At Help Your Teen Now, we work with parents across the nation. Many of them instinctively want to find a residential treatment center which is located within their home state. However, this may not be in the best interest of their troubled teens.

Why Choose An Out-Of-State Residential Treatment Program

It is completely understandable that parents want to keep their troubled teens close to home by sending them to an in-state residential treatment program. But there are several reasons why parents should choose an out-of-state residential treatment program for their troubled teens.

• Better regulated – Residential treatment programs are regulated differently depending on the state. So, depending on your state regulations, an out-of-state program may offer better regulations in regards to their residential treatment centers.
• May not be available – Not all states have residential treatment programs, making the only option an out-of-state program.
• Not secured facilities – Like most troubled teen programs, residential treatment programs are not secured facilities, which means your teen is able to leave. If your teen is in an in-state program, they may run away and stay with friends.

Measuring Criteria For An Ideal Residential Treatment Program

When parents broaden their search for a residential treatment program outside of their home state, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of choices available. There are some criteria they can use to judge how good a particular residential treatment program is for their troubled teen.

• Program staff – A quality residential treatment program will have a variety of professional program staffer such as a clinical psychiatrist, licensed therapists, a clinical doctor on-call/on-staff, registered nurses, state-licensed teachers, trained staffers.
• Types of therapy – There should be a variety of therapeutic methods offered at the residential treatment center as teens will respond differently to various types of therapy.
• Educational program – It is important that your teen doesn’t lose out on academic advancement while receiving treatment. Be sure that any residential treatment center you are considering has an accredited academic program as part of their treatment program.
• State regulations – As residential treatment program regulations vary from state-to-state, you will want to ensure that any state you are considering has strict regulations when it comes to residential treatment centers.

At Help Your Teen Now, we help parents choose the right program for troubled teens. Whether in-state or out-of-state, contact us and we will help your family find the best program to help your troubled teen so your family can move forward together.