In July 1978, Luke Austin and several other individuals, including his mother Helen Thompson, were arrested for attempting a violent takeover of Cenikor's Houston and Denver facilities.

[12] In 1983, Cenikor received national recognition from the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, when he visited the Houston facility on April 29.

President Reagan commended Cenikor for its ability to operate without government funding, and for its success in enlisting support from the private sector.

[14] Nancy Reagan also visited the Fort Worth facility in 1986 alongside Texas Governor-elect Bill Clements as she handed out diplomas to 11 graduates.

In 2007, residents began attending college and vocational training programs in an effort to improve their quality of life while getting treatment at Cenikor.

[18] In 2010, Cenikor formed a strategic alliance with Odyssey House Texas to provide therapeutic community treatment services to adolescents.

More than 200 people attended the event including Texas State Representative Charles "Doc" Anderson, Waco Mayor Malcolm Duncan, Waco District Attorney Abel Reyna, city councilmen, representatives from Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center executive staff and other community members.

Reveal reported that "tens of thousands" of patient-workers have worked without pay in Cenikor programs, and that this practice has resulted in nearly two dozen serious on-the-job injuries and a 1995 death.