Teen escort company

Teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm, is a term used in the United States and Denmark to describe a business that specializes in escorting teenagers from their home to various facilities.

United States

As an option of transport, parents in the United States are able to hire teen escort companies to transport their children from home to mental health treatment facilities, teen residential programs, wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, boot camps, or behavior modification programs. [http://www.apa.org/pi/cyf/specialty_schooling.pdf The Exploitation of Youth and Families in the Name of “Specialty Schooling:” What Counts as Sufficient Data? What are Psychologists to Do?] by Allison Pinto, Robert M. Friedman, and Monica Epstein, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. American Psychological Association, "CYF Newsletter", Summer 2005 (file dated 9/28/2005). Page 3.]

Parents may use this type of service when they believe their child needs treatment outside the home, but will not willingly travel there. In 2004 it was estimated that there were more than twenty teen escort companies operating in the United States.

Often teens to be transported are picked up during the night, to take advantage of their initial disorientation and to minimize confrontation and flight risk.

The use of such services is controversial, because the services are subject to little or no government regulation [ [http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2004/feature_labi_julaug04.msp Want your kid to disappear?] by Nadya Labi, "Legal Affairs", July-August 2004 and [http://www.journalismcenter.org/awards/nadya_labi.html Journalism Center Awards: Nadya Labi] ] and because they are associated with treatment services which are themselves controversial. For teenagers seized in the middle of the night by strangers, the experience of being taken away by a teen escort company may involve considerable stress.

Denmark

Due to a cutback in social services, these firms first began to appear a couple of years ago. Unlike the American firms they aren't allowed to use stun guns and pepper spay due to stricter weapon laws, but unlike the social services, they may use mechanical restraints as they do no have to answer to the law about the use of force against minors. [http://www.brlingske.dk/article/20080324/danmark/703240041/ Private virksomheder redder unge fra bander (Private firms recue youth from ang envirnment)] , by Caper Dall, Mrten Frch and Søs Lykke Sloth, "Berlingske Tidende", March 24 2008 [https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=19869#K21] Kapitel 21, Magtanvendelse, Børn og unge (Chapter 21, Use of force, juveniles)] , Service law, law number 764 of 08/26/2003 However the existence of these firms has met opposition in the Danish parliament. [http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20080324/danmark/703240037/ S vil have SSP-lov (The Danish Social Democrates wants new SSP-law)] , by Casper Dall og Morten Frich, "Berlingske Tidende", March 24 2008

=References=