Call for help now 
Military Schools and Boot Camps in Massachusetts
You’ve tried everything to reverse, stop or slow down your teenager’s terrible behavior, whether it’s substance abuse, depression, self-harm, hanging with the wrong crowd, violence or threats of violence. Let HelpYourTeenNow offer you the support you need on taking significant action toward placing your teen in a residential care facility. Military schools and boot camps are usually where parents look for quick answers and easy solutions, but at HelpYourTeenNow, we believe there are better options out there for your family.
Military Schools and Boot Camps Aren’t the Best Option for Troubled Teens
Despite what the media shows you, military schools and boot camps aren’t the best options for at-risk teens. True military schools are college prep institutions with no resources for therapy. Boot camps are generally privately owned programs with emphasis on hard physical activity and harsh treatment designed to scare kids into behaving. Neither one provides long-term solutions for troubled teens. Long-term changes in at-risk teens only come from residential treatment and immersion facilities where professionally trained therapists, teachers and supervisors can guide them into re-establishing good habits and helping them overcome their obstacles.
Massachusetts Regulatory Laws
The Massachusetts Executive Office for Education is responsible for licensing all residential programs for juveniles and children with 24-hour care.
Massachusetts private schools have no requirements for licensing, nor are they required to be accredited. The schools must show they are equal to the public school curriculum to be approved by a local education agency (Mass. Gen. L. Ch. 76, §1). There is no guideline for curriculum for Massachusetts private schools and their teachers do not need to be state certified (Mass. Gen. L. Ch. 76, §1). Criminal history records must be checked for all current or prospective employees of private schools (Mass. Gen. L.ch. 71, §38R).
(U.S. Department of Education, State Regulation of Private Schools, 2009)
Reference: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf
Massachusetts children between the ages of 4-17 diagnosed each year with ADD/ADHD: 9.8% (2007 study, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007 Study). http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/prevalence.html
For Massachusetts women between 15-19 years old: 16.4 and 29.4 per 1,000 women (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2009 Study). .http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6006a6.htm?s_cid=mm6006a6_e%0d%0a
National suicide ranking: 43rd. Number of deaths: 78 (crude rate of 8.3). (CDC’s WISQARS website “Fatal Injury Reports, 2010” http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html;) http://www.suicidology.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=262&name=DLFE-629.pdf
In a 2009 report, it showed that 20.2% of Massachusetts teens abuse alcohol and 13.1% are binge drinking. Marijuana use in California teens was 10.6% and illicit drug use was at 5.1%. (State Report, 2009, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.) http://www.samhsa.gov/data/States_In_Brief_Reports.aspx
Juvenile arrests in California for 2008 include 1,578 arrests for property crime, 333 arrests for violent crime, 358 arrests for drug abuse and 45 arrests for weapons violations. (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/228479.pdf
For the 2010-2011 school year, Massachusetts reported an 83 percent high school graduation rate. (U.S. Department of Education, Graduation Rates 2010-2011) http://www.governing.com/gov-data/high-school-graduation-rates-by-state.html
Summary
Military schools and boot camps are not the solution for at-risk teens, but HelpYourTeenNow can guide you to therapeutic programs that will really make a difference. With a free consultation at your convenience, HelpYourTeenNow can assess your family’s issues and recommend a program that we know has a good success rate. Because we’re a group of parents, we know from experience what kinds of residential treatment programs have the best chance of working in the long run. You’ll gain peace of mind after talking to us in knowing you are doing the right thing for your troubled teen.
Leave a Reply