Episode 12: The Big Question

If not the Troubled Teen Industry, then what else? Where can families, caregivers, schools, the justice system, and the courts look for effective support for struggling teens? Learn what survivors, activists, and lawmakers see in the future for the TTI, and what steps must be taken to change our understanding of youth mental health.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast. To get early access to episodes, as well as bonus episodes and behind the scenes content, head to patreon.com/goonedpodcast. 

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

Unsilenced

A National Look at the Use of Congregate Care in Child Welfare | The Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare: HHS Should Facilitate Information Sharing Between States to Help Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Residential Facilities | U.S. GAO

Stop Institutional Child Abuse

NAA Denial of License Renewal Diamond Ranch Academy July 2023

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 11: Lipstick on a Pig

It all started with Paris Hilton: since 2020, legislation passed to regulate and oversee the Troubled Teen Industry has outpaced the previous 50 years combined.  Hear aboutthe past, present, and future of regulation, activism, and legislation around the TTI, efforts to abolish the industry, and the unexpected influence of America’s favorite socialite. 

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast. To get early access to episodes, as well as bonus episodes and behind the scenes content, head to patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

Trapped in Treatment Podcast (available on all platforms)

Child Welfare: HHS Should Facilitate Information Sharing Between States to Help Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Residential Facilities

The Watchdog Report

Sen. Brad Molnar: Paris Hilton 1, commonsense 0

Paris Hilton On Hand As Gov. Signs Bill Regulating Youth Facilities

Montana HB 218 

Montana SB 267

Utah SB 127

Missouri HB 557

Missouri HB 560

Oregon SB 749

Oregon SB 710

SICAA

Unsilenced

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 10: Afterwards

Many survivors can remember their very first day out – often, it’s their 18th birthday, a much-anticipated day when, suddenly, they are free. But where do you go from there? Hear from survivors young and old about the lasting effects of the TTI, from the day they got out to the trauma that endures decades later. 

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast. To get early access to episodes, as well as bonus episodes and behind the scenes content, head to patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

Why I Kidnapped My Daughter (Archived)

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 9: Pray the Gay Away

Conversion therapy has been disavowed by nearly every major medical organization in the United States, but survivors and staff say it is still a prevalent practice in the Troubled Teen Industry. Hear from LGBTQ+ survivors about conversion therapy, forcible detransition of transgender youth, homophobia, and transphobia in the TTI.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast. To see the academic director’s posts mentioned in this episode, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast. Remember to rate, review, and follow Gooned wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out goonedpodcast.com for more information.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth - Williams Institute

The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects: An Oral History - Jamie Mater

Supreme Court rejects an appeal over bans on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children 

Conversion Therapy - LGBT Movement Advancement Project

New SAMHSA Report Underscores the Harms of Conversion Therapy & Importance of Affirmation for LGBTQ Young People’s Mental Health | The Trevor Project

New SAMHSA Report Underscores the Harms of Conversion Therapy & Importance of Affirmation for LGBTQ Young People’s Mental Health | The Trevor Project

Homosexuality and Sexual Orientation Disturbance: Proposed Change in DSM-II

"The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: a reformulation of the issues"

Youth treatment center employee fired for 'offensive' posts - FOX 13 News Utah

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 8: The System Gone Mad

Parents aren’t the only ones who can send kids away. Learn about the government’s role in putting juvenile offenders, foster youth, and other wards of the state into the TTI, and how lackluster regulation can make starting a TTI facility all too easy.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast">goonedpodcast. For bonus and behind-the-scenes content and early access to episodes, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast">Patreon.com/goonedpodcast. Remember to rate, review, and follow Gooned wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com for more information.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

Considering Licensing an Addiction Treatment Center in Utah? You’re in for a Treat. ">Considering Licensing an Addiction Treatment Center in Utah? You’re in for a Treat. 

Trapped in Treatment Podcast">Trapped in Treatment Podcast

A National Look at the Use of Congregate Care in Child Welfare">A National Look at the Use of Congregate Care in Child Welfare

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges">National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

Making appropriate parenting arrangements in family violence cases: Applying the literature to identify promising practices">Making appropriate parenting arrangements in family violence cases: Applying the literature to identify promising practices

The Misuse of Parental Alienation in Family Court Proceedings with Allegations of Intimate Partner Violence ">The Misuse of Parental Alienation in Family Court Proceedings with Allegations of Intimate Partner Violence 

The Misuse of Parental Alienation in Family Court Proceedings with Allegations of Intimate Partner Violence">The Misuse of Parental Alienation in Family Court Proceedings with Allegations of Intimate Partner Violence, Part 2

Children and Domestic Homicide: Understanding the Risks">Children and Domestic Homicide: Understanding the Risks

West Ridge Academy - Utah Boys Ranch">West Ridge Academy - Utah Boys Ranch

Utah Code Title 26 - Utah Health Code Chapter 23 - Enforcement Provisions and Penalties Section 10">Utah Code Title 26 - Utah Health Code Chapter 23 - Enforcement Provisions and Penalties Section 10

Religious Exemption at some Florida Children's Homes shields prying eyes">Religious Exemption at some Florida Children's Homes shields prying eyes

