Let's roll back to the 70s at CEDU, where they had propheets. in these propheets there were skits. Fast forward to CEDU's projeny like Benchmark where those same workshops exist. The same at Aspen, where they have LifeSteps. It's the same stuff, just different names. "Raps" become "group", Propheets become seminars and workshops. "Bans" becomes "non-com". Very little actual content or structure has changed. I know this because i've talked to people who were at CEDU way back in the day and they describe pretty much the same thing we're hearing out of places like MBA as well as my own experiences. Straight begat PFC, KHK, AARC, Growing Together, Life, and so on. Very little changed there. Sure some places stopped "motivating" (wildly shaking hands in the air), but most of the core of it, including the really abusive stuff remained.
There is simply no incentive for programs to change. They have system way that works for them and there is no reason they would consider doing it differently. As far as the staff, and even some program directors, are concerned, they have the one true way to help kids and everybody else just doesn't understand. They rationalize by saying "the parents wouldn't understand if they knew" or "the authorities wouldn't understand, this is the way it needs to be done". They have had decades to polish the con, even though very few (mostly program directors) would actually see it as that.