Military-Based Boot Camps for Troubled Teens in Alabama
When milder methods of discipline -- such as reprimands or a simple scolding -- don't work, you may need to take more severe measures with your teen. This doesn't mean doling out the punishments or shaming your child into behaving. Instead, teens who have consistent and serious behavior problems act out aggressively or find themselves in trouble with the law, and may need a strict setting such as a military-based boot camp. If you live in Alabama, and are looking for this type of environment, you will find a few different options.
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Considerations
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Although a military-based boot camp may seem like a viable option for your troubled teen, take your child's specific situation into consideration before making any decisions. If your child has been arrested, the Alabama juvenile court department will need to oversee his punishment instead of simply allowing you to send him to camp. In the state of Alabama, juveniles are teens and children under the age of 18. A teen 16 or over who is facing charges for a capital offense or a felony involving serious injury, death, trafficking drugs or causing serious injury to a law officer will need to go into the adult justice system. On the other hand, teens who are not already in the juvenile, or adult, justice system, but are having serious troubles are likely candidates for a military-style boot camp.
Military Academies
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If a few-week-long boot camp doesn't cut it for your child's problems, Alabama parents can consider a residential military academy. These super-strict programs contain the same discipline environments that a boot camp does, just on a larger and longer scale. For example, the Lyman Ward Military Academy in Camp Hill offers academics, athletics and leadership training for teens in grades six through 12. Additionally, the academy offers a summer camp program for tweens and teens, featuring team-building, adventure sports and other outdoors activities.
Treatment Boot Camp Programs
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Some boot camp options, although military-style in nature, also offer therapeutic or treatment type options. For example, Alabama's Camp Robert E. Lewis Residential Treatment Academy has a residential program for males ages 14 through 18. Originally founded as a boot camp for the state's Department of Youth Services, the program now functions as a treatment program for delinquent teens who have a high likelihood of re-entering the juvenile justice system. The 90-day camp program uses intense physical training, team-building, discipline, counseling and equine therapy to help troubled teens.
State Boot Camps
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Alabama's Department of Youth Services runs three boot camp, or modified boot camp, style campuses as of 2013. The Autauga Campus, near Prattville, provides an incarceration alternative to minimum-risk teen boys. With a maximum capacity of 78 children, this 28-day program includes academics, physical training and a highly disciplined learning environment. The Mt. Meigs campus near Montgomery has an academic and vocational program along with the strict discipline and physical training of a boot camp-style school. The VACCA campus, near Birmingham, serves male teens ages 12 through 15, and also includes academic and counseling services.
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