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HURRICANE, Washington County — A father who lost his daughter under the care of Diamond Ranch Academy boarding school for troubled teens is concerned it could happen again as efforts are underway to reopen the school under a new name.
Even with a new name and new license, it's not necessarily new management, and that's why at least one father doesn't want the site of the old Diamond Ranch to open up again.
The school in Hurricane, Washington County, closed last September after the Utah Department of Health and Human Services declined to renew its license.
"Angry, frustrated, upset," Dean Goodridge said.
He is concerned those consequences could be short-lived. He said his daughter Taylor asked to go there from her home in Washington state to get help. Goodridge said his daughter died from a stomach infection that could have been treated, but she was denied care.
Caseworker Adam Cheney is listed as the new director for the upcoming RAFA Academy. He's also named in a lawsuit Goodridge's family filed against Diamond Ranch.
According to application documents, RAFA has a different address but it's actually the old Diamond Ranch Parkway that is now renamed Hope Circle, a privately-owned road.
"How could you open up another facility with your name on it at that same property where you know she died?" Goodridge said.
It appears to be the same business model. Not only do the websites look the same, but mission statements from Diamond Ranch and RAFA Academy are seemingly copied and pasted from the old site to the new except that RAFA would open for boys only.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services said it's looking into a possible license renewal.
In an email response to KSL, the department said it takes the health and safety of those in its licensed facilities seriously.
"Our role in regulating licensed programs is to make sure programs are complying with administrative rules and regulations designed to provide a healthy and safe environment for those in care. DHHS works to provide the best possible service within the scope of our regulatory authority," the email stated.
In the meantime, Goodridge said he'll do all he can to make sure it doesn't happen.
"They took something precious from us. I'm not going to let them do this to somebody else," Goodridge said. KSL reached reached out to Adam Cheney the director of RAFA Academy but there has not been a response.
The department said with these applications it reviews the history of the program and prior participants and their past conduct and actions taken against them.
