Troubled Teen Industry Exploits Adopted Kids

0:00On April 28th, an Associated Press investigation exposes how the troubled teen industry targets adopted kids who make up 25 to 40 percent of residents despite being just 2 percent of U.S. children. These four-profit centers charge up to $20,000 a month promising to fix reactive attachment disorder or rad with tough love tactics. But experts say most teens don't have rad. It's a rare diagnosis for kids under five and the so-called treatments just for traumatize them. Facilities like those run by family help and wellness use restraints, strip searches, and manual labor as punishment, turning dorms into wood. Survivors call prisons without trials. Adopted kids arrive for behavioral issues tied to trauma or identity struggles, believe more broken with reports of violence, self-harm, and sexual. Abuse rampant inside. Survivors like 13-year-old Kate, recount being pinned face-down for panicking over a nightlight, screaming they couldn't breathe, while staff, yelled about control.

1:02Parents, desperate for help, send kids away based on corrupted diagnoses, only to find facilities limit contact and prioritize obedience over real therapy. Recent deaths highlight the dangers. Two girls died by suicide at Asheville Academy, a 12-year-old boy suffocated at Trail's Carolina, both forcing, closures. Law suits alleged grooming, rape, and dehumanizing rules at places like Winter Academy, while a 17-year-old adoptee hanged himself at discovery. Ranch after ignored suicide warnings, leading to fines but quick re-opening. Private equity fuels this profit machine, with minimal oversight letting understaff centers reopen under new names amid congressional probes calling. Them warehouses of neglect. As scrutiny grows, families and experts push for real regulations to protect these vulnerable youth from a system that profits off their pain. That's your update from Global News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey, with The Story.