ISAC just published my article on the troubled-teen industry. It's an introductory overview of the issue and its history, drawing on many of the top exposes on the subject.
Go to the newsroom - up-to-date alarming news on this alarming topic - and scroll to it, or click here - The crime of being a teenager.
Intro
The next time you see a teenager walking down the street, perhaps wearing black, baggy pants, with some faddish hairstyle, know that this person could disappear overnight. There is an aggressive industry trying to find his parents. They want to tell them that their child might be in danger. If that teen is hanging out with people the parents don’t approve of; if he seems sullen or defiant, has “entitlement issues” or “mood disorders”; if he hasn’t been arrested, diagnosed with emotional problems, substance addiction, or received any form of therapy, yet he’s experimenting with drugs or alcohol, dating, lying, shoplifting, running away, having sex; or if he hasn’t done any of these things, but he just hasn’t been right since his molestation or since a loved one died… they want to tell his parents that this boy may be on the road to destruction. And they want to tell them that they can help.
This is the troubled-teen industry — residential treatment programs, wilderness therapy, boot camps and similar "tough love" programs using thought coercion to modify the behavior of juveniles. Marketers are cashing in on troubled parents, offering a solution that sounds too good to be true – pay to have someone take the child away, fix him, and return him – respectful and compliant.
In its present state, the unregulated troubled-teen industry is a dangerous breeding ground for corruption and abuse. Allegations of abuse, neglect and deaths are increasingly being brought to court. Teen Advocates USA counts 74 program-related deaths of juveniles since 1980.
This billion-dollar industry profits by persuading parents to pay for the kidnapping and captivation of juveniles. While it is difficult to obtain accurate figures for an unregulated industry, most sources estimate that 10,000 to 20,000 teenagers are in behavior modification programs this year. Programs typically charge $3,000 to $5,000 a month, with emphasis on retaining a child until the staff decides she should be released.
see also lonesouls.org
image by permission from Monty Lapica's new film Self-Medicated
The crime of being a teenager
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2 comments:
I heard of a similar program on radio one night. I think this took place in Colorado (not 100% sure), but this program was targeted toward women. The 3rd party would simulate the abduction of women. Once it gets to a certain point, the 3rd party would stop there action and tell them, it was a simualted scenario on what could have happened. Have you heard of this? Sounds like a major lawsuit that could happen if the 3rd party went to far.
Hi Chuck,
Thanks for commenting. I hadn't heard about that particular one, but it's not surprising. In Help At Any Cost, Maia describes similar tactics by WWASP-affiliates, including forcing a young teenage girl - to the face of her abuser - to assume responsibility in her repeated sexual abuse in her childhood; girls forced to wear slutty clothing and wear signs saying "I am a slut"; a boy is forced to wipe his feet on the backs of girls. The ISAC newsroom contains links to several current news articles on sexual abuse allegations, by both girls and boys. And sexual abuse is only one of the problems in these programs.
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