Ten Alps has produced a documentary for Channel 4 about “brat” camps in the United States.
Children are sent away to the camps – often against their will – in the hope that extreme discipline will change their behaviour.
The industry in the USA is thought to be worth more than $2bn.
Ten Alps will be going behind the scenes at different camps, including military-style boot camps for children as young as 5.
In Jacksonville, Florida, Camp Consequence is run by a former US Marine, who jokingly refers to children as “Al Kidda.”
However, there is currently no federal body to regulate and monitor the quality of care in the “child intervention industry”, which could lead to the possibility of abuse. Some parents are told to sign contracts giving the programme full legal rights over their child, allowing them to “restrain, confine, transport and medicate their child if necessary.”
With more than 1000 private facilities across the country, some parents employ professional $100/hour “child transporters” to take their child to the camp.
One such “transporter” is Evan “Bullet” James, who has been hired to take a teenager to a strict Christian residential program for a second time. He’s been playing truant and staying up late playing video games. With counselling and home schooling having failed, his mother has sold her home to pay for sending him away.
The TX date is October 8th, 2014.
