Utah teens back from wilds after boy's death

Three Utah teenagers who had been placed in the same youth wilderness program where a 15-year-old Salt Lake City boy died earlier this month have returned home.

Staff members from Utah Juvenile Justice Services, which had custody of all four boys, drove to southwest Colorado on Thursday to pick up the teens, agency director Dan Maldonado said. Two of the teens had recently completed the 60-day program for at-risk youths and were ready to come home, while the third will be placed in another program based on his needs.

On the orders of state officials, Caleb Jensen entered Alternative Youth Adventures in Montrose, Colo., on March 28. He died May 2 from what the Mesa County coroner has determined to be natural causes.

Concerns about whether Jensen suffered from an untreated staph infection, however, have led Colorado authorities to suspend the facility's license pending an investigation by the Montrose County Sheriff's Office.

Utah has a long history with Alternative Youth Adventures, contracting with the facility when it was located near Loa, Wayne County, and continuing the relationship when it moved to Colorado, said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services.

"We've had a very good track record with them," she said.

The state has placed 20 youths in the Alternative Youth Adventures program since July 1, 2006, according to Maldonado. The facility is the only wilderness therapy program with which Utah Juvenile Justice Services currently contracts, though that three-year contract was set to expire on June 31.

The agency typically has custody of about 1,300 youths under the age of 21 who have been referred to them by the juvenile court system. It places the children in a variety of programs, depending on an assessment of their individual needs.

"We have a wide array of programs, and most of them are much longer custody programs," Maldonado said. "Something like a wilderness program is indicated for someone whose offense profile suggests that we might be able to have a shorter-term custody arrangement."

In this case, staff members advised that Jensen be placed in the wilderness program and a juvenile court judge accepted the recommendation. The teen was placed with eight other at-risk youths for a two-month "outing" with four AYA staff members to take part in character-building exercises intended to build their self-esteem and communication skills, said Bill Palatucci, senior vice president of Community Education Centers Inc., which operates Alternative Youth Adventures.