Cross Creek Programs

Cross Creek Academy
Location
150 North State Street
La Verkin, Utah 84745,
United States of America

37°12′15.15″N 113°16′18.43″W / 37.2042083°N 113.2717861°W / 37.2042083; -113.2717861
Information
Other namesCross Creek Manor

Cross Creek Center

Cross Creek Academy
TypeSpecialty Boarding School
Motto"Not just a program, but a solution."
Established1988
FounderRobert Lichfield, Brent Facer
StatusClosed
Closed2012
DirectorKarr Farnsworth
Grades7–12
Age range12–19
MascotBobcats
AccreditationNorthwest Accreditation Commission
NewspaperCross Creek Chronicle (former)
AffiliationWorld Wide Association of Specialty Programs
Websitehttps://web.archive.org/web/20110129202501/http://crosscreekprogram.com/

Cross Creek Programs was a Specialty Boarding School facility in La Verkin, Utah, operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS). It sometimes is referred to as two facilities, with the name Cross Creek Manor applied to the girls' program and the name Cross Creek Center used for the boys' program, which were originally in different locations. Cross Creek Academy and Browning Academy have been used as names for the academic program. Cross Creek Programs was founded in 1988 by Robert Lichfield and Brent Facer, originally only for girls. Before founding Cross Creek, Lichfield had worked at Provo Canyon School.

The cross creek programs used teen escort company to facilitate the transporting from adolescents from their parents residents to the program.

History

Cross Creek Programs was a Specialty Boarding School founded in 1988 by Robert Lichfield and Brent Facer, originally only for girls in La Verkin, utah. The school ("Cross Creek Academy") was educationally accredited through the Northwest Accreditation Commission.

In 1999, Robert Lichfield incorporated the company World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools Inc with the help of his attorney Ralph Atkin.

In 2006, a lawsuit was filed against Cross Creek and other defendants, alleging widespread physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into their programs.

Controversy

In an interview, multiple graduates, parents and staff members from the school described the program as manipulative, abusive and traumatic.

One graduate claimed he was forcibly kidnapped from his home, handcuffed, beaten, and taken across state lines against his will to be transported to the program, or in short legally trafficked.

Another graduate claimed to be supervised by a male staff member when she was showering at the age of 13.

Another graduate claimed that male staff members performed rape re-enactment on girls who have been sexually abused, stating that other students were instructed to yell insults at the victim during the re-enactment.

The parent of another graduate described the process as a "manipulative, well-orchestrated, hurtful project", that the parent was not allowed to tell anyone where their child was, and that all mail communication was read beforehand.

Executives from the school have denied these allegations, saying the accusers just "didn't like their parents trying to help them".

References

  1. 1 2 "NWAC Accreditation". Archived from the original on July 10, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Brooke Adams, Founder's Passion Is Helping Youths, The Salt Lake Tribune, 25 May 2003. Republished by Inside Costa Rica. Archived by archive.org, August 13, 2008.
  3. 1 2 Connolly, Ceci (February 9, 2006). "Teen girls using pills, smoking more than boys". NBC News. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  4. ↑ "A Family's Last Resort : When Cara Vanni's parents could no longer control her, they made a desperate decision. They sent her away". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 1992. ISSN 2165-1736. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved February 25, 2026. In fact, they were kidnapers--of sorts--and they had arrived at the invitation of her parents to escort her forcibly to a private school in Utah.
  5. ↑ "Too-tough love?". Forbes. March 22, 1999. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ Hayes, Toby (June 18, 2003). "Boarding schools go unchecked in Utah". Deseret News. ISSN 0745-4724. OCLC 367900153. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  7. ↑ Troubled Teen Programs - 25 Plaintiffs Join in Lawsuit Against WWASPS, Cross Creek Manor, Robert Lichfield, and Associates – More Expected to Join In, press release by Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse, Webwire, October 16, 2006
  8. ↑ "Here's What Survivors of a 'Troubled Teen' Program Say Went On Inside", Vice News, March 29, 2021, retrieved August 23, 2021