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OREM - "Kaye" has no shortage of family members looking after her.
There are her mother and stepfather, who, in the wee hours of the morning on Nov. 1, paid a company to forcibly transport her to Turn-About Ranch, a Utah boarding school and residential treatment center for troubled teens.
And there are her two maternal aunts who, seeking to free their niece, secretly arranged to have her sign legal papers in the restroom of a Baptist church that Turn-About students attend on Sundays.
Those papers triggered an emancipation hearing Friday before 4th District Juvenile Judge Sterling Sainsbury, who will evaluate whether Kaye, 16, is capable of deciding for herself what's best.
Utah's new emancipation law wasn't created to give adolescents an avenue to fight confinement at therapeutic schools and wilderness programs. Proponents pitched it as benefiting homeless, runaway and other "throwaway" youth.
But child advocates are pleased to see the new statute so cleverly applied.
Teen-help programs "have sprung up like wildfire in Utah because of the regulatory environment here," said Kristin Brewer, director of Utah's Office of the Guardian ad Litem, a team of attorneys who represent children in juvenile court.
The programs "are great if you're a kid who needs treatment," Brewer said. "But they're not for everyone. This at least gives kids a hearing, some due process."
If allegations of child abuse or neglect surface during an emancipation hearing, a judge can act on those. Still, Brewer doesn't expect a rash of petitions from the facilities, which are semi-secure and isolated. Also, Utah courts have no jurisdiction over children from other states, she notes.
"Even if you get a hearing, you have to prove yourself independent, a tough case to mount for teens said to have behavioral problems," said Brewer.
'A good student': Kaye - an alias used to protect the teen's identity - didn't get much of a chance to speak Friday. After meeting with attorneys, Sainsbury postponed the hearing until next week.
But in her petition, Kaye alleged Lori and Steve Allen, her mother and stepfather, are physically and verbally abusive.
She argued she's a "good student with no juvenile record" and that her "incarceration" at the ranch in remote Escalante will rob her of a year's worth of schooling and her dreams to attend college and become a veterinarian.
She is asking the judge to allow her to return to Washington state, where she has a summer job as a nanny for her maternal aunt Wendy Berg and her three children. "My room and board is included in my nanny pay," her petition said.
Allen said the petition was "trumped up" by her sisters. She has filed for a restraining order against Berg and another sister, Lisa Anger of Kearns, arguing they're abusing the emancipation law to trample her parental rights.
"I am absolutely horrified that my sister [Anger] typed up a legal document filled with lies and coerced my daughter into signing it," said Allen.
Allen, 36, said aside from the two-month nanny job last summer and her current stay at Turn-About, Kaye has "never lived away from us."
The Saratoga Springs mother of four girls said she placed Kaye, her oldest, at Turn-About because the teen was failing school, depressed and prone to fits of rage. Allen believes the behavior stems from a bitter custody dispute with her late ex-husband, Kaye's father, and his suicide last June.
Allen's sisters contend the source of Kaye's angst is Allen's new husband, Steve. "They got married secretly last spring and waited two months to tell us or the kids," Anger said.
The Allen home has come under investigation twice by Utah's Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). Both cases are closed, according to court documents.
Turn-About time: Kaye's aunts have also targeted the ranch, filing complaints with state licensing officials. Berg, who lives in the greater Seattle area, said Turn-About withholds food and other privileges from students until they earn them back. Berg, a licensed family therapist, also objects that children work the ranch and are not offered higher math and science courses.
Kaye "doesn't belong at Turn-About. She's a good kid with no history of drug use," said Berg.
Executives at the Aspen Education Group in Cerritos, Calif., which owns Turn-About, say the ranch offers a full spectrum of courses and requires its 50 students to work the ranch as part of their therapy.
"The program has been running for many years, has a terrific reputation and has done enormous good for thousands of young people and their families," said Vice President Mark Hobbins.
Utah licensing director Ken Stettler said counselors at Turn-About screened Kaye at intake and determined her placement to be appropriate. This was confirmed by a second evaluation done at Stettler's request by an independent social worker.
'My child's life': Allen says after just a few weeks in the 90-day program, Kaye's grades have improved. She fears the emancipation battle may cause setbacks.
"This is not a decision I entered into lightly. It took us 14 to 15 months and will cost us $340 a day. But you get to the point where cost doesn't matter. This is my child's life at stake," said Allen, who said she picked the ranch over other facilities because Kaye loves animals.
"If we were interested in just getting rid of her, we could have spent the same amount on a year-long boarding school," said Allen.
Until the case resumes, Sainsbury ordered that Kaye reside with a former neighbor and friend of the Allens. The Allens may visit but are barred from discussing the legal proceedings with her.
All other relatives shall have no contact, Sainsbury ordered.
Kaye testified that she would prefer to stay at the home of her paternal grandmother, who was also present Friday. Outside the courtroom, she avoided the Allens.
But Sainsbury cautioned, "Mom is still the custodial parent until I make a decision that says different."
Going solo
Since Utah's law went into effect in May, about a dozen teens have petitioned for emancipation. They include:
* A girl, age unknown, who requested emancipation but planned to continue living with her parents.
* A 16-year-old boy, placed in foster care due to his parents' substance abuse and mental health issues, who worked full time and wanted to leave state custody.
* A 17-year-old girl who claimed her mother took her paychecks and made her do all the housework.
* A 17-year-old girl who left home after alleging her mother was physically abusive; her case was dismissed after she failed to show up for court.
Source: Kristin Brewer, director, Utah Guardian ad Litem's Office
* Utah's emancipation law, which went into effect in May, allows teenagers 16 and 17 to petition a juvenile judge for adulthood.
* The teens must show they can live independently and manage their own affairs. The process requires that parents be notified and given a chance to respond. If granted, emancipation gives teens limited adult rights to sign leases, enroll in school, borrow money or seek medical care.