A majority of the parents who contact us have tried everything to stop the spiral downward, but still, they just can’t let go of their child. They feel so guilty about the prospect of sending their child to a boarding school, they end up caving in and backing out. They hope that, by giving the child one more opportunity to turn it around, everything will be okay. It rarely works, and usually backfires. Yet again, by the time these parents contact us another time, it is often too late. At that point, their only option is to place their child into a school or program with extremely aberrant teens (drug addicts, criminals, sexual deviants, etc.).

Additionally, many parents contact us and start the enrollment process. Then, right before the enrollment date, they decide not to place their child. They want to give “counseling” at home another try. Unfortunately, most of these parents re-contact us a short time later. Why? Counseling a troubled child RARELY works. The reason is that counseling only works for those who know that THEY have a problem and THEY are motivated to change. Troubled teens believe that there is nothing wrong with them and that their parents are the one’s that need help. The teen that is not motivated to change will not change through therapeutic intervention, they will only get worse.

An additional reason parents decide to wait and give their child another chance is the cost. Abundant Life Preparatory charges $4,250 per month (Basic 9 to 12 month program). Parents think this is an outrageous price. But in perspective, if a parent hired three 20-year old baby-sitters for $6 per hour to watch their child eight (8) hours per day each (thus covering a 24 hour period) they would end up spending $4,320 per month. Therefore, if you compare what ALP provides against what three (3) baby-sitters would provide, you would see that ALP is a more economic arrangement.  At $4,250 per month, the services provided:  24-hour professional care, room and board, accredited education, athletics, leadership training, vocational development, career counseling, discipleship, and direct supervision, are far more beneficial for your student than three (3) baby-sitters.

Many times it is the “dad” who debates the monthly tuition rate. He just cannot comprehend spending that kind of money. What these parents do not realize is that they will buy a car for more then what we require for our 9-month program. Their monthly car payments would be more then the $300 per month it would cost for the monthly student loan payment. If the parents choose to wait and their child ends up needing a therapeutic program, it will cost more then $4,250 per month and would take much longer than 9 months.