Editor’s note • This article discusses suicide. If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for 24-hour support.
Utah regulators have put limits on the license of a Utah County teen treatment center, three weeks after the death of a 17-year-old boy who was staying there.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ licensing office issued a notice Tuesday, placing Discovery Ranch Academy in Mapleton under a conditional license. The notice, posted on the department’s website Wednesday, said the center failed to follow state administrative rules because it did not protect and supervise a “client who had expressed suicidal ideation and intent.”
The agency inspected Discovery Ranch on Nov. 6, one day after the teen, Biruk Silvers, who was living at the teen residential program, died there. Authorities reported Silvers died by suicide.
A conditional license, a DHHS spokesperson said, allows a care program to continue operation, as long as they adhere to the licensing division’s conditions. According to the notice filed Tuesday, Discovery Ranch must:
Comply to increased monitoring by the licensing division. Each inspection, the notice said, will cost Discovery Ranch $393.37.
Notify current clients — or their legal guardians and the state agencies that placed those clients in the facility — that Discovery Ranch has been placed on a conditional license. Discovery Ranch has five days to notify everyone.
Not accept any new clients while the conditional license is in effect.
Increase staff trainings, including sessions on suicide risk prevention. Discovery Ranch must provide proof of training within 15 days of the notice.
Submit a detailed plan that demonstrates all staff members can “ensure immediate and effective communication” when a client expresses suicidal ideation or intentions to self-harm.
Ensure staff compliance with all Utah Administrative Rules and statutes.
If Discovery Ranch fails to meet these conditions, the notice states, licensing officials could issue penalties or deny renewal of the facility’s license.
The notice was addressed to Discovery Ranch executive director Clinton Dorny, and signaled the end of DHHS’s investigation into Biruk Silvers’ death, the spokesperson said.
Dorny did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Kathryn and Joshua Silvers, Biruk’s parents, said through their lawyer that they were “validated” by DHHS’s license filing.
“This conditional license is a step toward accountability,” lawyer Alan Mortensen said in an email Wednesday. “However, it also underscores the urgent need for comprehensive reform in the oversight of residential treatment centers.”
The family, in two legal notices filed Nov. 19, alleged that medical malpractice and staff negligence at Discovery Ranch led to their son’s preventable death. According to the notice of claim — a required step in Utah before initiating legal action against a state entity — a belt “provided by or allowed by” staff contributed to the boy’s death.
The notice of claim set legal action against Discovery Ranch and its staff, including staff psychiatrist Jonathan Birnkrant, who is employed by the University of Utah. The university is also listed as a respondent.
“No family should endure the heartbreak of losing a child due to preventable failures by those who claim to provide care and protection,” Mortensen’s statement continued. “The Silvers are committed to pursuing justice for Biruk and advocating for systemic changes to ensure that other families are not subjected to similar tragedies.”
The DHHS notice cited three particular sections of the state’s Provider Code of Conduct where the agency said Discovery Ranch failed to comply. The notice said Discovery Ranch “failed to protect the client from harm,” “failed to provide services and supervision” to an at-risk client, and did not follow the facility’s suicide prevention policy.
