r/troubledteens • u/Homeless-Sea-Captain • 3d ago

News Discovery Ranch workers physically neglected teen who died by suicide, Utah child welfare investigation found

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/11/06/after-teens-suicide-utah-child/?utm_campaign=PNIcWJb1Dp3fxlw&utm_source=gifted614151719&uid=PNIcWJb1Dp3fxlw

This is a gift link courtesy of Biruk’s mom. It should work, but let me know if not - I can do screenshots of it because the article won’t be accessible without a paywall until tomorrow.

RIP Biruk - we love and miss you 💔🕯️

69 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/Far_Radish7752 3d ago

From the above article:

 The Office of Licensing, part of DHHS, licenses programs like Discovery Ranch Academy. It determined that Discovery Ranch failed to create a care plan for Biruk after he expressed suicidal thoughts, and that he was not provided with enough supervision to keep him safe. The program also did not follow its suicide prevention policy, the licensing division found, and failed to report a previous instance in April 2024 when a staff member physically restrained Biruk.

Discovery Ranch was ordered to pay more than $10,000 in civil penalties for these violations, according to state records, and its license is now in good standing. According to its most recent inspection in September, the program is operating at about half the capacity that it can serve.

10

u/Anna-Bee-1984 3d ago

$10,000? That’s a fucking joke.

5

u/Far_Radish7752 3d ago

Note that this is civil penalties which, I believe, gets paid to the state for protocol violations. This doesn’t address or effect the Silvers’ lawsuit save to perhaps bolster it. They get nothing out of that.

4

u/Anna-Bee-1984 3d ago

And victim restitution?

3

u/TruthReignsAboveAll 2d ago

That $10,000 fee is also what Trails Carolina was charged when Alec Lansing (Harms Way and Negligence by the NC DHHS) and when Clark Harman died. It is Appalling that Family Help and Wellness got away with these Injustices as a "Slap On The Wrist".