Reform Schools

I have a lot of experience with reform schools which are actually called Behavior Modification programs. My daughter was in one for 18 months. She was in a program called Teen Help which was later changed to Worldwide Associatio of Specialty Programs or WASP for short. It has a facility in Utah among a bunch of others. Some inside the US and others offshore. If your interested I can write you and tell you about. I can tell you it was not a fun experience for my daughter. I can also tell you my daughter is still alive and is now almost finished with nursing school. She was completely out of control we had to pick her up in several different states after she started running away. We gave up a lot to send her. We gave up our home and both of our new cars. We chose to keep our daughter alive in the only way open to us. She will be the first to say it was horrible and also the first to say it was the only thing that would have worked.

There is/was one in the Paso Robles area, but it is more of a military-type school. It's for kids who are troubled, and I know it is sponsored by the community (donations, fundraisers, that type of thing, and also some county support). Anyhow, the reason I know this is that I have an uncle who is a high school teacher in the area and he has had some kids go to this school. He is a huge supporter of it because it has worked out so well for so many of the boys who have gone there. They go in because they're out of control, have no support system at home and/or the parents just can't handle the kids, they aren't doing well in school, and are at risk of dropping out, doing drugs, etc. They enforce military-style discipline at the school and mandate studying, exercise, and community service. I have come across some of these young men at a big community event that they have every year, and have been really impressed. These young men are all clean-cut, helpful, and polite. I understand that most of them either go to college or into the military when they graduate. So, I can't speak for ALL of these types of schools, but this one seems to do pretty well. I know they were at risk of closing down this past year due to budget cuts - hopefully they're still around.

I would really think that it would depend upon what the staff is like at the school, what their programs are meant to enforce, and of course the individual child. Some kids are just bad apples and can't be saved (i.e. those with sociopathic tendencies and a bad upbringing).

I am not sure what I think of them either?

I do know that my oldest nephew SERIOUSLY wanted to go to Military School...for no other reason than he thought it would be a great time...he is a great kid and didn't NEED to go, but we looked and as it turns out there are not any near where we live, so he was out of luck....now he is just your average kid in HS...he gets good grades, plays football and wrestling, plays in the school band and has a rock band of his own on the side...I am glad we didn't have one to let him try...I woulda seriously missed that kid!

I think all kids, all parents, all schools and all situations are too different to decide whether I am PRO or Against? Does that make sense?

If you pick the correct RTC (residential treatment center) they can be a life saver. Also, many of the Utah schools carry California accreditation and I wouldn't send any teen to one that didn't have that. This means they earn high school credit while getting alot of intense therapy and going to school. I am familiar with Island View in Layton, Utah and a couple other ones. Depending on the situation, they can be well worth the expense. Also, if the child already has an IEP in place in CA, the school district may end up paying some of the costs. I know some people that were successful in that.

Must be a western thing...I have never known of anyone doing this or have heard of one around me.

If it's more of a behavioral issue that child will be exposed to drug users and drinkers among other things. Some kids just don't belong with that crowd.

Some of the kids I've worked with at the high school have gone to these continuation schools in Utah. Some have had great success and others not so much. It really just depends on the kid and how responsive to the program they will be. If they want to change they will, otherwise they will continue with the destructive behavior no matter what intervention is given.