Lawyers finishing up with financial records
Attorneys -still were sorting through financial records of the defunct KIDS of El Paso Inc. Friday, and expect to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition next week in federal court on behalf of the organization. "I signed all the papers for the petition today," said ***, a businessman and president of the KIDS board of directors. "The lawyers are still trying to figure out exactly what the assets and liabilities are." KIDS was a controversial rehabilitation center for teenagers that provided long-term treatment for compulsive disorders, such as drug addiction and anorexia nervosa. The center, patterned after KIDS of America Inc. founded by ***, closed Monday. Critics said the program was too harsh, and that it abused clients physically and psychologically. Supporters of KIDS, including prominent families, who helped establish the program in El Paso, said it was the last resort for many troubled teenagers. *** said KIDS went nearly broke because of legal bills while defending its license. He attributed the sharply declining enrollment to negative publicity earlier this week, U-Haul trailers were seen parked in front of the KIDS center on Boeing Drive. *** said the trailers were being used to transport medical records from the building on city land near the airport. He said a partnership called Invincible Investors at first was created to buy the building, but that an estate facing foreclosure actually owns the building. "That foreclosure action took place long before the decision was made to file for Chapter 7 *** said. *** had said parents of the remaining 36 teenagers at the center had the option of transferring their children to affiliated programs in New Jersey or Utah, ***, whose daughter successfully completed the program, said he was sorry to see KIDS leave El Paso. Several hundred teenagers were enrolled during the center's four-year existence, but *** said he didn't know how many of them had completed the program.
