{"id":9682,"date":"2022-03-11T16:35:01","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9682"},"modified":"2022-03-12T23:34:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T07:34:50","slug":"kids-centers-of-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/kids-centers-of-america\/","title":{"rendered":"KIDS Centers of America"},"content":{"rendered":"

KIDS Centers of America<\/b> (1984-1990)<\/span><\/h1>\n

History\/Background Information<\/b><\/h2>\n

KIDS Centers of America were a chain of confirmedly abusive drug treatment centers founded by anthropologist Miller Newton, who was the former National Clinical Director for <\/span>Straight Inc.<\/span><\/a>, and whose son had previously been enrolled in Straight. He left Florida in 1982 amidst a flurry of criminal and civil allegations for abusing teenagers at Straight Inc. He moved to New Jersey and setup his own Straight-spinoff program. Newton originally planned to have KIDS Centers of America supervise a national chain of 10 to 25 local organizations. He went on to open four affiliated KIDS centers; KIDS of Bergan County (New Jersey), KIDS of El Paso (Texas), KIDS of Southern California, and KIDS of Greater Salt Lake (Utah). A fifth, KIDS of the Canadian West, was also opened in Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n

KIDS Center of America enrolled teenagers and young adults between the ages of 12 and 24. Miller Newton is reported to have employed many graduates and staff members of <\/span>The Seed<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Straight Inc.<\/span><\/a> at KIDS. The program used at KIDS Centers was nearly identical to that used by Straight Inc., even down to the specific terminology used.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a more in-depth history of KIDS Centers of America, survivors of the programs have created a timeline of KIDS’ existence which can be viewed <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Founders and Notable Figures<\/b><\/h2>\n

Dr. Virgil Miller Newton<\/b> was the Founder of the KIDS Centers of America. He resigned from his position as Clinical Director of Straight in 1983. He called himself Dr. Miller Newton but the “doctor” part is still up for debate. He had a degree in Anthropology and later received another degree in Psychology from an alternative school in Boston without attending any classes. He was asked to resign from Straight amid allegations of abuse and insurance fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Kimball DeLaMare<\/b> was the Director of KIDS of Greater Salt Lake. He had previously worked for about 6 months at the KIDS of Bergen County program prior to working at KIDS in Utah. After KIDS in Utah was closed, he went on to help co-found the notoriously abusive <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a>, an <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> program. DeLaMare also helped co-found two other AEG programs, the <\/span>Aspen Institute For Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a>. In 2004, he was the recipient of the <\/span>NATSAP<\/span><\/a> Leadership Award.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Locations<\/b><\/h2>\n

    KIDS of Bergen County:<\/b> (1984-1998)<\/span><\/h3>\n