THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY
BY THE NUMBERS
6k+
$23B+
Facilities Across the Nation
In Annual Public Funding
200k+
350+
Youth Placed in Programs Annually
Program Deaths
Over $23 Billion in Annual Public Funding
The troubled teen industry operates as a multi-billion dollar business. It receives an estimated $23 billion in annual public funding from sources such as Medicaid, the Social Security Act, and local programs in order to treat youth for behavioral or psychological issues, according to Breaking Code Silence. However, lack of government oversight on these programs often leads to youth experiencing mistreatment, including sexual assault, abuse, neglect, and violations of basic rights.
Breaking Code Silence,
the U.S. Senate
Over 350 Program Deaths
Twelve-year-old Clark Harman was suffocated and killed at Trails Carolina in North Carolina on Feb. 2, 2024. Biruk Silvers died by suicide at just 17 years old at Discovery Ranch Academy in Utah on Nov. 5, 2024. Seventeen-year-old Alegend Jones was allegedly "body slammed" and killed at Youth Villages in Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2023. There have been over 350 reported deaths in the troubled teen industry, according to Unsilenced.
Read Unsilenced's full list of reported deaths here.
Over 200,000 Youth Placed in Programs Annually
Each year, over 200,000 youth are sent to the troubled teen industry. Many of these are sent through "legal kidnappings," where transporters arrive in the middle of the night — with parental consent — to forcibly remove children and teens from their homes and send them to “treatment” facilities, a practice known as gooning.
Breaking Code Silence
Over 6,000 Facilities Across the Nation
There are over 6,000 operating facilities within the troubled teen industry across the U.S., according to Unsilenced. Many of these often lack government regulation and oversight due to absence of legislation regarding the industry.
Explore Unsilenced's facility lookup here.
The Troubled Teen Industry by the Numbers
Emilia Sim
Created on November 3, 2025
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Transcript
THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY
BY THE NUMBERS
6k+
$23B+
Facilities Across the Nation
In Annual Public Funding
200k+
350+
Youth Placed in Programs Annually
Program Deaths
Over $23 Billion in Annual Public Funding
The troubled teen industry operates as a multi-billion dollar business. It receives an estimated $23 billion in annual public funding from sources such as Medicaid, the Social Security Act, and local programs in order to treat youth for behavioral or psychological issues, according to Breaking Code Silence. However, lack of government oversight on these programs often leads to youth experiencing mistreatment, including sexual assault, abuse, neglect, and violations of basic rights.
Breaking Code Silence,
the U.S. Senate
Over 350 Program Deaths
Twelve-year-old Clark Harman was suffocated and killed at Trails Carolina in North Carolina on Feb. 2, 2024. Biruk Silvers died by suicide at just 17 years old at Discovery Ranch Academy in Utah on Nov. 5, 2024. Seventeen-year-old Alegend Jones was allegedly "body slammed" and killed at Youth Villages in Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2023. There have been over 350 reported deaths in the troubled teen industry, according to Unsilenced.
Read Unsilenced's full list of reported deaths here.
Over 200,000 Youth Placed in Programs Annually
Each year, over 200,000 youth are sent to the troubled teen industry. Many of these are sent through "legal kidnappings," where transporters arrive in the middle of the night — with parental consent — to forcibly remove children and teens from their homes and send them to “treatment” facilities, a practice known as gooning.
Breaking Code Silence
Over 6,000 Facilities Across the Nation
There are over 6,000 operating facilities within the troubled teen industry across the U.S., according to Unsilenced. Many of these often lack government regulation and oversight due to absence of legislation regarding the industry.
Explore Unsilenced's facility lookup here.