Several recent articles
connect Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to abuse in the troubled
teen industry.
Art Levine’s
The Dark Side of a Bain Success details how neglect at Bain controlled-for-profit
teen residential programs have resulted in patient abuse, emotional trauma, and
even death.
Susie Madrak’s Child Sexual Abuse in the World of Romney's Top LDS donors links Romney
not only to mistreatment at the World
Wide Association of Specialty Programs, a chain of for-profit teen
treatment centers founded by former Romney financial co-chair, Robert Lichfield
(see details below) and also to molestation in the Scouts program.
Lastly, the
Daily Kos collects several links documenting Romney’s connection to torture
and abuse in the teen treatment industry in this piece. Of particular note is a
2007
article by Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents
and Hurts Kids author Maia Szalavitz. 133 plaintiffs have filed suit
against Romney’s associate, Robert Lichfield. Teens allege that they were “locked
in outdoor dog cages, exercised to exhaustion, deprived of food and sleep,
exposed to extreme temperatures without adequate clothing or water, severely
beaten, emotionally brutalized, and sexually abused and humiliated. Some were
even made to eat their own vomit.”
