The Lord’s Ranch AKA Trinity Behavioral Health

The Lord’s Ranch is a now defunct religion-based mental health facility located in Warm Springs, Arkansas. Located on 1,100 acres near the Missouri state line, north of Pocahontas, thousands of children across the nation were admitted to the facility for mental health treatment. While

Establishment & Closure

The Lord's Ranch was established in 1976 by convicted felon Bud Suhl and his wife Shirley Suhl. The Lord’s Ranch later rebranded as Trinity Behavioral Health in approximately 2007. The facility served both boys and girls, ranging from 7 to 17 years of age. The facility shut down in 2016 after forty years of operation. The facility was forcibly shut down in 2016 after Bud’s son, Ted Suhl, was convicted of fraud and bribery after taking over ownership of the facility. President Trump commuted Suhl’s sentence shortly before his presidential term ended, calling Suhl “a pillar of the community.”

Services Provided

The Lord's Ranch boasted itself as a safe and serene environment where troubled children would receive therapeutic treatment, education, and spiritual guidance. The Lord's Ranch advertised the following of their residential treatment programs offered;

"Our program is integrated by our teams of professionals: medical staff, social workers, special education teachers, advisors, administrative staff, consulting staff, and religious staff. Individual and group counseling, based on each child's needs, is provided by a psychologist and a licensed, clinical social worker, who also directs the development of individualized treatment programs. Psychological and psychiatric services are provided on a consultation basis ... The Lord's Ranch provides a therapeutic treatment plan tailored to meet the needs of each resident. Group sessions, designed to use the Bible as the main source of reference, are conducted on a daily basis for all residents.

The Lord's Ranch provides an intensive therapeutic program, with a therapist to resident ratio of approximately 9: 1."

Additionally, the Lord's Ranch emphasized the family-like environment at the facility, "unlike other residential resources."

"Over twenty years later, The Lord's Ranch is still operated under the directorship of Bud Suhl. Lovingly working together with his family and team members, their commitment to that beginning vision continues to make a difference in the life of every child. The Lord's Ranch has grown from one main building to a residential campus network of multiple buildings and homes in the small community of Warm Springs, Arkansas.

The Lord's Ranch is nestled in the beautiful surroundings of the Ozark foothills. Over 1,100 acres of green rolling hills, small shimmering lakes, flowering trees and horse pastures promise tranquility, a restful atmosphere, peace and the beauty of nature. It is this setting that the Suhls' vision of Total Concept Healing (psychological, medical, emotional and spiritual) takes place.

At the Lord's Ranch, we have developed a program unlike other residential resources. Our mission it to provide the best possible treatment in a setting which is as comfortable and homelike as possible. We create a family environment that promotes the development of trust and a feeling of security within the residents. The main l 100 acre spread holds a massive, 5000 square foot main lodge, cottages, school, chapel, vocational building, and lovely lakes, ponds and wildlife habitats. In fact, for many of us, The Lord's Ranch is our home. We are not shift workers who work our shift and go home. We live with the children and are committed to the lives of children. We believe in our mission of helping children grow to be healthy and productive adults, and helping in a way so that they are made to feel part of a family and part of a community. Although we are bigger now than we were in 1976, the Suhl family is dedicated to maintaining the warm friendly feel of a large extended family, nestled comfortably in a quiet, caring community.

One good sign of a happy and healthy family is the ability to laugh and have fun together. Just as in a functional family, laughter, stories of the day's events and relational insights can be heard around the dinner table. Here at the Ranch, we set aside time to have fun. Activities like fishing, field trips, educational trips and trips to amusement parks and ball games are part of our programming. We believe in the use of pet therapy in building confidence and responsibility in youth. And we believe in the celebration of life, through celebration of special times like decorating for Christmas, graduations and birthdays ...

Any building can be termed a residential treatment center. It takes special people and a higher level of caring to tum that facility into a loving, nurturing environment. And although The Lord's Ranch houses over 70 "family" members, it is, in every sense of the word, a home."

Resident Sourcing

The Lord's Ranch established themselves as Medicaid providers in multiple states including Arkansas, Alaska, California, Illinois (specifically the Chicago area), Indiana and Texas. The Lord's Ranch was able to receive Medicaid funding from the states from which it accepted children.

Alaska began sending children to the Lord's Ranch in approximately 2002 and discontinued in 2014, after Ted Suhl's businesses were removed from Alaska's Medicaid programs.

Illinois began sending children to the Lord's Ranch in the mid- to late-90's. In 1989, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services attempted to withdraw Illinois children from the facility after learning that untrained and convicted felons were working in the facility. In 1990, a hearing was held to determine whether the children should remain at the facility or be returned to Illinois. The State of Illinois gave licensing approval to the Lord's Ranch in 1992, however, no new children were sent to the facility and this approval appeared to only pertain to children who had already been placed at the facility prior to concerns being raised.

In February of 1995, Robert Westerhoff and Christopher Chandler escaped the Lord's Ranch in a stolen vehicle. The pair drove for over 100 miles before allegedly falling asleep at the wheel and driving into a ravine. Westerhoff died on the scene and Chandler was airlifted to the hospital with a ruptured spleen. Soon after this child's death, Indiana stopped sending children to the Lord's Ranch.

Abuse Allegations & Investigation

Allegations of abuse against The Lord's Ranch go back decades, however, little was done in response to this abuse.

In 1990, the Arkansas Child Care Facilities Board revoked licensing for the Lord's Ranch after receiving reports of multiple violations, including improper restraints. This revocation of licensing status was short-lived and The Lord's Ranch received a new licence after hiring a retired state social worker as their social services director.

In 1992, a 12-year-old resident by the name of Kaleb Newman was grabbed by a staff member and fractured his arm. This injury put state inspectors on high alert, despite the fact Newman claimed this injury was accidental.

In 1993, a former staff member by the name of Steve Candalario filed written reports with Arkansas Child Welfare inspectors with Arkansas Department of Human Services about multiple instances of abuse he witnessed in the short time he worked at the facility. When interviewed, Candalario told reporter Mary Jacoby, "He picked this kid up, threw him against the lockers, smacked his head, threw him on the ground. Then he threw that kid into this empty classroom. And the whole time, I’m standing there with my mouth on the floor.” DHS ultimately determined the allegations to be "unfounded," citing that the staff member in question had "no history of abuse."

A licensing report for the period of 1991 to 1994 stated "Ranch staff consistently initiate restraint under circumstances in which no immediate threat to health or safety exists."

In January of 1994, Bud Suhl blocked state inspectors from interviewing children about the abuse allegations. The following day, Bud's son, Ted Suhl, bought several handguns, two riot shotguns and two AR-15 assault rifles in Little Rock, Arkansas. This purchase was reported to the state, and child welfare inspectors brought the local sheriff with them for protection. The Suhls argued the purchase was unrelated to the inspection, and that their resistance to allowing children to be interviewed was because inspectors wanted to speak to all of the children, rather than just a few of the children.

In September of 1996, state inspector Carolyn Winberry visited the Lord's Ranch, where she observed a boy wearing a cardboard splint, taped to his arm. The boy told Winberry that he had attempted to help his brother, who was being held in a "headlock" by a staff member. The staff member twisted his arm in an effort to restrain him. The boy stated he heard a "pop" and his arm "felt dead." The boy believed his arm was broken but was told to go to bible class.

In 2006, Arkansas State Representative Buddy Blair held a legislative panel to question The Lord's Ranch director, Ted Suhl about the facility as well as the training it provided to it's staff members. This session was prompted by Representative Blair stating he'd received "too many complaints" against the facility. During this session, Representative Blair cited an e-mail from a former resident of the facility detailing improper restraints used on patients, as well as residents being punished by being forced to sit on the floor while staff members sat on top of them. Director Ted Suhl, along with an attorney, denied the allegations.

In May of 2006, an Alaskan boy who had been sent for treatment at the ranch made allegations of sexual assault against another resident. The boy stated that following the assault, staff members taunted him for "being gay." The Lord's Ranch claimed ignorance to the alleged assault, and attempted to discredit the former resident's claim, stating the alleged perpetrator was a "younger, significantly smaller" boy.

Affiliated Entities

The Lord's Ranch was one of many affiliated business entities owned by the Suhl family. Known as the Lord's Ranch from 1976 to approximately 2007, The Lord's Ranch then rebranded as Trinity Behavioral Health. Other known and affiliated business entities include;

• The Lord's Ranch Christian Boy's Home, Inc. (1984)
• Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Center, Inc. (1990)
• Christian International Medical Sciences Foundation, Inc. (1994)
• The Lord's Ranch Christian Center and Children's Rehabilitation Unit (1995)
• Warm Springs Christian Center, Inc. (1995)
• Maxus, Inc. (1999)
• Arkansas Counseling Associates (1999)
• The Lord's Ranch Psychiatric Unit (2001)
• Trinity Behavioral Health Care System, Incorporated (2005)
• Cornerstone Treatment Center (2006)
• Trinity Dynamics, Incorporated (2007)
• LG Property Management, Incorporated (2007)
• Green Valley Asset Management, LLC (2007)
• Rolling Hills Investments, LLC (2007)

References

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