{"id":9704,"date":"2022-03-11T16:49:57","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9704"},"modified":"2022-03-11T16:49:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:49:57","slug":"elevations-rtc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/elevations-rtc\/","title":{"rendered":"Elevations RTC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elevations RTC<\/b> (2014-present) Syracuse, UT<\/span><\/h1>\n

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

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

Elevation RTC is a <\/span>Family Help & Wellness<\/span><\/a> behavior-modification program opened in 2014. It is marketed as a co-ed Residential Treatment Center for teenagers aged 13-17.6 (according to NATSAP) who are “struggling with a wide range of issues, whether it be mental, behavioral or academic issues.” The program has a maximum enrollment of between 50-60 teens, and the average length of stay is reported to be between 8 and 10 months, although it may be substantially longer if the teenager is deemed resistant. The tuition is reported to be as much as $16,000 per month, or $192,000 per year. Elevations reports that it enrolls all genders, including non-binary teenagers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program is located at <\/span>2650 W 2700 S, Syracuse, UT 84075<\/span><\/a>, which is the former location of <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a>, a confirmedly abusive behavior-modification program owned by <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a>. It is located right next door to another <\/span>Family Help & Wellness<\/span><\/a> program, <\/span>Viewpoint Center<\/span><\/a>, which was originally the <\/span>Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a> when it was owned by <\/span>Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elevations RTC is the re-brand of Island View RTC. They are the exact same program operating under different names.<\/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. Beisdes 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

Judi Jacques<\/b> is the current Executive Director of Elevations RTC. She previously worked at <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a> for nearly 20 years, filling various roles such as the Academic Director and the Assistant Executive Director.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jennifer Wilde<\/b> is the current Executive Clinical Director os Elevations RTC. She began working at <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a> in 1999, before leaving to work at <\/span>Second Nature Wilderness<\/span><\/a>. She has also worked as the Clinical Director at <\/span>Willow Creek School<\/span><\/a>. She returned to Island View in 2012 as the Clinical Director.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan Kilpatrick<\/b> is the current Clinical Director of Elevations RTC. He previously worked as a Therpist at <\/span>Provo Canyon School<\/span><\/a>, which is information that was <\/span>published on Elevation’s website<\/span><\/a>. However, following the release of Paris Hilton’s <\/span>documentary<\/span><\/a> and the negative press associated with Provo Canyon School, they have <\/span>removed this connection<\/span><\/a> from Kilpatrick’s bio.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kirk Simon<\/b> works as a Psychiatrist at Elevations. He has also worked as the Co-Medical Director of Elevations when it first opened. He has worked at <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a> since 2009, where he served as Medical Director, and at the <\/span>Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment<\/span><\/a> as a Psychiatrist. He currently works as the Psychiatrist at <\/span>Solstice RTC<\/span><\/a> in Utah, which is a program founded by former Island View staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

It has been reported that immediately following Island View’s “closure” and re-branding as Elevations, 39 of the 48 employees listed on Elevations\u2019 website had previously worked for Island View.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

Elevations RTC encourages 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, Elevations uses a level-system consisting of 5 levels. These levels are reported to be the exact same as those used at <\/span>Island View RTC<\/span><\/a>. These levels are:<\/span><\/p>\n