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The use of the
term "teen boot camp" is still being
debated. The media tend to focus on the "in your face" element of
teen boot camps -- the element that professionals who work with teens like the
least.
For info on boarding schools and treatment centers.
Visit our FAQ page for details.
Dr. MacKenzie, who has been studying adult boot camps since 1987,
holds that defining the term "boot camp" has been a major
issue and remains one. Her 1991 survey of adult boot camps (MacKenzie
and Souryal, 1991) found some common boot camp characteristics,
including:
1. A military-style environment.
2. Separation of boot camp participants from regular prison inmates
when they are housed in collocated facilities.
3. The participants' perception that boot camp is an alternative to a
longer term of confinement.
4. Some hard labor.
The most noteworthy finding from Dr. MacKenzie's survey, however, was
that boot camp programs differ widely, particularly with regard to the
amount of time participants spend in therapeutic activity and in the
aftercare they are provided.
The definition of teen boot camps given by OJP in its Fiscal Year 1995
Corrections Boot Camp Initiative: Violent Offender Incarceration Grant
Program includes the following elements:
1. Participation by nonviolent offenders only (to free up space in
traditional facilities for violent felony offenders, i.e., those who
have used dangerous weapons against another person, caused death or
serious bodily injury, or committed serious sex offenses).
2. A residential stay of 6 months or less.
3. A structured schedule stressing discipline, physical training, and
work.
4. Participation by juveniles in appropriate education opportunities, job
training, and substance abuse counseling or treatment.
5. Provision of aftercare services that are coordinated with the
program that is provided during the period of confinement.
For info on boarding schools and treatment centers.
Visit our FAQ page for details.
In our opinion:
Juvenile boot camps are a punishment by courts and should not be a
replacement for long term care options. These youth boot camps
do not provide the needed after-care, parent involvement, or therapy
as needed. View our other pages on alternatives to boot camp for teens - such as residential treatment and boarding schools
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