Religious Exemption Laws">Religious Exemption Laws

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 7: NATSAP

Emma goes undercover at a conference for members of NATSAP, the preeminent trade organization for troubled teen industry programs and directors, to discover the culture of those at the head of the machine.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast.To see the notes and materials from the NATSAP conference and read the study that was presented, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast. Remember to rate, review, and follow Gooned wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out goonedpodcast.com for more information.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects - An Oral History, Jamie Mater

Selected Cases of Death, Abuse, and Deceptive Marketing, Statement of Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director Forensic Audits and Special Investigations

Cases Of Child Neglect And Abuse At Private Residential Treatment Facilities, 2007

Salem couple sues school over son's suicide

“Jump and don’t look back”—three-story suicide is latest in Utah’s troubled teen industry

Leaked Audio Brings More Attention To Utah’s ’Troubled Teen Industry'

NATSAP and the TTI - Unsilenced

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 6: Money Talks

The TTI is a multi-billion-dollar industry whose funding is nearly untraceable by design. Tracking where this money comes from and whose pockets it lines is crucial to understand how an industry built around victimizing the vulnerable has continued to thrive for so long.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast">goonedpodcast. For exclusive bonus episodes, behind the scenes content, and further reading, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast">Patreon.com/goonedpodcast. Remember to rate, review, and follow Gooned wherever you listen to podcasts, and check out goonedpodcast.com for more information.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

A Profitable 'Death Trap' - Sequel youth facilities raked in millions while accused of abusing children - NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/profitable-death-trap-sequel-youth-facilities-raked-millions-while-accused-n1251319">https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/profitable-death-trap-sequel-youth-facilities-raked-millions-while-accused-n1251319

Social Security Act §1905  https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title19/1905.htm">https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title19/1905.htm

2022 GAO Report https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104670">https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-104670

Trapped in Treatment S1E4 https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PhYwQXafHNEUbCN4mNCnq?si=XyJuInWwRLeJrDPSQVE_JQ">https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PhYwQXafHNEUbCN4mNCnq?si=XyJuInWwRLeJrDPSQVE_JQ

Youth were abused here - APM Reports https://www.apmreports.org/story/2020/09/28/for-profit-sequel-facilities-children-abused">https://www.apmreports.org/story/2020/09/28/for-profit-sequel-facilities-children-abused

Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry - American Bar https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/practice/2021/5-facts-about-the-troubled-teen-industry/#:~:text=Descriptions%20of%20experiences%20in%20the,needs%20like%20food%20and%20water">https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/practice/2021/5-facts-about-the-troubled-teen-industry/#:~:text=Descriptions%20of%20experiences%20in%20the,needs%20like%20food%20and%20water.

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 5: Straight, Inc.

Straight, Incorporated was one of the earliest troubled teen industry programs to take hold in the United States, garnering support from the media and the likes of Nancy Reagan and Princess Diana. Hear from a survivor of Straight, Inc. about the program that became a blueprint for the industry’s current practices.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast">goonedpodcast. For more information about Straight, Incorporated, to listen to testimonies, and to read some of the reports and news articles, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast">Patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. 

Sources and Further Reading

1978 Task Force Investigation of Straight Inc.  

1983 Report on Class Action Suit Against Straight, Inc.  

Weaver v. Straight, Inc.  

Straight, Inc. Letters written to Nancy Reagan  

1978 Project Straight Inc. Investigation  

Florida Department of Administration 1978 Fiscal Monitoring Abstract Straight Inc.  

Research for the Florida Department of Administration’s 1978 Fiscal Monitoring Abstract Straight Inc.  

Research for the Florida Department of Administration 1978 Fiscal Monitoring Abstract Straight Inc., part 2  

An Examination of Straight Incorporated, by Andrew & Barbara Malcolm  

Straight, Inc. Brimmer Inquiry  

Letter to CBS President Regarding “60 Minutes” reporting on Straight

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 4: Drinking the Kool-Aid

So, what’s the pitch? Despite growing public scrutiny towards the troubled teen industry, tens of thousands of parents and caregivers still send their children away every year. Hear from Sharon, who sent her son into a TTI program, and listen in as the host contacts admissions directors posing as a curious parent.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast">goonedpodcast. To hear the full call between Nancy and the program representative, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast">Patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. Marlee Porter’s podcast Broken Promises is available wherever you get your podcasts, and at brokenpromises.com">brokenpromises.com.

Sources and Further Reading

KC’s article, “My Time Spent in the Troubled Teen Industry”  

About IECA  

IECA Principles of Good Practice

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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Episode 3: Level Zero

Troubled Teen Industry programs use a system of points and levels that award or revoke basic needs based on compliance and submission. Necessities like food, water, and social interaction are privileges that can be taken away at any time, and constant surveillance means nothing goes unseen. Inside a TTI facility, you live and die by your level.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast. To see program materials and learn more about daily life in a TTI program, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. Marlee Porter’s podcast Broken Promises is available wherever you get your podcasts, and at brokenpromisespodcast.com.

Sources and Further Reading

 Wilderness Sample Schedule  

The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects: An Oral History , Jamie Mater

Beyond Point and Level Systems: Moving Toward Child-Centered Programming  

Search programs by state, including whether they have a levels/points system and if that system is tied to privileges, on the Unsilened Program Archive

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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