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Takeaways From Inside a Teen Treatment Center for Adoptees, Funded by Taxpayers: Runaways, Assaults
The private-equity-backed center charged up to $20,000 a month while state agencies spent more than $35 million sending children there, AP found.
An Associated Press investigation reveals that Calo Programs, a Missouri-based treatment center, operates with minimal oversight despite receiving millions in taxpayer funding and facing allegations of abuse and neglect.
Acquired by private equity firm Embark Behavioral Health around 2011, the facility charges up to $20,000 monthly, with Illinois agencies spending more than $35 million on placements over the last decade.
State inspection teams described a training session as 'only a drum circle,' while former staff reported minimal training and the Camden County Sheriff documented recurring runaways, assaults, and vandalism.
Sheriff Chris Edgar noted that deputies frequently investigate runaways and assaults, while state investigators reported being denied access to records, characterizing the response as 'an effort to stonewall.'
Part of the loosely regulated 'troubled teen industry,' Calo claims to serve the hardest-to-treat cases, though critics argue the business model prioritizes revenue over care despite limited oversight and few consequences for negligence.