hinder their possibility of escape.
They were forced to work at local churches and facilities owned by the Diocese of Cheyenne and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, nearby ranches, and the monastery of the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel who make “Mystic Monk Coffee.”

According to the human-rights organization HEAL, Trinity Teen Solutions is a Confirmedly Abusive program. As per HEAL’s definition, “a program categorized as “Confirmedly Abusive” matches multiple warning signs of an abusive facility, has been sued or faced official complaints, and/or HEAL has received two or more substantiated reports of fraud and abuse regarding the facility.”

Survivor/Parent Testimonials

September 2020: (SURVIVOR) “All the good reviews on here are from people who didn’t actually attend, or seem fake. I was at this place for 15 months. I got frostbite, wasn’t allowed to make friends, wasn’t allowed to speak for many months, and was forced to sit in a corner and stare at a wall for another month. Does that sound helpful to you? I am wary of even writing this review because the Woodward’s have been known to sue other girls for leaving reviews. They also coerce parents and girls into writing positive reviews which I believe is illegal. Absolutely despicable. I can say this place gave me severe PTSD and harmed me in so many ways. It’s been ten years and I still relive the pain every day. I beg you- look elsewhere.” – Kelsie (Google Reviews)

September 2020: (SURVIVOR) “The fact that this place is still somehow in operation is bewildering to me. They fooled my parents into thinking I was being help and to this day it is something we all look back on as a traumatic “learning” experience. Yes, I was a troubled teen. I needed help. This place caused trauma, sent me into a suicidal mindset that I’d never experienced before, and it still makes me sick to my stomach every time I have a flashback. I would try to tell my parents what was happening and it would be disregarded as manipulative by the staff. I did end up getting the help I needed, but I also ended up having to get help to repair the damage this hell hole left me with. Do not send your daughters here. Please. There are places out there that can and will help. This is not the place.” – Shelby (Google Reviews)

7/11/2020: (SURVIVOR) Link to ‘Project 24: Exposing The Troubled Teen Industry’

2020: (SURVIVOR) “After years of not being in this horrid place, I still think about it on a daily basis. They had me clean profusely and I had to sleep under supervision privacy of showering was invaded as well. We had to get to a certain level before we could shave our legs and other grooming procedures. Trauma at its worst, I had made a mistake with the food and had to run up the side of a mountain up and down in less than a minute. Please shut this place down I feel bad for any young lady that has been sent here and bad for the parents that waste their money.” – Maddison (Google Reviews)

2019: (SURVIVOR) “My name is Kaylee Barth and I have been out of trinity for almost 5 years now and if I was able I would rate that place a zero because all of the trauma that I was put through along with the batch of girls that was there. The girls & I are all in communication till this day and the amount of PTSD that has come along with their program has given not only me issues but a lot of the other girls. Those people don’t help you at all. For one the online schooling that we are forced to take doesn’t count for any of our high school credits, the amount of physical labor as well as the stages we go through or inhumane. My honest opinion that place needs to be shut down and those people given the proper punishment. because none of us deserved to be treated the way we were and that’s just straight facts.” – Kaylee (Google Reviews)

2016: (SURVIVOR) “None of my real problems were addressed. I was told I do not have a disorder. Turns out I have autism, and have real problems communicating with other people. I was there for almost two years and did not learn how to communicate better with other people. The reasons I was sent there boiled down to breakdowns in communication with my family. I endured food deprivation, and sleep deprivation. I suffered mental and emotional abuse. Usually, I had no idea why we were in trouble if the entire group was punished for something. IF you want to help your child, I recommend finding a short-term facility or placing them in the juvenile justice system. Studies show no difference in outcomes between patients of long-term treatment facilities and those placed in the justice system. At least in the justice system, facilities have to follow basic human rights such as regular sleep hours and meals. Also, there is a definite sentence. A person’s behavior while inside determines if their stay will be shorter or longer. If a person wishes to be out sooner, they will change their behavior. Also, they will not be forced to sleep on a floor, have humiliating interventions (such as carrying around a rock-filled backpack) or be told “we can keep you here as long as we need to.” I was also held against my will for over a year after I turned 18. I was told I couldn’t leave. The facility told my parents I had chosen to stay. I did not. At no time was I shown paperwork, such as a court order, that stated the facility could hold me against my will. Years later, I am still in therapy for PTSD due to when I went through there, and am learning how to deal with life and other humans despite my disability. Do not give this place your business. Also, notice how so many of the positive reviews are from parents? And what other former “clients” have to say about the place?” – Michelle (Google Reviews)

2016: (SURVIVOR) “Mental, emotional, and even physical abuse. If your a parent looking to send your daughter to trinity I strongly suggest you ask to speak to a girl that has been out a year or longer. I say a year or longer because it takes time for the immense amount of brainwashing to wear off. I was told I would get a head of school, when in fact I became a year behind. I honestly don’t know of any girl that didn’t get behind. This is because we are there to take care of the woodwards ranch in fact 90% of the time that is what your daughter will be doing. I grew up with ranchers and do believe it builds character and is good although in this setting they are essential using girls. I mean the Woodwards were extremely in debt before they started this. Angie new from her parents that mount Carmel (the boys version) was very profitable and that’s how she pulled herself out of the hole her family was in. With the money you’ll pay for your daughter to be there they buy toys boats, dirt bikes, four wheelers ect… But they aren’t for the trinity girls in fact the girls are punished for even touching the toys that are in the barn where we get the feed for the animals. The working conditions are harsh and Mulitple girls have gotten frostbite, and hypothermia. I personally had health issues regarding hygiene because at one time we went 3 weeks without showers not only is that not healthy it’s humiliating. When I first left trinity I had nothing but good things to say about 4 months later it all changed and I was 3x worse and I ended up attending wyoming girls school, and ST. Joseph’s children’s home. Both whom I am in contact with and consider me a success if I had not been to these two places I would not know how ineffective or wrong trinity is. I am not an anger teenager seeking revenge I am a happy healthy adult who was lucky enough to recieve the help I need from ST. Joes and the Wyoming girls school, Trinity did not try to find the root issue Or help with my problems I got what a hr or less of counseling every other week? The rest was reading self help books or ranch work. I come from an extremely religious family and that’s how they were manipulated into keeping me there as long as they did, they used religion as a manipulation tactic to make my parents think it was a good place. It’s been about 7 years now and both my parents have broken down on Mulitple occassions apologizing for sending me trinity and not seeing the signs sooner. Lucky for me I was only there for 7 months and my father figured out between the letter editing, and taking phone calls away when I wasn’t doing well that this place did have good Catholic doctrine and the work was beneficial but it was not a thearaputic environment and was for financial gain and free labor. I suffered extreme anexity attacks because of Trinity. If your at wits end with your daughter this is not the answer unless you want to feel guilty the rest of your life. I forgive my parents and we have a great relationship now I don’t blame them at all but I know they still carry the guilt.” – Mary (Google Reviews)