HARVEYSBURG — A program for troubled teen-agers in this Warren County village is under investigation by at least three state agencies, the Enquirer has learned — even as it plans a major expansion.

        Arizona-based Teen Reach began operating in Harveysburg this spring with a mission of teaching teens to trade gangs, drugs and sexual promiscuity for God. The 18-year-old program supervises 100 teens in four states; most of their parents pay $25,000 upfront for their care, the Rev. Bobby Torres, founder, said.

The Rev. Bobby Torres of Teen Reach talks about the program that operates a group home for troubled teens in Harveysburg. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        But the Harveysburg operation has raised legal red flags on two fronts: Group homes are permitted in neither the neighborhood nor the house itself, according to local and state regulations, and Teen Reach lacks licenses to care for or educate children in Ohio. Teen Reach says it is exempt because it is a religious group.

        The group also has raised concerns among neighbors who have watched as many as 14 teens leave a Teen Reach home that until this week also held two parents with four young children.

        “I have enough trouble with two 3-year-olds and a 10-year-old,” said Michele Cochran, who lives across from the home on Loraine Avenue. “How are you supposed to supervise 14 "troubled teens' with four small children of your own?”

        The Rev. Mr. Torres disputes the number of youths at the 3,500-square-foot house, built and owned by local developer Paul Brothers, although the state Fire Marshal's Office counted 20 beds when it inspected the house, a spokesman said.

        The Rev. Mr. Torres said Thursday he's planning to build 21 additional houses on Maple Avenue. Each will hold five youths, he said, along with couples who may or may not have children.

        That would mean 105 more troubled teen-agers living in this village of 500 people.

        The teens who have been here since March have caused little or no problem, most in Harveysburg agree; some have even offered to mow neighbors' grass. But it's the potential for trouble that worries them.

        One 18-year-old now living on Loraine Avenue shot up a Teen Reach vehicle after running away from a facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Rev. Mr. Torres said.

        While the house has an alarm system, it's not foolproof: Two girls ran away in May, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Department.

        And then there's Teen Reach's relationship with what the Rev. Mr. Torres calls “meddling” state agencies. Among the charges:

        • Teen Reach lacks a license to run a group home in Ohio, said Jane Haller, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

        “We don't need to be because we are a private Christian boarding school,” the Rev. Mr. Torres said.

        Ms. Haller said religious affiliation does not affect the need for a state license.

        • Teen Reach lacks a license to run a charter school, said J.C. Benton, a spokesman for the state Education Department.

        “Anytime there's a student in Ohio who's receiving an education, we want to make sure it's a quality one. We are investigating — quite honestly, thanks to you,” Mr. Benton said.

        The program is applying for one, the Rev. Mr. Torres said, but Mr. Benton said he had no indication of that.

        • The house on Loraine Avenue doesn't have an occupancy permit, according to Tim Hobgood, chief building official for Harveysburg. That's because Mr. Brothers, the developer, added a back deck to a house that was already too close to the back property line, Mr. Hobgood said.

        “Today was the first time I heard there was not an occupancy permit,” Mr. Brothers said Thursday. “If there was a real issue they would have turned the electric off.”

        • The Loraine house also has been cited for five violations by the state Fire Marshal's Office, mainly because it's a group home operating in a single-family house, according to the fire marshal's report. The fire marshal was denied entrance and had to get a search warrant for the inspection, spokesman Bill Teets said.

        If the changes — such as installing fire alarms — are not made within 30 days the fire marshal can charge $1,000 per day for each offense, the report says.

        One charge apparently not being investigated is the neighbors' allegation that the Teen Reach house violates the village's zoning rules. The rules say a group home may only exist in the single-family residential zone if it has five or fewer non-staff residents and is licensed by the state.

        Mayor Perry Shepard said his understanding is that Teen Reach can't be held to those rules because it's a religious group.

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