Utah revokes license of school where Paris Hilton alleged abuse

Utah officials have revoked the license of Provo Canyon School, a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youths ages 12 to 18 where Paris Hilton has said she experienced abuse as a teenager, citing a series of health and safety violations at the facility.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services said Provo Canyon School failed to provide required health and safety services for clients, according to a Revocation of License letter obtained by the Associated Press and the New York Times. The facility, which provides residential treatment services for adolescents, received a license revocation that took effect Monday and applies to the school’s Springville campus. The action follows multiple citations related to the treatment and supervision of students.

The state’s findings include allegations that the facility failed to maintain proper staff-to-client ratios, used an unnecessary restraint involving a student, engaged in aggressive physical contact, neglected aspects of client care and did not complete employee background checks and verification procedures promptly, according to the letter.

Provo Canyon School has 15 days to request a hearing with the Department of Health and Human Services. State officials said the facility must end all services by Aug. 6. They also cautioned that an immediate closure could create safety concerns for students currently receiving care, the AP reported.

Paris Hilton speaks out after state action

Hilton, who spent nearly a year at Provo Canyon School in the late 1990s, praised the state’s decision and said it validated years of complaints from former students.

“For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,” Hilton said Tuesday in a statement to the AP and BBC. “Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care.”

Hilton has publicly described allegations that staff members at the school physically abused her, monitored her while showering, gave her unknown medications and placed her in solitary confinement without clothing. She has testified before Congress and state legislatures about her experiences and advocated for reforms affecting youth treatment facilities.

In mid-June, the state Health Department’s Division of Licensing and Background Checks (DLBC) placed “immediate conditions on the license of the Provo campus” after an investigation into a May 18 incident that revealed “severe safety failures.”

“No child should ever be harmed in programs meant to protect them,” DLBC Director Shannon Thoman-Black said in a news release. “Our role is to hold providers to the highest standards of safety, and we will use every regulatory tool available to ensure vulnerable youth are protected.”

Under the conditions, the facility was required to do the following:

• Report each safety concern reported by a client, parent, or guardian to DLBC.
• Revise its emergency policies to permit and encourage staff to call 911 immediately when safety is at risk, bypassing internal notification chains.
• Create a comprehensive threat assessment and violence prevention policy.
• Provide written notification of these license conditions to all current clients and guardians within five calendar days.
• Post the official Notice of Agency Action on-site and on the homepage of each of its websites within five business days.

Officials prepare for transition

Following the license revocation, Thoman-Black said the department is continuing weekly inspections and monitoring the facility while officials work to transition students into safe placements.

“It is actually incredibly unsafe if we were to go in and just stick a sign on the door and say, ‘Everybody out,’ ” Thoman-Black said during a Tuesday news briefing.

State officials said the school’s owners will not be allowed to apply for a new license for five years, the AP reported.

Provo Canyon School disputed the state’s decision and said it is considering its next steps, including a possible appeal.

“We disagree with the state’s decision to revoke Provo Canyon School’s Springville Campus license and are evaluating all available legal and administrative options, including an appeal,” the school said in a statement provided to USA Today. “As this is an ongoing matter, we are limited in what we can say at this time. Our priority remains providing safe, high-quality care and support for adolescents and their families, and we remain committed to serving those in need.”

Provo Canyon School is under new ownership and has described itself as a psychiatric residential treatment facility that provides services for youth ages 12 to 18.