The
World Wide Association Of Specialty Programs and Schools (
WWASPS or
WWASP) is an organization based in
Utah, in the
United States. WWASPS was founded by
Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. WWASPS states that it is an
umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of
troubled teenagers, all operating in accordance with WWASP guidelines. Many outside observers believe, however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions are actually owned (through
limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street address) by WWASPS or its principal officials or their close relatives.
[1][2][3] WWASPS is connected to several affiliated
for-profit companies. These include
Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes
admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a
teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing;and Premier Educational Systems, LLC (also called Premier Educational Seminars), which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have helped over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior. Some participants and parents give positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs,resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006.
