Three Points Center

Programs it has run

2 on record.

• Auldern Academy Siler City, North Carolina | ?-2021 | Closed
• Three Points Center, LLC Hurricane, Utah | 2014-2025 | Closed

News coverage

• AP investigation: Adopted kids confined in private for-profit facilities AP News | Apr 28, 2026 | expose · About one of its programs

  This Associated Press investigation uncovers a "shadow orphanage system" where adopted children are disproportionately placed in for-profit residential treatment facilities. These institutions often market themselves to families by misusing the diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder to justify expensive and unregulated "tough-love" programs. Rather than finding support, many children experience systemic abuse, isolation, and neglect in environments focused on profit margins. The report emphasizes that these institutional settings often cause more harm than healing, failing the vulnerable children they were meant to protect.

• ‘State-sponsored Abandonment’ No More: California Stops Paying for Adoptees Sent to Out-of-State Treatment Centers The Imprint | Jul 22, 2025 | closure · About one of its programs

  California has ceased funding residential treatment placements for adopted foster youth in other states, closing what advocates termed a dangerous loophole. The decision follows revelations that hundreds of children were sent to facilities with histories of violations, including several since-shuttered programs. At least 676 adoptees were placed in out-of-state centers since 2020, with many attending problematic facilities. Among them were Sequel Youth and Family Services programs like Iowa’s Clarinda Academy and Utah’s Red Rock Canyon School, both closed after abuse scandals. Other placements included Utah’s Havenwood Academy, disciplined for improper restraints, and Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center, sanctioned for excessive punishments. Three Points Ranch ceased operations in 2025 following violations, while White River Academy continues accepting California-funded youth under existing contracts.

• Their kids died in Utah teen treatment programs. Now, these parents are asking Utah lawmakers to beef up oversight. The Salt Lake Tribune | Feb 21, 2025 | expose · About one of its programs

  Parents of teens who died in Utah treatment facilities spoke to lawmakers in support of SB297, a bill to strengthen oversight of the troubled teen industry. Dean Goodridge described how his daughter Taylor died at Diamond Ranch Academy after staff failed to get her medical help for a treatable infection. Katy Silvers said her son Biruk died by suicide at Discovery Ranch after telling his therapist he had a detailed plan. The program never informed his family. Both parents said their children could have been saved if someone had acted. SB297 would fund an independent ombudsman to investigate complaints and create an advisory board to review whether facilities are admitting youth they are equipped to serve. Primary Children’s Hospital reported treating 169 out-of-state children from Utah programs in 2024, leading to a shortage of beds for local kids. The average stay for those out-of-state youth was 30 percent longer. One child lived in the hospital for five months, blocking care for 22 Utah patients. Although some families defended the programs, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to move the bill forward.

• Utah treatment center closes abruptly after history of violations and abuse KUTV | Feb 14, 2025 | arrest · About one of its programs

  Three Points Center, a residential treatment program in Hurricane, Utah, closed abruptly on February 14, giving families just ten days to respond. The facility, which served adopted teens, had a documented history of abuse, including 14 state violations for improper restraints, physical aggression, and verbal abuse. Reports included a staff member throwing furniture at a child and injuring another during an unnecessary intervention. Founded by Dr. Norm Thibault, the center had direct ties to the discredited WWASP network, with leaders previously working at Cross Creek and Liahona Academy. Child rights attorney Dawn J. Post also linked the program to an abusive facility in the U.S. through her investigation of Youth Division Academy in Jamaica. Post raised additional concerns about staff with criminal histories and a pattern of hiring unqualified workers. One reported employee had a 2013 charge for child abuse material and a 2024 felony obscenity conviction. Utah laws allowing parents to force teens into treatment until age 18—with no consent required from the child—make the state a hub for such facilities. Critics fear current residents will be quietly transferred to other institutions without review or accountability.

