River View Christian Academy

The River View Christian Academy (RCVA), formerly known as Julian Youth Academy, is a fully accredited, private Christian boarding school in Lee County, Texas.[1] RCVA is a program of Teen Rescue, Inc. RCVA helped[clarification needed] teen girls in need of regular supervision. RCVA provided an individualized education program, coaching, intervention, parent-training support groups, a high staff-to-student ratio, and aftercare support.[citation needed]

River View Christian Academy
Location
Map
Lexington
,
Lee County
,
Texas
78947
Coordinates30°25′3.63″N 97°10′35″W / 30.4176750°N 97.17639°W / 30.4176750; -97.17639
Information
Former nameJulian Youth Academy
FounderPhil Ludwig
Websiteriverviewchristianacademy.org

History

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The campus burned in 2003.[2] The owners tried to rebuild, but faced legal battles with San Diego County.[3]

The school was mentioned in an October 2007 hearing conducted by the United States Government Accountability Office.[4][5]

In 2009, they leased the old cascade school campus in Shasta County.[6]

In 2011 a mummified baby was found on the campus in Shasta County. It belonged to a staff member, who told the police that she had not fed the baby when it was born.[7][8]

Julian Youth Academy now operates as River View Christian Academy.[9]

In 2016, California introduced the Community Care Facilities Act of 2016 requiring that the school would need to acquire a Community Care License from the state. They had previously been exempt until this new legislation and the owner, Phil Ludwig, refused to pay the daily $200 fine resulting in a warrant being issued on January 8, 2019.[10]

The facility has been said to provide conversion therapy to children who are gay, lesbian or bisexual.[11] It has been alleged that the facility has punished these children.[10] Californian authorities were investigating the school for these reasons in 2019, and considering closing it.[12][13]

References

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  1. ^ "All Girls School for Behavior | About River View Christian Academy". River View Christian Academy. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  2. ^ Marshack, Megan (October 31, 2003). "Teens homeless from Cedar fire". North County Times.
  3. ^ Julian Youth Academy Fire Recovery, Teen Rescue homepage
  4. ^ I support the bill to End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, a statement from a survivor of the facility
  5. ^ 111th Congress (2009) (Feb 9, 2009). "H.R. 911". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved Mar 5, 2009. Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Mendez, Mat (2011-11-11). "Update: Shasta County Woman Arrested For Killing Secret Baby; Infant Found Mummified". KRCR. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  7. ^ Shasta County Woman Arrested in Death of Newborn Archived 2012-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, by: Alan Marsden, KHSL TV, November 8, 2011
  8. ^ Woman held in death of baby found hidden at Christian school, by Robert J. Lopez, LA Times blog, November 9, 2011
  9. ^ Palma, Bethania (2019-06-17). "Did Calif. Authorities Raid Christian School and Order It to Change Its Beliefs on Sex?". Snopes. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  10. ^ a b Mackey, Meaghan (2019-06-14). "A faith-based school in Whitmore is being accused of punishing students for being gay". KTVL. Retrieved 2024-04-09. The Department of Social Services has determined that because the staff controlled every aspect of the children's lives on campus, it needs to have a community care license.
  11. ^ Sobel, Arial (12 September 2018). "California Christian School Alleged to Be Conversion Therapy Nightmare". Advocate. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  12. ^ Kingkade, Tyler (12 June 2019). "California Wants To Shut Down A Christian School Accused Of Punishing Students For Being Gay". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  13. ^ Palma, Bethania (17 June 2019). "Did Calif. Authorities Raid Christian School and Order It to Change Its Beliefs on Sex?". Snopes News. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
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