{"id":9686,"date":"2022-03-11T16:36:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9686"},"modified":"2022-03-12T23:34:30","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T07:34:30","slug":"island-view-rtc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/island-view-rtc\/","title":{"rendered":"Island View RTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Island View RTC<\/b> (1994-2014) Syracuse, UT<\/span><\/h1>\n

Residential Treatment Center<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

Island View RTC was an <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> behavior-modification program which opened in 1994. It was marketed as a Residential Treatment Center for teenagers aged (13-17) with a history of one or more of the following: “emotional and behavioral challenges, clinical depression, attention challenges, substance abuse\/dependency, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality features, bipolar symptoms, and other associated psycho-behavioral concerns.” The average length of stay was reported to be between 7 and 12 months, but it was usually much longer. Island View had a maximum enrollment of 115 teenagers, and the tuition was at least $10,000 per month. Island View was a member of <\/span>NATSAP<\/span><\/a> since 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program was located at <\/span>2650 West 2700 South Syracuse , Davis County , Utah 84075<\/span><\/a>, which is the current location of “<\/span>Elevations RTC<\/span><\/a>“, which is in actuality the rebrand of Island View. It was located right next door to the <\/span>Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a>, which has since also been rebranded as <\/span>Viewpoint Center<\/span><\/a> under <\/span>Family Help & Wellness<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Island View RTC is still currently operating under the name <\/b>Elevations RTC<\/b><\/a>.<\/b> In 2014, Aspen Education Group sold Island View to <\/span>Family Help & Wellness<\/span><\/a> following several lawsuits filed against IV alleging various claims of abuse and neglect. With this, Island view was “closed”, which in reality meant that its name was changed to Elevations and it was immediately reopened. However, it is important to note that this change in ownership is entirely superficial, as Family Help & Wellness is a company created by former employees and executives of Aspen Education Group in order to rebrand their more notorious programs. In fact, the Founder and CEO of Family Help & Wellness, Tim Dupell, formerly worked as the CFO and Vice President of Aspen Education Group. Besides the name, nothing else about the program’s actual structure was changed in the slightest. In fact, 39 of the 48 employees listed on Elevations\u2019 website had previously worked for Island View.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Jared Balmer<\/b> is one of the founders of Island View, and worked there as the Executive Director. He began his career by co-founding the <\/span>Rivendell Psychiatric Hospital<\/span><\/a>, which was an extremely abusive facility that is known to have practiced extreme forms of conversion therapy. He later helped open several other <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> programs, including the <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Aspen Institute For Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a>, which was a branch of Island View. In 2006, he was the recipient of the <\/span>NATSAP<\/span><\/a> Leadership Award. He is currently the Executive Director of <\/span>WayPoint Academy<\/span><\/a>, which he helped found in 2013 with Mike Bulloch, who is involved with various <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> programs including the <\/span>Aspen Institute For Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Kimball DeLaMare<\/b> is one of the founders of Island View. He was the previous director of the <\/span>KIDS of Greater Salt Lake<\/span><\/a> program, which was a reportedly abusive drug treatment program and spin-off of <\/span>Straight, Inc.<\/span><\/a>, that was under investigation in 1989 for allegations of false imprisonment, unlawful detention and assault. Like Jared Balmer, DeLaMare also helped co-found 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. Additional Information about Utah KIDS: <\/span>Tough Treatment For Problem Juveniles Under Investigation<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>KIDS PROGRAM FACES NEW CHARGES IN UTAH<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Lorin Broadbent<\/b> is one of the founders of Island View. He was also involved in founding the <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a>, another <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> program.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. Dean Belnap<\/b> is one of the founder of Island View. He has also worked as a Psychiatrist at <\/span>Passaged to Recovery<\/span><\/a>, another <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a> program in Loa, UT.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Rick Jackson<\/b> previously worked as the Medical Director of Island View. He later worked as the Medical Director of <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a>, which is a program founded by various former Island View staff. He then went on to work as the Medical Director of <\/span>Eva Carlston Academy<\/span><\/a>.He is the husband of Gay Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Gay Jackson<\/b> worked as the Associate Executive Director of Island View. She is the wife of Rick Jackson.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Steven (Steve) Lancaster<\/b> worked at Island View as the Director of the Therpeutic Milieu. He is reported by survivors to have groomed and later <\/span>married<\/span><\/i> a former resident at Island View.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Daniel (Dan) Stuart<\/b> worked as the Director of Therapy Services at Island View. He left Island View in 2008 in order to co-found <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a> only 4 miles down the same road from Island View. He has worked at Solstice in various roles, including as a Therapist and the Executive Director. He stopped working at Solstice around 2016, reportedly due to sexual harassment allegations made against him by another staff member at Solstice.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Parker Keoni Anderson<\/b> (he goes by “Keoni”) worked as a CD Counsellor at Island View. He left Island View in 2008 in order to co-found <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a> only 4 miles down the same road from Island View. Since its opening, Keoni has worked at Solstice as the Co-Owner\/Co-Founder, Substance Abuse Counsellor, and Program Director. He currently works as the Executive Director of Solstice.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Blake Taylor<\/b> began working at Island View as a Therapist in 1999. He became Island View’s Clinical Director around 2009. He left Island View around 2010 to work as a Therapist at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a>, which is a program founded by various former Island View staff. Blake currently still works as a Therapist at Solstice.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Jeff Lavallee<\/b> worked at Island View as a Therapist. He left Island View in 2012 to work as a Therapist at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a>, which is a program founded by various former Island View staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Kirk Simon<\/b> worked at Island View RTC as the Medical Director. He also worked as a Psychiatrist at the <\/span>Aspen Institute For Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a>. He currently works as the Psychiatrist at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a>, which is a program founded by various former Island View staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Steven Pope<\/b> worked as the Purple Team Director. He later left Island View to work at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a> as a Maintenance worker.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Guy Andersen<\/b> worked as a Science Teacher at Island View. He left in 2008 to work at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a> as the Academic Director.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Program Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n

      Island View RTC encouraged the use of teen “transport” services to escort the teenagers to the program. This practice is extremely controversial and has been known to cause PTSD in survivors of this practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Like other behavior-modification programs, Island View used a level-system consisting of 5 levels. These levels were:<\/span><\/p>\n