Aren't the parents handling it by admitting they need help? Don't they love their child enough to give them what they all need? It's completely obvious that those that think parents that do this aren't being good parents haven't lived their life. Society is not family friendly anymore and you can't just LOVE them out of the bad behavior. Dr. Phil had a couple on last week that lost their son to a drug overdose, they saw the signs and thought they could love him out of it. They did everything they had the knowledge to do and their son still died. In retrospect, they felt that if they had given him over to someone who could help him, they would have. Hindsight is 20/20.
These programs are not abusive - WWASP, Provo Canyon, CEDU or many others like them. What I hear is people trying to outdo the other in who was abused the most, how, when, why..drive your BMW - bitch moan and wail -
These programs are NOT for everyone. They're not for parents that choose to believe that rules and consequences are not for their child. That they know more than the staff. They're not for parents that expect perfection and that mistakes aren't made - we're humans right?? They 're not for parents that all of a sudden believe what their kid is telling them about the food, the living conditions, etc. If they lied to you before they left, would they all of a sudden be honest? Hell no! They will tell you anything to get you to bring them home. It's not for parents that cringe at the thought of their kid having to earn priviledges. Did grounding work at home? What else didn't work?
It is for parents who love their child enough to take a stand for their lives. The whole family.
If you want fluff - find fluff - there's plenty of those to waste your money on or that the state or your insurance are happy to provide. The bottom line is the kid has to do the internal work themselves, not you or FOR YOU, the staff, or their peers...for themselves. Until that happens, you'll have a whiney, powerless dependent the rest of your life. If you want this kind of dependence, don't ever send them to a wwasp or similar program. You may convince other parents they are wrong to seek help, help they've already done and it didn't work for lack of agreement by their teen, lack of structure, etc., and when you find that a kid has actually run away, become pregnant or died because they felt too guilty to do what they knew they needed to do, I will not want to be in your shoes.
My kid graduated from a wwasp school several years ago. I'm not rich, I'm a single mom. I invested in my kid's life. Despite what you think I believe, it's NOT the only option. Do your homework and when a school feels right, go for it. Just be committed 100% to go the distance. Give your kid the opportunity to complete something so powerful that they never thought they could or you thought YOU could. Life is good.