Utah regulators revoked the operating license for Provo Canyon School's main campus Friday, citing more than a dozen violations in 2026 that endangered children in state-sanctioned care. The shutdown marks the second campus closure this month for the psychiatric residential facility.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services documented multiple noncompliance citations against the Provo campus, including failures to protect "a client from potential harm or acts of violence" and "using cruel and unnecessary practice on a child." Shannon Thoman-Black, director of the division of licensing and background checks, didn't mince words. "No child should be hurt in a program that is meant to protect them; particularly programs that require the authorization of the state to operate," she said in a statement.
Second Campus Closure This Month
The state already revoked the license for Provo Canyon School's other Utah campus earlier this month, finding the facility "failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients." That decision came after years of mounting scrutiny over the school's treatment methods and safety protocols.
The Provo campus, which treats youth ages 12 to 18 according to its website, has until Aug. 15 to cease operations. State officials will monitor the facility at least weekly during the shutdown period. Staci Bradley, the school's director of business development, said administrators "do not agree with the state's decision" and are "carefully reviewing all available legal and administrative avenues, including the appeals process." The facility has 15 days to request a hearing before the department.
Paris Hilton's Advocacy Campaign
Media personality Paris Hilton, who spent almost a year at the school in the late 1990s, has led a yearslong campaign to expose alleged abuses and tighten regulations on residential treatment facilities. She said Friday's announcement brings her "peace" after decades of advocacy. "This horrific chapter of abuse, neglect, and trauma has finally come to an end," Hilton said in a statement.
Hilton alleges school staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing. She's testified about her experiences in Congress and state legislatures across the country, helping pass protective legislation in Utah and more than a dozen other states. One month ago, Hilton returned to Provo Canyon School to support two families who filed lawsuits alleging their children were mistreated at the facility.
New Ownership, Old Questions
The school operates under new ownership, and current administrators say they can't comment on anything predating the ownership change, including Hilton's time there. That legal shield hasn't protected the facility from 2026's documented violations, which occurred entirely under the new management's watch.
The closures raise questions about state oversight of residential treatment facilities that operate with taxpayer-funded licenses. These institutions receive government authorization to house vulnerable minors, yet the Provo Canyon School case demonstrates how regulatory failures can persist across ownership changes and multiple campuses.
Why This Matters:
This case exposes fundamental problems with government oversight of licensed residential treatment facilities. State regulators granted this school the authority to house troubled youth, yet failed to prevent documented safety violations that put children at risk. The double campus closure within one month suggests systemic failures in Utah's licensing and inspection regime. Taxpayers fund the regulatory apparatus that's supposed to protect vulnerable minors in these facilities, yet the system allowed dangerous conditions to persist. The case also highlights how government-sanctioned programs can become sources of harm rather than help, raising questions about whether states should be in the business of licensing such facilities at all or whether market-based alternatives with stronger liability protections might better serve families seeking treatment for troubled teens.