To play devil's advocate here, Deb, there are times during the day when it is very much possible to slip away. Think of all the times you've heard accounts on this site of students doing anything "out of agreement". Having sex, smoking, doing drugs, hooking up, whatever. All of those were times that students we not properly supervised... Now I wouldn't call a lack in supervision a "degree of freedom", because just because they have unattentive, untrained staff doesn't mean they are being given freedom.
And guest. It would be a death sentance for HLA to only admit "appropriate" students, by your definition of the word. There is only a small group of students whose parents would be ok with that relaxed of security for their children. Most parents send their kids there to get away from negative influences, drugs, whatever, or so they can just ship them off and avoid the "problem". None of these cases would the parents think it appropriate for the students to have unlimited access to a telephone, uncensored mail, and so on. And especially for the parents just shipping them away, I don't think the rights that are going to have to be given to the students by the ORS ruling would fly with them. Therefore, this cuts HLA's admission down to almost zero.
Most parents in search of a TBS are going to look for a place that is going to "protect" their children, and because they are scared, they think its a place like HLA was, with strict rules and restrictions on the students behavior. Parents dont usually want to do the harder thing of actually WORKING with their children through their issues, and feel that locking them up in an HLA-esque place is "for the best".
And your saying about the parents being "supportive" of working with their children's placement at HLA. Supportive of exactly what? What are the parents really contributing or participating in? One ten minute phone call a week from their child, one weekly update from the counselor, a "workshop" 4 or 5 times over the course of almost 2 years?? I don't really call that support. If these parents are really as devoted to their kid as they wail about on here and doing the "harder thing" in sacrifice for their child, why is there so little involved? Do they really think its that easy of a fix?? So effortless? With these children going through the hardest experience they ever will endure (and I assure you, other than becoming a parent yourself, it is), why is there so little expected from the parent?