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World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
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World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS or WWASP) is an organization based in Utah, in the United States. WWASPS, founded by Robert Lichfield and incorporated in 1998, stated that it was an umbrella organization of the troubled teen industry. Many outside observers believe,[which?] however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions were actually owned through limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street addresses used by WWASPS, its principal officials or their close relatives.
WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing; and Premier Educational Systems, LLC (also called Premier Educational Seminars), which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have helped over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior.
Some participants and parents gave positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs, resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006. WWASPS officials report that the organization is no longer in business, and the facilities originally under it no longer associate with the name, but because of ongoing litigation, it has not been dissolved.
WWASPS operated, or was associated with, several facilities in the United States and in other countries. In 2003, there were 2,300 students enrolled in its facilities and programs. At one time, WWASPS facilities had tuition income of more than $90 million per year (equivalent to $130 million in 2024).
In July 2007, World Wide's president, Ken Kay, told the Salt Lake Tribune that only two schools remained in the WWASPS network, and that one, Majestic Ranch Academy in Utah, was likely to sever its ties with the organization. In a December 2010 newspaper article, Kay was reported to have said that the organization was no longer in business, but because of ongoing litigation, it had not been dissolved.
Schools and programs currently or formerly associated with the organization include the following:
Some former WWASP personnel have gone on to establish or work at other similar institutions:
In 2005, Robert Lichfield and the Utah-based holding company, Golden Pond Investments Ltd., made an offer to buy the campus of the Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, to open a new school for adolescents needing help with discipline, responsibility and leadership skills. It was announced that the school would be directed by former WWASP staff member Randall Hinton and his brother Russell Hinton. The Hintons told Boonville officials that the proposed school would not be a part of WWASP. The Boonville City Council rejected the proposal.
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World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS or WWASP) is an organization based in Utah, in the United States. WWASPS, founded by Robert Lichfield and incorporated in 1998, stated that it was an umbrella organization of the troubled teen industry. Many outside observers believe,[which?] however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions were actually owned through limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street addresses used by WWASPS, its principal officials or their close relatives.
WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing; and Premier Educational Systems, LLC (also called Premier Educational Seminars), which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have helped over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior.
Some participants and parents gave positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs, resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006. WWASPS officials report that the organization is no longer in business, and the facilities originally under it no longer associate with the name, but because of ongoing litigation, it has not been dissolved.
WWASPS operated, or was associated with, several facilities in the United States and in other countries. In 2003, there were 2,300 students enrolled in its facilities and programs. At one time, WWASPS facilities had tuition income of more than $90 million per year (equivalent to $130 million in 2024).
In July 2007, World Wide's president, Ken Kay, told the Salt Lake Tribune that only two schools remained in the WWASPS network, and that one, Majestic Ranch Academy in Utah, was likely to sever its ties with the organization. In a December 2010 newspaper article, Kay was reported to have said that the organization was no longer in business, but because of ongoing litigation, it had not been dissolved.
Schools and programs currently or formerly associated with the organization include the following:
Some former WWASP personnel have gone on to establish or work at other similar institutions:
In 2005, Robert Lichfield and the Utah-based holding company, Golden Pond Investments Ltd., made an offer to buy the campus of the Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, to open a new school for adolescents needing help with discipline, responsibility and leadership skills. It was announced that the school would be directed by former WWASP staff member Randall Hinton and his brother Russell Hinton. The Hintons told Boonville officials that the proposed school would not be a part of WWASP. The Boonville City Council rejected the proposal.