A last-minute ruling Friday allowed KIDS of El Paso County to reopen after a one-day closing, but officials at the beleaguered rehabilitation center said three teenagers had run away. One judge in Austin earlier this week had ordered KIDS closed because of alleged physical abuse, neglect, and civil rights violations. But a second Austin judge modified that restraining order Friday. All but three of the 90 KIDS patients returned Friday night for evening meetings, KIDS officials said, then went back to their parents or host families. Officials said they could not release the names of the missing three patients. "Their parents are crushed” said ***, spokeswoman for KIDS, "but we're hoping to get them back.” Ninety patients were enrolled in the center at 6500 Boeing which treats alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders and other behavioral problems. The center had shut down Thursday after Judge *** of the 331st District Court in Austin ordered the center closed at the request of the state attorney general's office. The order was issued Tuesday, but state officials allowed the center to remain open until Thursday. A state investigator had asked *** to close the center after the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse recommended revoking the center's license. The commission said the center was holding patients against their will, abusing and neglecting them, and was violating the patients' civil rights. KIDS has been criticized for using tough peer-pressure tactics. ***, who heads KIDS' governing board, said he was told by KIDS' attorney that a second judge, whose name *** did not know, modified the restraining order to allow the center to remain open until a hearing is conducted next week on the order. “We are still under a temporary restraining order, which was modified, and our license has not been revoked," he said. *** said the center also has appealed, through administrative channels, the recommendation to revoke the center's license. *** said none of the parents who had children in the program before Thursday's closing have removed their children from the program.” We believe the commission's investigation of the center was based on evidence that is not credible, or uncorroborated. I don't know why we're being crucified. The program is stringent and it is not for everyone. When you have a program such as this one, you are bound to have some people who don't like it," *** said. ***, a parent who had a son in the KIDS program, said the families had agreed before the center was allowed to reopen Friday - to continue the program themselves. The families, she said, agreed to meet at an undisclosed location. “We're still together and we're still helping our kids," she said.
