Utah has revoked the license of Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus, a youth residential facility where Paris Hilton has said she was abused as a teenager, after state officials cited repeated health and safety violations.
The revocation took effect Monday and gives the school 15 days to request a hearing before Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services. State officials said the facility failed to provide required health and safety services to clients and must end services at the campus by August 6 unless the action is successfully challenged.
The citations date back to 2025 and include alleged failures involving staffing levels, background-check procedures, client care, unnecessary restraint and aggressive physical contact with a client. Utah officials had already placed temporary restrictions on the school in May after saying staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries.
Hilton, now 45, spent nearly a year at Provo Canyon School in the late 1990s. She has publicly alleged that she was physically abused, watched while showering, given unknown pills and placed in solitary confinement without clothing. The school is now under different ownership and has said it cannot comment on events before that change.
TRENDING TODAY
In a statement after Utah’s decision, Hilton said the school had “failed the children in its care” and argued that survivors had been warning about abuse, neglect and trauma for decades. She said the state’s action confirmed what many former residents had long claimed.
The decision is a major moment in the broader fight over what critics call the “troubled teen industry,” a network of private residential programs, boarding schools and treatment centers that often serve children with behavioral, mental health or family challenges. Utah has played a central role in that industry for decades, attracting families from across the country who are seeking intensive help for teenagers.
Supporters of residential treatment say some families need structured programs when children are in crisis and cannot safely remain at home. Critics argue that weak oversight, isolation from families and profit-driven models have allowed abuse and neglect to continue inside some facilities for years.
Hilton has become one of the most visible advocates for reform. After publicly discussing her experience in the 2020 documentary This Is Paris, she testified before Congress and state legislatures, pushing for stronger protections for young people in treatment programs. Her advocacy has helped support youth-protection laws in Utah and more than a dozen other states.
The license revocation follows renewed legal pressure on Provo Canyon School. In June, Hilton returned to the facility to support two families who filed lawsuits alleging that their children were mistreated there. One lawsuit involved a boy who allegedly suffered serious injuries without prompt medical care, while another involved a girl whose severe stomach pain reportedly went untreated for days before hospitalization.
Provo Canyon School describes itself as a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth ages 12 to 18. The school did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’s request for comment on the license revocation.
For parents, the case raises difficult questions about how to evaluate youth treatment programs. Families in crisis may feel desperate for help, especially when a teenager is struggling with mental health, behavior or safety concerns. But the allegations surrounding Provo Canyon School show why licensing, transparency, medical oversight and complaint systems matter.
The state’s decision does not resolve every allegation made by former students or families. It does, however, show regulators taking a stronger step than previous warnings or temporary restrictions. Whether the school appeals, closes the campus or faces additional legal consequences will be closely watched by survivors, advocates and families across the country.
Why It Matters
This matters because children in residential treatment facilities are often far from home and dependent on adults who control their daily lives, medical care and communication. When oversight fails, young people may have limited ability to report mistreatment or protect themselves. The Utah decision also shows how survivor advocacy, public pressure and state inspections can eventually force action against institutions accused of failing children.
What Comes Next
Provo Canyon School has 15 days to request a hearing. If the revocation stands, services at the Springville campus must end by August 6. Advocates are likely to continue pushing for stronger federal and state rules governing youth residential treatment centers, while lawsuits filed by families and former residents may keep the school under legal scrutiny.
Utah revoked the license of Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus after citing multiple health and safety violations.
Utah revokes license for boarding school where Paris Hilton says she was abused
The state of Utah has revoked the license for the Provo Canyon School’s Springville campus, citing multiple health and safety violations. Socialite Paris Hilton, who has spoken about alleged abuse at…
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