Those of you who have read the home page of this Web site know that I've developed a new interest in the burgeoning teen help industry. As a social worker with way too much time on her hands, I've been doing a lot of research about things that interest me-- like extremism in any form. It started with fundamentalist Christian colleges and universities, and as I learned about what goes on in those places, I found out about Mountain Park Baptist Boarding Academy, a fundamentalist Christian based boarding school that was located in southeastern Missouri. As of May 2004, Mountain Park and its sister school, Palm Lane Academy, have shut their doors.

Bob and Betty Wills, the people that founded Mountain Park in 1986, were run out of Mississippi back in the mid 80s when Mountain Park's predecessor, the Bethesda Home for Girls, was shut down amid allegations of child abuse. The Wills moved to Missouri, supposedly because of the state's "hands off" approach to regulating religious based schools. Apparently, some other schools have also caught wind of this policy and moved to Missouri, employing their questionable brand of "help" for troubled teens. New schools have been springing up like weeds, and growth at the schools has exploded, resulting in huge profits for the proprietors. Mountain Park charged $14,400 a year for room and board, not including incidentals ($300 maintained at all times), medical escrow ($500 maintained at all times), transportation (varied), computer fees (varied), uniform fees (varied), and another other assorted charges. What's more, the school's literature plainly stated that the administrators did not refund money, regardless of whether the student was withdrawn voluntarily by the parent or was kicked out by the administration. Any tuition that wasn't been paid was due immediately as "liquidated damage".

While some survivors of the school allege that the experience has saved their lives and brought them closer to God, many others claim that they were abused while they were students at Mountain Park. I chatted with some survivors who said that they were sent there by their desperate parents who were unaware of what went on there. Sadly, some of their parents didn't care what went on. A few had parents who just wanted their kids out of their hair, and believe it or not, Mountain Park's tuition was actually on the low end of what people pay to send their kids to teen help programs.

Then there are programs that offer parents cash and tuition break incentives to tout their program to other parents with kids in trouble. I read one account of a woman who had put her troubled daughter in Tranquility Bay, a "teen help" program located in Jamaica. Tranquility Bay is one of several programs that is run by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP). The woman owed the program over $12,000, so she was convincing other parents to send their teens to the program in order to get a break on the bill; however, she had no idea of what was actually going on down in Jamaica until she attended a parent's seminar with her husband. The seminar was supposedly a "watered down" version of what her daughter had been experiencing at Tranquility Bay. However, though the seminar was supposed to last three days, neither she nor her husband were able to last beyond the second day. Of course, after their seminar experience, she and her husband promptly decided to bring their daughter home, but since their decision, the program has tried everything from forgiving the $12,000 debt if the couple would try the seminar again, this time staying for the entire program, to threatening legal action.

The more I read about some of these programs, the less evidence I've found that indicates that some of these "specialty schools", "teen boot camps", "treatment centers", "boarding schools for troubled teens", "learning centers", or whatever other titles they operate under, are being run by people who are qualified to offer any kind of real help to teenagers. For instance, at Mountain Park, there were no qualified teachers. Mr and Mrs. Wills are themselves graduates of Tennessee Temple University, with three year degrees in theology. Mr. Wills calls himself "Doctor" based on an honorary doctoral degree he received. Many of the staff members at the school were people related to Wills by blood or marriage, and there was no evidence that they had the proper credentials to be working with children, especially those with "problems" of any sort. Students learned using by videos and workbooks. Staff members who supervised the school didn't necessarily have any special training that would have allowed them to assist a student who needed help with a particular subject. In fact, there's no evidence that the staff members had any education beyond high school-- except perhaps at the boarding academy itself where they would have been subjected to the same shoddy educational system. There were also no labs or meaningful field trips to speak of. Moreover, the school is not accredited, so there was no guarantee that any other high school or college would have accepted any work done at Mountain Park as legitimate. A student who was unlucky enough to graduate from the school may have ended up with a diploma that's not worth the paper it's printed on; then they would have had to either repeat the time in an accredited high school or take the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam in order to get credit for having gone to high school.

At Tranquility Bay and other schools run by WWASPS (the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools), the students themselves often end up becoming unpaid "junior staff members". That fact, in and of itself, is disturbing, since the schools put teenaged kids in charge of other teenaged kids, giving them considerable power over their peers. Remember, these are teenagers who supposedly have "problems", otherwise, they wouldn't be at the school in the first place. And isn't it a little sobering to think about a teen who has problems, maybe the kinds of problems that might have landed him or her in jail, learning social engineering methods in an environment with other teens with the same kinds of potentially dangerous problems? Does that seem kind of scary to you? It does to me. Even if these kids have made the kind of progress that would allow them to be able to take the responsibility of being leaders, isn't it a safer idea to just go ahead and discharge them into an environment where they would be with "healthy people"?

What are kids with problems doing in charge of other kids with problems? Perhaps part of the aim is to help the paid staff members with their work. The program has grown so explosively that staff can't keep up. A social worker who made an unannounced, court ordered visit noted that in the space of seven months, the program had expanded from forty students to 279. The social worker also noted that each staff member is responsible for eighteen teenagers. At the program's start, each staff member was in charge of only eight. Moreover, the program requires most staff members to have just a high school education. These are people who are supposedly dealing with teenagers who have complex emotional and educational problems.

