I heard about this on NPR when I was at the station earlier (hey, we're public television, it stands to reason we'd listen to public radio).
Legal Affairs - WANT YOUR KID TO DISAPPEAR?
It's an article about a company that will abduct your child (with your consent, signature on custody papers, and a shitload of money), handcuff him or her, and transport his or her whiny butt to reform school. The catch? One, these 'problem kids' are in the eyes of the beholder (Jimmy might be smoking pot, his grades have slipped, he's talking back--i.e., teenage rebellion), although I'm sure parents don't really know where to turn to next. Two, the business is run by a former police officer who according to the article is a recovering alcoholic with arrests for DUI, domestic violence and molestation. Three, the kids are transported to 'schools' that are out of the country, where parents have signed over their kids to private companies and sent things like birth certificates and passports...in essence, there's a huge space for abuse, and since they're private (and not under American jurisdiction) largely unregulated. It quite frankly seems a recipe for disaster, and if something went horribly wrong, I have to admit, I'd blame the parents for putting the kids into harm's way.
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