Schools for Troubled Teens Offer a Second Chance For High-School Dropouts

Schools_for_TroubledTeensOfferaSecondChanceforHighSchoolDropouts

Plenty of teens struggle in a traditional high school setting. It can be due to a number of thing: emotional, physical, and mental disabilities. The struggle isn’t always visible at first but can quickly present its self as acts of defiance or participating in risky behavior. Sometimes, these are your children, wounded by circumstances or affected by drug abuse, divorce and other factors. The pain, confusion, or frustration they are feeling can become so great that they themselves become unmanageable. As the parent, you feel your teens stress in a different way but it’s also incredibly challenging. These kids need a fresh start in new environment. Have you considered therapeutic boarding schools?

Therapeutic Boarding Schools Defined

At these schools, troubled teens attend structured programs to identify the root causes of their problems. Through various approaches combining academics and psychotherapy, these teenagers learn both the cause and effect of their actions and behaviors. Armed with this knowledge, they begin healing as the root cause of their pain and acting out is eliminated.

Most parents believe that residential schools are financially out of range; however, both local school districts and some insurance plans can help offset the costs. This type of program offers a great option to restore hope and a future for these youth.

YouthBuild – An Example of a Program that’s Working

YouthBuild, a national program, provides another creative solution for helping these adolescents. This 9-month program focuses on select students between the ages of 16 to 24 who desire to obtain either a high school diploma or G.E.D. Participants engage in the 30 hour per week program that also offers job training, potentially launching them into careers that will serve them and their communities well. Adolescents can find a fresh, new beginning at this welcoming program.

Historically, inpatient juvenile treatment centers were believed to be a good option for rebuilding the lives of troubled teens. Recently, however, reports have surfaced indicating that teens in these facilities suffer abuse and a host of other problems. In addition, costs are tremendous. Taxpayers in the state of Arizona, for example, have spent $78 million over the past three years funding treatment for juveniles at nine residential treatment centers. The glaring inefficiency means that the centers can only treat a combined total of 466 juveniles at all of the facilities across the state. In addition, no metrics are in place to measure the success of these programs.

Wraparound Services – Milwaukee County’s Approach

Another approach known as wraparound services is gaining ground across the country. Costs are lower, and juveniles treated at home in their own community appear to have better results. Milwaukee County, WI, provides proof of the effectiveness of the approach, where funding has been level for residential treatment centers for the past 15 years. They reduced the number of youth in treatment centers to 80 from 375 between 1997 and 2010. In addition, psychiatric hospitalization days decreased to 500 from 5,000.

Plagued by budget overruns in the 1990s, Milwaukee County pursued this promising alternative while establishing one system of care to address all juvenile mental health challenges. Wraparound services have had an 80 to 90 percent success rate.

Request Free Admissions Information

Step 1 of 3 - Your Contact Info

Written by Natalie

7 Dec, 2015

Recent Posts

What Are The Best Programs for Troubled Teens?

What Are The Best Programs for Troubled Teens?

If you have a troubled teen or a teen otherwise in crisis, it may have been suggested that you consider a therapeutic boarding school or a residential treatment center. While you know your teen needs more help and better therapeutic options, you may hesitate to...

Is My Teenager Gaslighting?

Is My Teenager Gaslighting?

Does it sometimes feel like your teenager is making you doubt yourself, doubt the things you’ve said, and even feel confused about what you have or haven’t said? If you’re confused just by trying to figure it out, there are good odds that your teenager is gaslighting...

10 Fall Activities To Do With Your Teen

10 Fall Activities To Do With Your Teen

The holidays will be here before we know it - and now is the perfect time to reconnect with your teen before the hustle and bustle of the winter season arrives. Not only can you show your teen that you’re available to them for time outside of work and school, but you...

Help! My Teen is Sexually Active.

Help! My Teen is Sexually Active.

It’s the conversation many of us have been dreading for years: Talking to your sexually active teens about what they are doing, how they need to be safe, and how to recognize red flags in their sexually active life. As much as we’d like to simply bury our heads and...

Conflict Resolution for Teens

Conflict Resolution for Teens

Conflict can be stressful no matter how old you are. Unfortunately, conflict is just part of life. Teens can feel conflict to be very personal and even scary, leading to behaviors that are not optimal for dealing with this stress. Teens also are more likely to be...

How Do I Control My Anger as A Teenager?

How Do I Control My Anger as A Teenager?

Your teen years are filled with rollercoasters of emotions, confusion, frustration, and so much more. Parents may say that the teen years are challenging for them, but it could just be that they’ve forgotten just how it feels to be a teen. And indeed, parents today...

You May Also Like…

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *