Episode 2: The Hard Way

With just a few clicks and a phone call, anyone can hire “goons,” or legal kidnappers, to take their child away in the middle of the night. Emma goes undercover as Nancy, a fictional mother looking to transport her daughter to a wilderness therapy program, and discovers just how easy it is for the average parent to hire a pair of goons to abduct their child under the cover of darkness.

Find Gooned at goonedpodcast.com">goonedpodcast.com and on TikTok @goonedpodcast">goonedpodcast. To see the transport estimates and forms in full, listen to the entire call, and read the email communications with transport agencies, head to Patreon.com/goonedpodcast">Patreon.com/goonedpodcast.

Credits

Gooned is researched, reported, and edited by Emma Lehman. Original music for the show was created by Olivia Springberg. Victoria Shifflett mastered the show. Episode artwork was created by Sam Doe. Sarah Lukowski and Avery Erskine copyedited and consulted on the show. The research of Jamie Mater, who was interviewed in this episode, can be found at https://www.unh.edu/inquiryjournal/spring-2022/troubled-teen-industry-and-its-effects-oral-history">https://www.unh.edu/inquiryjournal/spring-2022/troubled-teen-industry-and-its-effects-oral-history.

Sources and Further Reading

The Troubled Teen Industry and Its Effects: An Oral History

A Closer Look at Involuntary Treatment and the Use of Transport Service in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (Wilderness Therapy)

OAR 309-033-0432: Standards for the Approval of a Secure Transport Provider to Transport a Person in Custody or On Diversion to an Approved Holding Hospital or Nonhospital Facility

AMATS website

Utah S.B. 239 Congregate Care Program Amendments

Transcripts available at goonedpodcast.com

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