Parents who are worried about getting their children to the schools or treatment programs can call "teen transportation" services. These lucrative businesses are often run by former police officers, soldiers, FBI agents, or others similarly trained in using effective security methods to transport people. If you decide to engage their services, representatives will show up at your home in the middle of the night, usually equipped with mechanical and chemical restraints, always equipped with a secure vehicle. Either you or they will rouse your son or daughter from sleep. Perhaps after having them get dressed, they'll have them slip on a pair of backless shoes or large boots, which will make it harder for them to run. Then they'll escort your teen to a car with child safety locks to be taken off to "school" or "treatment". Granted, when carefully chosen, a teen transportation service can make things easier for everyone involved. Some of these folks have the right skills and training to be able to handle difficult situations that could arise that parents just aren't equipped to deal with. And since there's not much of an emotional bond at stake, teen transport agents are less likely to fall victim to the manipulative ploys often used by teens in trouble. However, I find it suspect that some escort services will affiliate themselves with programs, since there's already evidence that the schools are willing to offer kickbacks to those who will help them recruit. This doesn't mean that a transport service can't offer valuable insight as to where the best programs are; it just means that parents should proceed with caution and take every recommendation with a grain of salt. Pay close attention to the source of every recommendation.

I have no doubt that high quality residential programs are available for kids if they need them. I have even less doubt that there are kids out there in the world who desperately need to be helped by a program they can't get at home with their parents. Some of them just need to be separated from negative influences. But as a parent, you owe it to yourself and your child to thoroughly check out a school before you agree to enroll your child. Look for credentials, if not from the state, then from a nationally respected accrediting body. Look for evidence that the professionals who are teaching or treating your child have been to a decent school, have studied the appropriate discipline, and are licensed.

Go to the school and look around, even if it's in another country. In fact, if the school is in another country, I think there's an even bigger need for you to go check it out for your child's sake. Don't rely on pictures or videos sent by the school or its parent company; they're usually nothing more than infomercials and ads. This is your child you're considering sending away; you are not buying a Bowflex! Look for red flags! Is the place clean? Do you see anything that looks unsafe or unsanitary? Go one step further and ask the school's administrators for their policy on safety and discipline. Ask about access to medical care and facilities, too.

Officials should never hesitate to answer your questions if your questions are reasonable and don't violate someone else's confidentiality. They should not balk at letting you visit or otherwise contact your child whenever you want to, nor should they censor phone calls or letters. No one should hold your money over your head by refusing to give you a refund if your child withdraws earlier than expected, nor should they try to guilt you into paying for more treatment than your child needs. If they're doing that, they might as well be holding your child for ransom. It's a sign your child should not be attending school there or receiving treatment from those people.

Above all, go with your gut. How do you feel on a human level about your contacts with the school officials? Do they strike you as sleazy or insincere? If they seem off to you there's probably a reason, and they're most likely the kind of people you wanted your troubled child to avoid in the first place, right? Think about it. And please re-consider one more time... does your child really need to be sent away to be straightened out? If you've got a kid who's in serious trouble with the law or is threatening suicide or homicide, by all means, start looking for heavy duty, legitimate help right now. But if your child is really just a good kid who's talking back a little more lately, maybe you ought to think things through again before you make the call to a teen help hotline. Getting involved with some of these outfits seems like it might be a really bad decision even under the most dire of circumstances. Sending your child to a residential treatment facility should be a last resort.

It wasn't that long ago that I was in high school. I remember when kids with problems got sent to "hospitals" to chill out for awhile. I remember hearing snippets of stories about what it was like to be in one of those places. I thank God that I never had to experience life in a teen help program. For those who have been helped by such programs and have managed to come out of the experience unscathed mentally, emotionally, and physically, I offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes. But for those who have been abused, I think there ought to be some kind of recourse. It's true that teenagers and children don't always know what's best for them. But sometimes despite all the best intentions, they end up victims because they're minors and ignorant of what rights they do have. They're the ones we have to watch out for by limiting the power some of these schools and their corrupt administrators can take over them when they're in the compromised position of being a "troubled teen". As always, parents should be their first line of defense.

You can visit Alexia Park's Teen Liberty site or the the Project NoSpank website for more information about the "teen help" industry. Alexia Park's website also has information on her book, An American Gulag. This is the only book I know of about the teen help industry, and it does offer some good information. For that reason alone, it's worthwhile to read this book, especially if you can find it in a library. It's easy to read and certainly not boring. However, in my humble opinion, the book could really use a good editor. The text is riddled with typos and sentences that are poorly constructed. Moreover, Ms. Parks writes that she decided to embark upon this crusade against "teen gulag schools" because her beloved niece, Katie, spent time in two such establishments. However, it didn't seem to me that Katie's story was adequately developed, nor was it resolved in any way. Perhaps Ms. Parks should have written a more general account about the different aspects of the teen help industry, including anecdotal information about Katie's situation, instead of centering the book around Katie's story. Still, I recommend that anyone who is interested in learning about the teen help racket pick up a copy of An American Gulag and give it a read. I learned a few new things, although a large chunk of this book can be found in different places online, and I have new faith that one day I'll be a published author, too. After all, if this book can be published and sold, even with all its boo boos, someone will buy something I write, too.

Click here for my review of Maia Szalavitz's book, Help At Any Cost.

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