http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/printer/ ... sp?c=71720Editor:
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Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch
Shari and Charlie Hetzler, left, are pictured with their son Jacob (seated) and their family representative, Cesar Mendoza. The picture was taken in Ensenada, Mexico, in June.
When Shari and Charlie Hetzler realized that their youngest son, Jacob, seemed to be following in the footsteps of his older brother Adam, 19, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence at Deuel Vocational Institute, they did something drastic - and did it fast.
?Many people in Amador County don?t know that there are other options out there to help your child. If we had known about this program five years earlier, we may have been able to save Adam,? said Shari Hetzler.
The program Shari is referring to is the Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), a highly specialized network of facilities that employ stringent behavior modification methods and a prescribed academic program that is specifically designed to identify inappropriate behavior and redirect it through a system of consequences and rewards.
Jacob is now a resident at one of WWASPS facilities, Casa-by-the-Sea, near Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. ?Casa,? as Shari refers to it, is kind of like a lock-down boarding school where residents are monitored around the clock. They attend school every day and have meals in cafeteria-style lunchrooms. They are grouped in ?families,? of about 23 residents and refer to one another as ?family members.?
Casa-by-the-Sea is what is known in the WWASPS system as a ?specialty school.? There are four in the United States, including the Baja site. Other WWASPS sites specialize in more intensive behavior modification programs and substance abuse treatment. Still others are designed specifically for youngsters aged 7 to 12 and young adults over the age of 18.
Although each WWASPS facility is independently owned, the curriculum and behavior modification plans are based on the same theories and tailored to each sites? specific needs.
For Jacob, household rules and schoolwork were becoming less and less a priority, much to his parents? distress, Shari Hetzler said. Eventually, after transferring to Independence High School after being unable to pass his sophomore year at Argonaut High School, Jacob decided he wasn?t going to school anymore. Period. Shari said that Jacob had been running with the wrong crowd, drinking and staying out late, sometimes for days at a time. As his behavior worsened and became increasingly uncontrollable, his parents feared they would eventually get a call that he was in jail - or worse.
?I was totally frustrated as a parent. I had no place to turn. I could see the pattern Jacob was getting into and I was terribly afraid I was going to lose my child,? she explained. Then she went online in search of some help.
?I was looking into military schools and boarding schools and I saw a link that said, ?teen help,? so I clicked on it,? Shari said. That link was WWASPS. She called the toll-free number and spoke to a representative, who sent the Hetzlers some information. After receiving it, Hetzler called back and spoke with someone at length. That convinced them.
Once Shari and Charlie made the decision to send Jacob to Casa, the question was how to get him there.
Shari said that some children, if given any warning, disappear for good. Some parents even resort to a surprise kidnapping scenario, in which a child is taken, sometimes in the middle of the night, by strangers and literally accompanied to the front door of the facility and checked into it. In the Hetzlers? case, they decided to enlist the help of their eldest son, Michael, 27.
Michael called Jacob and told him he needed some help on a business trip in Mexico. Jacob was all for it and so the two of them flew down to Baja. What Jacob didn?t find out until the next day was that his was a one-way trip. Michael pulled up in front of the facility, a property that was once a resort/hotel complex and went in for a moment. He returned with two employees who escorted Jacob into the facility, where his brother hugged him and told him goodbye. Jacob was resistant, as most kids are. It would be the last time he spoke to a family member for over four months.
?He entered Casa in November and by April, he?d earned enough points to be able to call home once a month. We were able to send one letter or e-mail a week during that time,? Shari explained.
The points system is crucial to the residents? experience at Casa. On day one of a resident?s stay, they have zero points and must earn practically everything they eventually have - including condiments for their food. They move up through the levels. There are six in all at Casa.
?Positive behavior earns the resident points. Negative behavior earns consequences that take away points. At level two, you?ve earned ketchup and a candy bar every week,? Shari said, noting a couple of level two?s rewards. Residents at levels one and two are not allowed to speak unless spoken to first, unless they are in the presence of a resident who is at level three or higher. This, according to Shari, is to prevent any negative, defeating conversations between residents.
The concept of every behavior resulting in either positive or negative consequences is the focal point of the WWASPS program. Accountability and responsibility are the goals, and while it may seem extreme, youngsters who have become so unable to choose between right and wrong must go back to the drawing board.
By April, when Jacob was able to receive his first phone call, the Hetzlers recognized a difference in their son.
?This was a boy who wanted nothing to do with his family. Now, he?s reminding me ahead of time when he will be able to make a phone call home. He says ?Don?t forget mom, I?m calling on the twelfth,? ? Shari said. Then, Jacob told his parents something even more profound.
?He said that he understood why we sent him away and he agreed that he needed it,? she said.
Shari received word recently that Jacob has just achieved level four. He can now call home once a week and can add a few items of clothing that is not part of the required uniform for his trips off-site with his parents. A level four resident can go off-site once every 40 days with his or her family. Jacob also looks forward to calling his parents and regards it as a reward, something that brings much joy to Shari.
The academic curriculum is a progressive one, competency-based and designed to allow residents to work at their own pace.
?Students are not held back by other teens in the class, lesson plans, teachers? schedules, course offerings, or class availability,? the brochure states. Students must score 80 percent or better on exams to continue forward in the curriculum. If they do not pass with better than 80 percent, material is continued to be studied until they do. Strict class attendance is enforced, seven days a week, as is study time. Since the academic program is performance based, students receive credits only when it is demonstrated that a section?s material has been mastered.
The overall program is completed when a resident attains level six, but if he or she has not yet completed the coursework required for a high school diploma, it is an option to stay and do so. Also, if a resident turns 18 before the program is completed, they may stay if they choose. Not all do and Shari?s not sure yet if Jacob will choose to stay when he turns 18 next spring.
?We hope he will stay if he hasn?t completed his diploma yet. There is a chance he may be done with it by then, but we?re not sure,? she said.
Shari is very proud of Jacob, who receives letters from his older brother Adam, encouraging him to stick with the program and not end up where he is. Shari and her husband also hold out hope that in time Adam will be back on the right track, possibly even following in his younger brother?s footsteps.
For the time being, Shari awaits the day when both of her boys return home as men.
Government operates best when it allows all messengers to offer their views, allowing the American people to decide which take root and which wither away.
--Harold Furchtgott-Roth, member of the Federal Communications Commission
