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Behind Locked Doors

A series investigating how a growing industry of treatment centers meant to help troubled children is leaving a generation of young people with long-term trauma.

Bethany Mollenkof for The Marshall Project
Cleveland
It Was Supposed to Be a Haven for Troubled Teens. They Risked Everything to Escape.
At Fox Run, one of Ohio’s largest youth residential treatment centers, kids and former staff detail a litany of trauma.
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Clockwise from top left: A photo shows a White woman with long blue hair, wearing a blue T-shirt, standing in front of a white building; a black-and-white photo shows a one-story building with a dark roof and the shadows of trees visible on its side; a photo shows a Mexican American woman in a blue top and black pants standing on the grass in front of some leafy trees; a photo framed through a car window shows a green sign saying “Fox Run.”
Cleveland August 26
The Girls Who Survived
Ohio’s residential treatment centers left them with trauma and questions. The friendships forged inside helped them heal and find answers.
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Inside Story August 25
The Youth ‘Treatment’ Centers Kids Risk Their Lives to Escape
Thousands of kids enter residential facilities promised care. Instead, many face systemic abuse, and some risk everything to break free.
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A photo shows a White woman with long brown hair and blonde highlights holding a stack of her paper records in manila folders.
Investigate This July 30
Were You in Residential Treatment as a Minor? Here Are the Records You’re Entitled To.
This guide is for people impacted by the “troubled teen industry” to investigate abuses inside youth residential treatment facilities.
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A photo shows a multicolored sign with a layered star logo, at night. The sign reads “Mohican Young Star Academy” and “Through the Thorns to the Stars.” Behind the sign is a parking lot with streetlights.
Cleveland April 22
Ohio Bill Could Force State to Shut Down Troubled Residential Treatment Facilities
The proposal comes just months after The Marshall Project - Cleveland exposed violence at a residential youth facility northeast of Columbus.
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A photo shows the exterior of a residential treatment facility with a light-green roof at dawn.
Cleveland December 5, 2025
‘Substantial Risk’: Mohican Young Star Academy Admissions Suspended as State Investigates
Weeks after The Marshall Project - Cleveland found escalating violence, Ohio’s embattled youth treatment center is once again facing scrutiny.
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An aerial photo shows the campus of a residential treatment facility with a light green roof during sunset. The facility is surrounded by forest and hills.
Cleveland November 6, 2025
‘It Was Chaos’: How an Ohio Youth Treatment Center Tried to Put an End to Rising Violence
A year after taking over Mohican Young Star Academy, new owners and leadership face questions from workers, police and neighbors about its direction.
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