North Carolina officials say they plan to revoke the license of Trails Carolina, a wilderness camp for troubled youths where a 12-year-old boy recently died after having spent less than 24 hours at the program.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services sent letters Thursday notifying Trails Carolina’s executive director that the camp in Lake Toxaway had violated several state regulations, including one requiring mental health facilities to protect clients from abuse. The department did not provide additional details about the violations, which were documented during an investigation that was completed this month.
The department said that it determined the violations “endanger the health, safety, and welfare of clients in your facility” and that it intends to revoke Trails Carolina’s license. The camp was given 10 days to provide a written statement saying why it believes it is in compliance with the rules, along with supporting documents or a plan of correction. The department also fined Trails Carolina $18,000 for the violations and extended its suspension of admissions indefinitely.
In a statement on Friday, Trails Carolina said it was “surprised and disappointed to learn of the state’s intent to revoke the program’s license, given the progress we’ve made and continue to make.”
“We will continue cooperating with the state to satisfy their concerns so we can continue providing compassionate quality care to kids and families for whom every other treatment option has failed,” the camp said in an email to NBC News.
Trails Carolina is a private, for-profit wilderness program for children who struggle with behavioral problems or depression and are typically sent to the camp by their parents. The children at Trails Carolina have diagnoses such as autism, ADHD, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders.
A boy identified by the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office only by his initials, CJH, was found dead at Trails Carolina on Feb. 3 with his pants and underwear removed, prompting an ongoing criminal investigation. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the sheriff’s office said in a statement shortly after the death that, according to a forensic pathologist, it “appeared to not be natural.” Trails Carolina has said that preliminary information indicates the boy’s death was accidental.
The state Department of Health and Human Services declined to say whether the violations prompting the license revocation are connected to the boy’s death. The license inspection reports detailing the actions resulting in the violations were not immediately released.
The 18 children who had been at the camp when the 12-year-old died were removed later in February.
Over a dozen people who were placed at Trails Carolina between 2013 and 2022 told NBC News that the camp’s rules and protocols had caused them serious concern and, in some cases, ongoing trauma. The camp defended its approach but declined to comment on specific children’s experiences.
