Bootcamps for Kids in Texas

Positive Reform

• Texas boot camps have transformed over the years to embrace a more positive outlook and appearance. Deaths at Florida, South Dakota and Arizona boot camps created media controversy about the harsh, military-style discipline and consequences. Some Texas boot camps also encountered problems, such as Sheffield Boot Camp. Sheffield closed in 2008, because it said that operators could not find enough qualified employees to run the facility. Delta Boot Camp redesigned its focus and opened as the Harris County Leadership Academy. Delta's focus changed from a last-ditch effort to change youth to a facility providing emotional and behavioral therapy for rehabilitation.

Positive Focus

• The Texas Youth Commission operates Texas' juvenile correction programs, which focus on a partnership with families and all adolescents. The mission of the commission is to create a safe environment to nurture the teens' education, life skills, employment and relationships. This is in contrast to the boot-camp mentality, which operated on rigid military discipline to scare kids into becoming upstanding citizens.

Positive Legislation

• In 1996, Michigan passed the Boot Camp Act, in conjunction with the Family Independence Agency, which allowed for the militaristic-style of camp, but also instituted four to six months of aftercare once the teen left the program. Just a year prior to that, however, Texas passed broad-based reform that changed its focus to reintegration, thereby paving the way for Michigan's legislation.

Positive Alternatives

• With the move away from boot-camp mentality, organizations have cropped up to offer alternatives to teen boot camps, such as military schools, boarding schools and programs like Resolution Ranch, in Cameron, Texas, which provides a therapeutic residential facility aimed at meeting all the emotional and mental needs that may arise from a teen who is out of control.