I think most of the postings on this topic are ridiculous. I agree that DeSisto School may not be for everybody but it works and as with every good idea, things change as time goes by. so much of the nonsense you hear about DeSisto are based on lies, hearsay or partial truths that are twisted. I worked at DeSisto for over nine years and watched rules, limits, responses change as the years went by. If concerns were brought up about practices, it was addressed and things were changed. I believe that a lot of replies on this site are from disgruntled runaways, people who were sent to DeSisto because they had difficulty accepting structure and change. I suggest that you get many types of opinions. DeSisto is the only place that I know of where runaways over 18 voluntarily come back and re-enroll themselves. We constantly had runaways also asking to come back and make amends with the school and do outside programs in order to graduate. I agree that some runaways are able to be successful without the help of DeSisto yet we constantly hear from the ones who admit that whatever time they spent there was crucial for their survival after they left. If you want another view, ask the graduates. They too hated the place. ask why they stayed. Parents aren't brainwashed by parent groups. they're required to work on themselves and on their relationships with their kids in order to stay in their lives, not just dump them somewhere to "get cured." ask them why they stayed. DeSisto kids aren't allowed a lot of access to outside stuff initially but get more so as they advance in the school. Restrictions have gotten looser as the years have gone on and the types of kids have changed. The school has made every effort to acknowledge those changes. I really think that if people want to know what DeSisto is like today, ask the people who are currently there, not those who left years ago with bad feelings. ask them and don't believe everything you read b/c a lot of it isn't true. A lot of the people posting entries wouldn't recognize the place today as the place they went to. As to some of the replies, I have never heard of citrus as a cure for smoking. As a matter of fact, the school never claims to stop kids rom wanting to smoke. We simply enforce no smoking while enrolled. However, kids are not sent to school b/c they smoked. that's the least of the things we deal with. And I was on the Farm with Bonnie. That student knows that the issue was dealt with as soon as it was brought up. Also, I was there for Tony. He doesn't tell you all the crap he did at school when he was there, either. Be honest, folks. I had hoped DeSisto would have taught you that much. As to kids being sheltered, that's also something that has been addressed in the recent years to help transition. Again, I say, talk to the people currently involved with the school.