Scared Straight

Twenty years ago there was a program designed to help youth see the end of the path they were traveling. The program was not aired on television; it was conducted at local penitentiaries across the country. Defiant youth were taken to a prison to meet with people who had committed serious crimes. Some say that the program was not effective and it was done away with. There are those who disagree and believe that the program did have a positive effect on the still impressionable teens.

Government Oversight

Some government employees are more concerned about scaring the youth than doing what may be the most helpful. Child abuse now encompasses things that previously were not considered abusive. One State Government employee recently informed a program that it was abusive to threaten to send teens to a boot camp. The teen program was written up for the so called "violation". Evidently it is not acceptable to inform a child that they will be going to a more restrictive environment if they do not shape up. Given this train of thought, the reason that scared straight programs disappeared may be due to people like this, rather than the claim that the scared straight program was not effective.

Child Abuse

We don't condone any form of child abuse. That being said, the line between abuse and parenting has become a little blurred. What rights does a parent really have in today's left leaning society? There are still some "old school" advocates that grew up in the 50's and 60's. This generation was raised with the threat and reality of some type of corporal punishment for disobedience. The majority of them seemed to have turned out alright. If it is considered abusive to threaten to send a child to a program or some other type of licensed institution, what is a parent expected to do? Parents are legally responsible to see that their child attends school. One parent recently said that she dropped her child off at school at stayed out front to see that he didn't leave. The sneaky teen went out a back door and the parent was still reprimanded from the High School for the teen not attending school.

Beyond Scared Straight

The new program beyond scared straight has stirred up controversy in many communities. This program is similar to the old scared straight program, but like many things the new scared straight has been made into a documentary, or a reality show. This will surely stir up the child rights activists and the bleeding heart state agencies mentioned earlier. There are those who don't believe in any type of teen program. Instead they lump them all into the same stereo typical abusive situation. They are like the state agency mentioned that won't rest until all teen programs are closed. For more information on programs similar to scared straight please give us a call 800 781 8081.

It is important to note that the information on this site is the opinion of the individual writers and may or may not, be backed by any type of research. Research, like program success results can lean toward the belief of the person(s) conducting the research.