Girls' home stays open despite rape allegations

Residential "treatment" facilities for young people are a racket, and I'm proud to say I was involved in getting a chain of phony "rehabs" shut down a few years ago. The only reason they stay in business is the same reason the Republican Party does: They play on fear, they've got right-wing supporters propping them up, and they appeal to people with authoritarian impulses.

Integrity House is a "treatment" center for girls in Cedar City, Utah. Recently, former Integrity House director Daniel Taylor was arrested on a series of charges. Police say the 42-year-old Taylor - whose brother owns Integrity House - molested a 13-year-old girl while transporting her to the facility last month. The statement also says Taylor raped a 17-year-old girl 3 times in February. It also says a 12-year-old girl fought off a sexual assault by Taylor during a field trip he organized that month.

But Utah regulators announced yesterday they were allowing the home to stay open despite the charges. That figures. Utah has probably the sickest state government in America. That also contributes to why Utah has an unusual glut of youth confinement facilities.

Integrity House says they will be changing ownership as a result of the allegations against Daniel Taylor. But when you're dealing with residential programs, that could be just legal trickery. Programs like this often appear to change ownership, but usually it's just the same people hiding under a different corporate name.

There should be a nationwide ban on residential "treatment" centers for kids. Since some facilities locate in foreign countries to evade American laws, it should also be illegal to ship kids to these foreign programs. This is nothing less than human trafficking.

(Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/dfd8c840339e40f59e14be71092e9e6b/UT--Youth-Home-Director-Charged)