Maple Lake Academy closed its all-girls program after a nearly three-year battle with licensees to stay open — a decision the academy’s leadership blamed on Utah officials, who said political pressure led the state to take a more ” punitive” with adolescent treatment centers.

In August, state licensors decided not to renew Maple Lake Academy’s license over concerns that the program had continued problems keeping clients safe since a girl died there in January 2022.

The program appealed the decision and fought the state in court. But Maple Lake Academy said in a statement this week that it “faced significant legal hurdles that made it nearly impossible to succeed.” (Details of the trial are not publicly available because a judge sealed the records.)

MLA leaders hoped to negotiate with the state to stay open, their statement said, but they say state licensees “have not been willing to engage in a constructive dialogue.”

“We believe this reluctance may stem from significant internal and external political pressures forcing the (licensing) division to take a more punitive stance toward establishments like ours,” the statement said.

“Looking forward,” the statement continued, “we sincerely hope that the division will take a more objective and collaborative approach, prioritizing the needs of the students and families served and working alongside licensed facilities to ensure the best possible outcomes for all involved. “

The Utah Licensing Office has faced criticism in recent years for taking a friendlier approach to how it polices the so-called “troubled teen” industry. Past licensing directors said they believed their role was not to be punitive toward these programs, but to offer them “technical assistance.”

Salt Lake Tribune highlighted this slight oversight in a series of articles, which led the legislators to pass a reform bill in 2021 which increased regulation of adolescent treatment programs.

In a statement, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services did not address the MLA’s allegation that it received political pressure to punish the programs. It said that in most cases the licensing division supports facilities found to be non-compliant and rarely closes a program.

Most programs, the statement said, are more likely to fix the problems.

“However, patterns of repeat (over the last 3 years) or severe non-compliance in a facility puts the people we serve at risk and cannot be tolerated,” the statement said.

The Utah Division of Licensing and Background Checks licenses or certifies more than 9,000 facilities in Utah, the statement said, with the goal of ensuring Utah’s “most vulnerable citizens” are cared for “where their health needs and safety are paramount”.

It’s not just teenagers sent to programs like Maple Lake Academy, but also older adults, people with disabilities and those with mental illnesses.

“Our primary role,” the statement said, “is to check that the most critical health and safety standards are met to protect the well-being of residents and employees. We do not compromise on health and safety and we take seriously the trust placed in us by communities, individuals and families.”

DHHS officials said that in the past two years, the licensing division has placed 59 of those facilities on what’s called a conditional license, which often places limits on a program or increases state scrutiny after a facility violates Utah rules. Of the 59, licensees revoked or refused to renew licenses for 12 establishments.

For the past two years, DHHS has denied Maple Lake Academy license renewals and another program, Diamond Ranch Academy. Both facilities had a girl die in their care in 2022 due to what licensees say was medical negligence.

Graduates began to closely monitor Maple Lake Academy in 2022 after a 14-year-old girl named Sofia Soto died in January. They said staff there failed to provide Soto with adequate medical care, despite worsening symptoms and her mother’s pleas for her to be taken to a doctor. They tried to remove MLA license in 2022 but the licensors eventually negotiated with the program and allowed it to remain open.

Since Soto’s death, licensees have documented other cases where girls were seriously injured or did not receive medical attention. In April 2022, the facility was cited after staff did not immediately seek medical help after a girl fell and hit her head, lost consciousness and vomited several times. Last August, the program was cited after staff refused to provide medication to a client. And in July, licensees found Maple Lake Academy failed to protect the client who tried to end his life and caused “significant injury.”

Maple Lake Academy said in a statement that the girl who hurt herself is “now in perfect health” and has recovered. The girl’s mother was said to support Maple Lake Academy and said her daughter had more success there than in other programs or treatment.

MLA has operated a program that caters to girls with autism for 19 years. He continues to hold a license for the boys program. A DHHS spokesman said the boys’ program, which is licensed separately, “doesn’t have the same record of noncompliance” and the denial of the girls’ program’s license does not affect it.