West Ridge Academy
West Jordan, Utah, USA
Information
School type	private
Director	Kenneth Allen

West Ridge Academy (known as the Utah Boys Ranch until 2005), is facility based in West Jordan, Utah, USA, that seeks to provide clinical services, education, and other programs for teens at risk. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation under the name Children and Youth Services Inc. The academy states that "Since 1964, West Ridge Academy has been offering hope and healing to young men, young women and their families by providing quality clinical services, education, and experiences which promote spiritual awareness, personal accountability and change of heart." ^[2]

West Ridge Academy at one time was a campus only for boys, but now operates facilities for girls as well.^[3]

Currently the stated purpose of the West Ridge Academy is "to offer hope and healing to families" by establishing "new coping skills and moral and spiritual values that will propel them into a more functional and peaceful way of life."^[4] The board of directors is composed of prominent Utah residents, such as BYU religion instructor Sally Wyne and LaVar Christensen^[5], and past board members included Reverend Douglass Lobb, Father Jerald Merrill, Utah Supreme Court Justice Frank Wilkins, Dr. Ralph Moffatt, and politician Gov. Norman Bangerter.^{[citation needed]} The current executive director is Kenneth R. Allen.^[6] Since their founding, they state they have helped over 25,000 teens.^[7]

West Ridge is governed by the Utah Department of Human Services and is reviewed annually for compliance to its general standards and specific standards for such facilities^[8]. West Ridge Academy is current with all licensure requirements.^[9]

The Utah Boys Ranch was founded by Lowell L. Bennion and a group of his associates in 1964.^[10] Later, leadership changed hands and Utah State Senator Chris Buttars became the executive director and remained so for more than fifteen years before retiring amid controversy. ^[11]

On January 2, 2009, Eric Norwood, a former Boys Ranch resident, published an article alleging abuses and controversial discipline practices at the ranch.^[12] On January 9, 2009, Salt Lake City radio station KRCL invited Senator Buttars, West Ridge staff, and Eric Norwood on their talk show RadioActive! to discuss the article, but Buttars and West Ridge Academy declined.^[13]

Critics of the academy allege that there are several indications that suggest what they characterize as a strong connection with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, although the Academy maintains that it is nondenominational. For example, there are several elderly couples called to as service Mormon missionaries at the Academy. These missionaries state that they do not proselytize, but provide spiritual counsel for the youths that come to them. ^[14] Prior to 2005, while operating under the name, Utah Boys Ranch, a logo used the phrase, "Do What is Right, Let the Consequence Follow". This is also the title of an LDS Hymn.^[15] Additionally, the stated purpose of the the Utah Boys Ranch in 1999 was to provide clinical services and education through theistic practices, emphasizing "spiritual and moral values" and the "principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

In the past, a goal was "promoting spiritual and moral values within the system," and to that end, described themselves as "completely free from the restraints imposed by governmental grants, subsidies, or contracts." The Director stated that "the facts indicate that our government believes the laws governing separation of church and state are violated when governmenr [sic] dollars are used in any program that promotes and teaches religious principles."^[16]

• Academy official website
• Woodbury Consultants, an independent educational consulting firm's report
• College Bound's review of the academy
• Site run by former students stating abusive and unethical practices
• State of Utah Administrative Code: Rule R501-15: Therapeutic Schools