Facility profile Utah

Moonridge Academy

Also known as CERTS – Moonridge Academy

Open Cedar City, Utah

Moonridge Academy is a residential treatment center in Cedar City, Utah, operated by CERTS Group. It has operated since 2003.

About Moonridge Academy

It was founded 2004 per the page text.source It was founded by Kent Tasso.source It was run by CERTS (Certified Educational Therapeutic Schools and Programs), with sister program Kolob Canyon RTC.source

Its address was 9450 West 2400 South, Cedar City, UT 84721.source 9 to 12 months reported.source Closely affiliated with Kolob Canyon RTC (another CERTS program).source It cost $1,200 required for trust account at admission, $500 minimum balance.source

It was described as a level system of six Stages of Change with Safety status, junior staff and equine program.source CERTS Executive Director oversees La Europa Academy, Kolob Canyon RTC, Moonridge and Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy.source CERTS owns and operates Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy, recommended as transition school.source Equine program managed by Reins of Change Foundation (Alpine, UT).source

It joined NATSAP in 2012.source It was accredited by NAAS (later NWAC) accredited education program.source HEAL could not find it registered with the Utah Department of Education; HEAL says it is not licensed as a medical or mental health facility.source

Survivor testimony

What people who lived or worked here say happened. Survivors' own words are published with their permission; forum accounts are what was posted publicly and are reported as claims, not findings.

Reported on survivor forums

Timeline

From the records: who ran it and the deals that moved it, its names, and the deaths, incidents, inspection findings, lawsuits and news stories on file. Point at an event, or tap "More about this", for the details.

198320032005201619832016

  1. 1983

    1. Incident

      Lawsuit

      HEAL, quoting a source, said Dr.

      Lawsuit

      HEAL, quoting a source, said Dr. Cantril Nielsen paid a sizable wrongful death malpractice settlement in a 1980s suicide case.

      source

  2. 2003

    1. Opened

      Opened in Cedar City, Utah

  3. 2005

    1. Incident

      Investigation

      In 2005 the State of Maine investigated the program's quality and decided it would not pay for treatment there.

      Investigation

      source

  4. 2016

    1. Incident

      Injury

      A survivor reports an anemic resident was taken to the hospital two weeks after first asking for a doctor and was close to dying.

      Injury

      source

Incidents on record

  1. 1983 Lawsuit

    HEAL, quoting a source, said Dr. Cantril Nielsen paid a sizable wrongful death malpractice settlement in a 1980s suicide case.source

  2. 2005 Investigation

    In 2005 the State of Maine investigated the program's quality and decided it would not pay for treatment there.source

  3. 2016 Injury

    A survivor reports an anemic resident was taken to the hospital two weeks after first asking for a doctor and was close to dying.source

  4. Abuse

    Survivors report excessive restraints, punitive punishments, emotional, physical and sexual abuse.source

  5. Abuse

    Survivors report male staff took part in strip-searching female residents.source

  6. Restraint

    The parent manual says staff use a passive physical restraint when a girl is a danger to herself or others.source

Staff

Administration

Notable staff

Licensing and inspections

Licensed as
Certs dba Moonridge Academy
License category
Residential Treatment
Licensed capacity
24
License expires
05/31/2027
Licensing action
Licensed
Phone on file
4355869585
Licensed address
9450 W 2400 S, Cedar City, UT, 84720

14 inspection reports on file. Search all Utah reports

Every report, by date

Connections on the network map

The companies, people and programs our research map ties to this program. Open it on the network map.

Ownership

  • CERTS

Documents

Documents on file (10)
Woodbury Reports Mentions (4)

From the Unsilenced archive

52 documents about Moonridge Academy that Unsilenced collected and Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. They open on Unsilenced's Google Drive. Their whole folder: Certs dba Moonridge Academy.

Documents (49)
DHS Records (3)

From SCIAD NET

2 documents about Moonridge Academy that Kids Over Profits does not hold a copy of. SCIAD NET keeps them on Google Drive, where they open.

Wiki entries

Materials and links

Government records

Survivor posts and discussion

Reference and research

2 of these from SCIAD NET.

Archived pages

Other links

Record updated . Generated from the Kids Over Profits facility database. Suggest a correction