• Hurricane approves water rate increase; academy business license revoked St. George News | Jun 12, 2024 | closure · About one of its programs

  The Hurricane City Council voted to revoke the business license of Rafa Academy, LLC, a proposed youth treatment facility slated to operate in the former Diamond Ranch Academy building, after city officials discovered required state licensing had not been obtained. Representatives for the facility stated they would not move forward with the licensing process. City officials noted that a private boarding school, Utah Prep, has applied for a business license at the same location to operate an educational program without rehabilitative services.

• Utah Regulators Reviewing License Application for New Program on Former Diamond Ranch Academy Campus The Salt Lake Tribune | Mar 12, 2024 | closure · About one of its programs

  State regulators in Utah are reviewing a licensing application for RAFA Academy, a proposed program intending to operate on the former campus of Diamond Ranch Academy. Diamond Ranch Academy was closed after state licensers declined to renew its license following the 2022 death of Taylor Goodridge. State officials are examining the facility's connections and staff overlaps with the previously closed program.

• Utah takes emergency action against youth treatment center after boy’s death The Salt Lake Tribune | Jul 21, 2023 | event · About one of its programs

  Utah health officials issued an emergency licensing order against a Heber City youth residential treatment facility following a resident's death by suicide. Regulators stated that facility staff were aware of the resident's suicidal ideation in the weeks prior to the incident, and previous inspections had documented rule violations regarding staff interference with state investigations.

• Teen treatment facility Diamond Ranch Academy closing after Utah denies license renewal KSL.com | Jul 14, 2023 | closure · About one of its programs

  Diamond Ranch Academy will close by August 14 after the Utah Department of Health and Human Services denied its license renewal. The decision followed investigations into severe physical neglect and other safety violations, including the death of 17‑year‑old Taylor Goodridge. The facility’s closure reflects regulatory action to address alleged misconduct and protect vulnerable youth.

• Police Records Show Multiple Incidents and Staff Death at Provo Canyon School The Salt Lake Tribune | May 16, 2023 | event · About one of its programs

  Police records show multiple emergency responses to the Provo Canyon School in Springville between February and April 2023, including a March incident where a staff member was assaulted and subsequently died following surgery. Additional police calls involved drug contraband, runaways, a reported sexual assault, and a physical disturbance involving multiple residents.

• Autopsy Shows Resident Died of Untreated Infection at Utah Youth Treatment Center The Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2023 | lawsuit · About one of its programs

  A 17-year-old resident at Diamond Ranch Academy died from peritonitis and sepsis in December 2022 after experiencing symptoms for over a week. According to autopsy records and a statement from her family's attorney, facility management repeatedly denied the resident medical attention despite requests from both the resident and staff.

• Autopsy Details Medical Neglect and Infection Leading to Death of Teen at Utah Boarding School NBC News | Apr 21, 2023 | lawsuit · About one of its programs

  State investigations and an autopsy report revealed that 17-year-old Taylor Goodridge died of peritonitis and sepsis after Diamond Ranch Academy failed to seek necessary medical care over a 12-day period in which she repeatedly vomited. Following her death, the facility's license was temporarily placed on probation and enrollment was suspended before state officials later lifted the enrollment restrictions.

• Sequel to close New Mexico youth facility amid more abuse allegations | APM Reports APM Reports | Dec 3, 2021 | closure · About one of its programs

  Sequel Youth & Family Services agreed to close Bernalillo Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a state investigation documented physical abuse, excessive restraints, and inadequate supervision of autistic residents. The closure follows multiple prior investigations and the shutdown of several other Sequel facilities nationwide.

• Investigation into death at Elan School in Maine Secret Prisons for Teens | Mar 14, 2016 | expose · About one of its programs

  An investigative blog post examines the historical operations and lack of regulatory oversight at the closed Elan School in Maine. The article discusses allegations of systemic violence, fraudulent therapeutic practices, and the 1982 death of a resident, Philip Williams Jr., within the facility's peer-to-peer restraint and conflict structures.

