I am a graduate of the WWASP program in Utah. That program saved my life when medication, church, therapy and parental love and support did not. I cannot defend Paradise Cove considering that I was never there, but I urge everyone to consider the sources. Teenagers are sent to places like that because they are rebellious, troubled, and self destructive. They are usually addicts or alcoholics who act out through substance abuse, COMPULSIVE LYING, promiscuity, violence, and criminal behavior. If WWASP programs were so horrible, then why do so many graduates go back to visit, speak, and even work at those same facilities. Oh, brainwashing! Riiiiight.....
I call BS.
Sounds to me like troubled teenagers have grown into troubled adults. Now that their parents are no longer enabling them, they look for yet another handout in the form of a tidy little settlement. I am now a mother, and would I want to send my child to a program? No.
But if faced with the alternatives of jail or a cemetery, would I send him? Absolutely.
Oh and, PS. Bad parents don't send their children to programs. They require not only too much money, but too much parental participation, education, and tranformation. A bad parent would let their child die of an overdose or live on the streets, not put them in the only place they know their child will be safe.
