A state commission has not renewed the license KIDS of El Paso County Inc. needs to operate, pending an investigation of the program. ***, legal counsel for the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said the Austin-based licensing commission has received two written complaints against KIDS. The investigation stemmed from the two complaints, she said. An operating license is renewed annually only if the agency is in compliance with the commission's standards, *** said. In March, ***, a local attorney, filed a complaint against the program alleging the teenagers were physically and emotionally abused. *** would not comment on those allegations nor would she discuss the specifics of the past six months, *** said six teenagers, former clients of the program, have contacted him to tell him of such abuses. "I believe the program helps kids, but at what cost?" he asked. ***, 18, who left the program after 13 months, said he would not recommend KIDS of El Paso to any parent whose child is on drugs. "I felt trapped. There were times when there were 17 of us sleeping in one bedroom ... on the floor, in our underwear. The doors and windows were locked. We were cramped. We were encouraged to scream obscenities at each other ... If you don't comply or if you rebel, you are thrown to the ground and restrained. They hold your head in between their legs and cover your mouth so you won't talk. They held one girl in that position for 10 hours one day," *** said.
