For nearly two decades, a for-profit treatment center in Lake Ozark, Missouri has been taking in some of the most vulnerable children in America — adopted kids struggling with trauma — and charging up to $20,000 a month to care for them, often on the taxpayer's dime. What investigators and former residents say was happening inside is deeply disturbing.

Change Academy at Lake of the Ozarks, known as Calo, is the subject of major investigations published in May and June 2026 by the Associated Press and The Midwest Newsroom. Fifteen former residents have filed lawsuits alleging physical abuse by staff — including body slams, restraints that left children "covered with bruises," and denied medical care. Missouri's own Department of Social Services has documented five findings of physical abuse and five of sexual abuse at the facility. The Camden County Sheriff's Office has received at least 400 calls tied to Calo's address, including reports of runaways, assaults, and sexual abuse.

Former teacher Dustin Wood, who worked at Calo for six years before quitting in 2024, said of the students he worked with: "There's not a single kid who left in better condition than when they started," according to the AP. A former Calo supervisor told The Midwest Newsroom: "We never had enough staff and they knew that, but nothing was ever done."

Despite these alarming reports, Calo has continued to operate — and profit. Its parent company, Embark Behavioral Health, grew to an estimated $180 million in annual revenue. Illinois alone spent more than $35 million sending children to Calo over the past decade, often without any state employee ever setting foot on the campus.

This has to stop. We are calling on Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway to launch a full investigation into Calo Programs and Embark Behavioral Health, and to revoke Calo's license if the evidence warrants it. We are also calling on the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to immediately suspend all funding to Calo until an independent investigation is complete.

These children were sent to Calo because their families were desperate and believed they were getting help. As one parent, Paul DiIulio of New Hampshire, said after spending at least $150,000 on his son's stay: "Desperate, moderately well-to-do parents who love their children will do anything to get their children back. And so I paid," according to The Midwest Newsroom. His son came home in worse shape.

The children inside Calo's walls deserve protection — not to be treated as a source of profit. Sign this petition to demand a full investigation and accountability now.