Son currently at Sagewalk, looking to keep him as close as possible to Oregon, where we reside.
That is wise.
You aren't Going to find many people here who will support your decistion in general but i'm right now of a more practical opinion (since you already seem to have a little common sense.). If you're going to send your kid to program, go to isaccorp.org and make sure it's not on the watchlist. In addition, make sure the program gives you none of the warning signs listed on the site.
And if your kid attempts to tell you something about the program, take his word for it. It's not worth risking. investigate. Your kid just might be telling the truth, and you would regret it if you didn't listen, and he was telling the truth. Make sure you can visit him at any time unannounced.
Lastly, Do not under any conditions, take the advice of strugglingteens.com or any educational consultant that recieves compensation from the program in any form (this includes the program advertising for the ed-con)
do your homework. and if you're really determined to do this. Be very careful. this site is littered with "mistakes" of which i was one of the victims.
I'm sure the rest of the site will try to convince you not to send your kid to program. Listen to what they have to say and keep and open mind. There are almost always other alternatives.
I agree with much of Psy's response, with a couple of differences of opinion/view. isaccorp.org's watchlist is not, repeat NOT, error-free, especially when "support" for an inclusion is an uncorroborated report, or a single report or two. That noted, appearance of a name on the list is cause for further investigation. Similarly, I think their "warning signs", as I recall the list, aren't "if any appear" dangers - though some are.
Next, don't automatically take your kid's word about a program, but do investigate if something that ought to trouble is claimed. Kids do fabricate things to "get out", but not everything troubling they say is necessarily a fabrication. As for being able to visit unannounced, there may be some good reasons for not doing so at some times - like late at night (commonsense?!), or in the middle of the wilderness (impractical), also during the first few weeks in a place when a visit might only delay progress as your son might use it to tell you why he shouldn't be there. But in general, you should be able to see him at any reasonable time - unannounced. If not, why not?!
Next - strugglingteens is not intrinsically bad/wrong. Certainly the posting parents as a whole are not so much of the same "programs are good" mind as the majority of posters here say "programs are bad". There really are some excellent places. And taking money from a program for referrals is not intrinsically bad, so long as it is disclosed. If a person makes a living from helping parents find appropriate places for their kids' needs, they are entitled to get paid somehow, although I'd generally suggest you pay rather than a program - sort of keeps incentives in the right place. In any case, ask any recommender if the program pays them.
Finally, when asking for help finding a program, and when discussing possible admission with any program, you really need to describe the issues involved, the kid's needs, your interests, what has been tried, and since he is in a "wilderness" program, what feedback they've given. Just "a program near Oregon" simply doesn't suffice. I can name some good places that fit that standard, but would they be appropriate? I can't tell from the original post.
Actually, you also need to have a good reason why returning home is not a good idea, espceially if, as is often the case, appropriate supports cam be provided and agreements reached.
