Utah treatment center closes abruptly after history of violations and abuse

Author: Liv Kelleher

Summary:
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.