• Seen and Heard - October 2001 Woodbury Reports | Oct 1, 2001 | general · About one of its programs

  This industry newsletter compilation details various administrative updates, staff appointments, program expansions, and leadership changes across multiple therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness programs, and youth residential facilities for October 2001. Notices include new program accreditations, facility curriculum updates, and personnel transitions within the troubled teen industry.

• Seen 'n Heard - October  2001 Issue (page 1). Seen 'n Heard | Oct 1, 2001 | general · About one of its programs

  The October 2001 issue of Seen 'n Heard reports a series of updates from various private schools and wilderness programs, including new leadership appointments, program openings, and accreditation approvals. No incidents of abuse or misconduct are reported. The piece serves as a directory of industry developments.

Lawsuits

• Anna Claire Bates and Jane Doe v. Sequel Youth and Family Services, LLC; Sequel TSI Holdings, LLC; Brighter Path Alabama, LLC (formerly Sequel TSI of Alabama); Sequel TSI of Auldern, LLC; and John Ripley 2023 | In progress | U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama (Southern Division) | 2:23-cv-01063

  Outcome: Partial motion to dismiss denied July 3, 2024 (all counts survive). Ripley's motion to dismiss the second amended complaint denied Oct. 14, 2025; his motion to certify an interlocutory appeal and stay denied Jan. 12, 2026. No settlement or class ruling seen on the docket.

  Two former residents brought a proposed class action under the federal anti-trafficking law, saying Sequel made children in its programs work without pay as cleaners and groundskeepers, under threat of punishment, to save on staff. Bates says that at Auldern Academy in North Carolina (2016-2017) students did campus labor and were punished with 'Refocus' (hauling rocks, restricted food, sleeping on the floor) and 'Non-com' isolation. Jane Doe says that at Sequel Montgomery (Dec. 2014-fall 2015) children who refused work were restrained, kept longer or locked in a closet-sized seclusion room, and that she was sexually abused by a male employee and later by a social worker. In July 2024 the court refused to dismiss any claim, finding the complaint plausibly alleged a company-wide scheme, and in 2025 it kept co-founder John Ripley in the case.

• Dean Jeffries L. Goodridge, individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Taylor Goodridge v. Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc. 2022 | Ruling issued | U.S. District Court for the District of Utah | 4:22-cv-00102-DN-PK

  Outcome: Discovery into the defendants' finances was opened per the court's order. On August 27, 2026, the court issued a memorandum decision and order granting the motion to open discovery and obtain defendants' financial information.

  Dean Goodridge, the father of Taylor Goodridge, sued Diamond Ranch Academy in federal court in Utah on December 30, 2022, ten days after his daughter died at the program. The complaint alleges that from November 2022 Taylor had extreme abdominal pain, collapsed in her own vomit and begged staff for help, and that staff told her she was faking and gave her only water and aspirin. It alleges she collapsed and died on December 20, 2022, likely of sepsis, and that the program told her father she had had a heart attack and died at the hospital when she had died before leaving the campus. It brings negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and premises liability claims and says a Utah Health Care Malpractice Act claim would be added later. The document on file is the complaint and does not show how the case ended.

• Shayrena Penn v. Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc. Filed | Fifth Judicial District Court, Washington County, Utah

  Former student Shayrena Penn sued Diamond Ranch Academy in Utah's Fifth Judicial District Court in Washington County; the complaint is dated April 29, 2021. She alleges that during a four- to five-month stay that began when she was 15, staff restrained her as punishment using pressure points, held her down while she said she could not breathe, and pressed her face into the ground so hard that she suffered lasting paralysis on the left side of her face. It also alleges sleep deprivation, strip searches, forced exercise with water withheld, inadequate clothing in winter, and weeks of isolation. It names five staff members and brings negligent hiring and supervision, assault, battery and emotional distress claims. The document on file is the complaint and does not show how the case ended.

Every case in the lawsuit directory

Business filings

This company's registrations with the states, as their business registers list them.