But the truth is, very, very few kids ever die from drugs and alcohol. The total number of teen deaths from all causes, per year is roughly 20,000. There are about 41 million teens. Even if these deaths were exclusively from drugs and alcohol and occurred only in the 4 million teens who have severe behavioral and mental disorders, that's still only a risk of death of roughly four in 1,000.
Natl. Vital Stats. System, Mortality
Apparently, "We teach your teen not to drive like idiots" camp didn't have any takers.
Teens are enrolled in these unaccredited, live-in facilities for reasons ranging from "thinks new stepdad sucks" to serious addictions and mental illnesses. In Sarah's case, an education consultant suggested a number of residences. Utah's girls-only Alpine Academy sounded like the most progressive, although she would later learn that that's like picking the healthiest fried Mars bar. In Sarah's day, at least, Alpine girls could expect highly regimented days of chores, one-on-one therapy, Mean Girls-style group therapy, subpar education, an arbitrary mind-fuck punishment system, and not a single giggling, pajama pillow fight, contrary to our understanding of what teenage girls need to thrive. Alpine noted in a recent email to us that they are accredited with AdvancED, and the Teaching-Family association. So hopefully things have gotten better since Sarah's days. If you have a more recent experience with Alpine Academy, please let us know.