Facility profile Canada
Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
Formerly KIDS of the Canadian West (1990 to 1991)
Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre is a drug rehabilitation center in Calgary, Canada, operated by KIDS Centers of America. It has operated since 1991.
About Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
Stays lasted 217 to 400 days.source It was originally funded by the Rotary Club and the Alberta government.source It was a descendant of Straight, Inc.source It cost over $300 per day ($2,100 per week).source It was described as a drug rehabilitation center.source It was modeled on KIDS of North Jersey.source
As KIDS of the Canadian West
Nothing on record is dated to these years yet.
As Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
Incidents on record
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February 2007 Criminal charge
In February 2007 Andrew Evans, an AARC graduate and former counselor, murdered a 33-year-old woman in Vancouver; he was convicted of second-degree murder and later rehired by AARC.source
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February 2009 Investigation
On February 13, 2009 CBC's The Fifth Estate aired an investigative report in which former patients and staff alleged mistreatment at AARC; Vause denied the allegations.source
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2009 Lawsuit
In 2009 AARC opened a legal case against the CBC, several CBC reporters and four ex-patients.source
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February 2019 Incident
In February 2019 a teachers' convention session at which Andrew Evans was to speak for AARC was cancelled after a complaint.source
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Reported December 2025 Abuse
Survivors report psychological abuse, brainwashing, physical and sexual abuse, humiliation, attack therapy and coercive marketing at AARC.source
News coverage
Staff
Notable staff
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Andrew Evans
Quality Assurance Coordinator (2025, r/troubledteens wiki)source
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Donny Serink
Former Clinical Manager (2015, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- University of Calgary Cannabis Cafe Facilitator, before 2025
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Janine Nowacka
Former Clinical Director (2019, HEAL)source
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Natalie Imbach
Former Clinical Director (2019, HEAL)source
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Laura Boyd
Former Counselor (2019, HEAL)source
News coverage
Videos
Staff
Administration
-
Dean Vause
Executive Director (1991-2025, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- KIDS of Bergen County Staff, 1989
- KIDS of the Canadian West Staff, 1990
- Straight, Inc. Staff, before 2019
- North Battleford High School Guidance Counselor, before 2025
Notable staff
-
Dean Vause
Former Staff (1990, r/troubledteens wiki)source
Elsewhere in the industry
- KIDS of Bergen County Staff, 1989
- Straight, Inc. Staff, before 2019
- North Battleford High School Guidance Counselor, before 2025
Connections on the network map
The companies, people and programs our research map ties to this program. Open it on the network map.
Ownership
- KIDS Centers of America
Documents
From the Unsilenced archive
5 documents about Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre that Unsilenced collected and Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. They open on Unsilenced's Google Drive. Their whole folder: Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre.
- Additional Links for Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre.xlsx
- Alberta Adolescent - ALBERTA ADOLESCENT RECOVERY CENTRE OVERVIEW.pdf
- Alberta Adolescent - Structured Day of Alberta Adolescent Recovery Center.pdf
- Alberta Adolescent - Welcome to the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre.pdf
- Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre Preliminary Report.pdf
Wiki entries
Materials and links
Survivor posts and discussion
- Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
- The HEAL Report: Episode 9: The Crimes of Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC) in Canada
Reference and research
- Alberta Adolescent Recovery Center -Wikipedia
- 41. Alberta Adolescent Recovery Center (AARC)
- The HEAL Report: Episode 9: The Crimes of Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC) in Canada (2015-02-27)
2 of these from SCIAD NET.
Archived pages
Other links
- AARC - The Straights (archived copy)
- More stringent group home rules urged
- Keeping 'Cult' Out of the Case: How do you convince a jury that your client was a victim of a cult? (archived copy)
- Abuse in Residential Treatment Center for Addiction (archived copy)
- Alberta Adolescent Recovery Center Website Homepage (archived copy)
- Recovering Krystal (archived copy)
- Anonymous (Rate MDs) (archived copy)