Utah authorities revoked the license for the Provo Canyon School’s Provo campus on Friday, citing a “multitude of noncompliance citations” in 2026. Among these were failures to protect “a client from potential harm or acts of violence” and “using cruel and unnecessary practice on a child.” This decision marks a significant development in the yearslong campaign to shut down the facility.
The school, which operates as a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth aged 12 to 18, now has until August 15 to cease providing services at its Provo location. Staci Bradley, the school’s director of business development, stated that the institution disagrees with the state’s decision. Bradley confirmed the school is “carefully reviewing all available legal and administrative avenues, including the appeals process,” indicating a continued fight to maintain its operations.
The Business of Youth Confinement
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services noted more than a dozen citations on Friday alone. Shannon Thoman-Black, director of the division of licensing and background checks, issued a statement asserting, “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.” This statement highlights the state’s role in authorizing and overseeing facilities that, in this case, failed to protect vulnerable youth.
Earlier this month, the state also revoked the license for the Provo Canyon School’s other campus in Utah. That decision was based on the school’s “failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients.” The pattern of regulatory failure across multiple campuses underscores the systemic issues within the industry of youth residential treatment.
Resistance and Regulatory Limits
Media personality Paris Hilton, who spent nearly a year at the school in the late 1990s, described the latest announcement as bringing a sense of “peace.” Hilton stated, “This horrific chapter of abuse, neglect, and trauma has finally come to an end.” Her allegations from her time at the facility include staff members beating her, watching her shower, administering unknown pills, and locking her in solitary confinement without clothing.
Hilton has testified about her experiences before Congress and state legislatures across the U.S. Her efforts have contributed to the passage of laws aimed at protecting teens in Utah and more than a dozen other states. One month ago, Hilton returned to the Provo Canyon School to support two families who had filed lawsuits alleging mistreatment of their children at the facility. These actions represent a sustained effort to hold the institution accountable, even as the state’s regulatory apparatus lagged for years.
The school is currently under new ownership. This new administration has stated it cannot comment on anything that occurred before the change, including Hilton’s time there. This common tactic allows new owners to distance themselves from past abuses while continuing to operate the same institutional structures.