WASHINGTON - Government investigators say parents have no real way to separate the good wilderness therapy programs from bad ones and choosing the wrong one could result in their child's death.
"For parents looking today, it is buyer beware," said Greg Kutz, an investigator with the Government Accountability Office, who presented a report Wednesday detailing widespread abuses in these outdoor programs.
No organization keeps track of abuse accusations within outdoor therapy groups. Some states have stringent regulations, some have none.
And when a program is shut down in one state, little stops the owner from starting another one elsewhere.
"As things stand right now, you have absolutely no assurance that [your child] will be taken care of," Cynthia Clark Harvey told House members during a hearing Wednesday. Her daughter Erica died of dehydration in 2002 while participating in an Oregon program.
One of the few places parents turn - the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, known as NATSAP - was roundly criticized by members of Congress.
NATSAP is a trade association meant to improve the quality of these outdoor programs.
Wilderness groups use the NATSAP label to gain credibility, but the association does not investigate any allegations of wrongdoing and rarely has punished any of its members.
Allison Pinto, a child psychologist who specializes in outdoor therapy programs, said NATSAP has repeatedly defended the programs against abuse allegations and at one point dismissed them as "the noisy complaints of a few individuals."
At one point, a frustrated Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., asked a NATSAP representative: "What the hell do you do?"
NATSAP Executive Director Jan Moss admitted that her organization hasn't always made the right decision.
She promised to review the GAO report and take action against the three to five programs that remain members of her organization.
She also promised that the 180-member programs will be certified to perform mental health counseling by the beginning of 2009.
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