Alpine Academy
Erda, UT

As has been published in the local media, our agency has recently been involved in a criminal investigation. This investigation began in March 2009, when we were contacted by the local authorities. A former student's family had contacted the sheriff's department to report a concern about the relationship between their daughter and one of our family teachers (direct care staff). All of the girls and all of the staff in that particular facility were interviewed in March by Child Protective Services. Although several of the students were aware of the on-going communication between this student and Jon Carver since her departure from our program in December 2008, none of the students were able to substantiate the allegation made.

As part of our internal investigation that was initiated at that time, I interviewed all of the staff members in the facility in question. The family teacher, Jon Carver, reported that he had been having private communication related to concerning treatment issues with this student, and that he had willfully kept this communication from the rest of the treatment team and her parents. Jon Carver was terminated for cause upon this disclosure.

We believed that the issue was resolved when this employee was removed from our facility; we have continued to cooperate with the authorities as they have proceeded with the criminal investigation that has continued since that date. We have been assured by the authorities that they will provide us with detailed information regarding the charges once the criminal case is resolved.

As a safety precaution, I have notified all of our current students' parents, including parents of former students who lived in the facility in question. Our students' families have been incredibly supportive and cooperative. With the exception of early withdrawal of one student by her parents, all of the girls in our facility have remained in our care since this incident began.

On May 11, 2009, I was notified that Jon Carver had just been arrested and charged with multiple felonies including rape, sodomy, and tampering with a witness.

If any of the specific activities that have been alleged are true, it is clear that this employee was operating outside the bounds of his professional duties as a part of our structured, highly supervised environment. As a result of these allegations, we are reviewing our systems in regards to student transportation and student-to-staff ratios in our residential facilities. We will be increasing security by adding monitoring cameras in the all traffic areas of the residential facilities in the immediate future.

We are deeply saddened by the thought that something of this nature may have occurred between an alumni student and a former employee while in our program. At Alpine Academy, each and every girl's safety and protection is our utmost concern. We have cooperated fully with the authorities as well as with this young lady's family in this matter. We will continue to offer the student and her family our full support in getting this matter resolved.

Alpine Academy is one of the most respected treatment providers in the country. Since 2001, we have provided specialized treatment services to hundreds of teenage girls in crisis. We are sickened by this news and are anxious to gather specific details about how these alleged events occurred as the criminal investigation proceeds.

I can be contacted for follow up questions at: 800-244-1113.

As a parent of a former Alpine Academy student, I was angry and saddened to hear the news of alleged crimes committed by an Alpine family teacher. Angry about the harm done to the girl involved, and sad about the damage to a program that was so instrumental in my own daughter's recovery. After years of battling with life threatening issues, my daughter turned the direction of her life around while in Alpine's care. A key to her success at Alpine was the good work done by her family teachers.

My heart goes out to the families with girls presently in the program, as this event must cause extra worries at a time of great difficulty. To those families and to those considering placing their daughter in Alpine Academy, I would say: Alpine Academy taught my daughter how to save her own life, gave hope to her and us, and taught her she could have a good life. She learned to work hard for herself, and to value her own integrity.

I am confident that Janet Mulitalo and Alpine Academy's management will take actions to do everything possible to protect the girls in their care. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, Alpine Academy has a wonderful program. Every day I am grateful for the program and the changes in our family that came from it, and most of all that my daughter is living well and recovered.

Shield Anderson
626-712-4740
shielda@shielda.net