Beyond Scared Straight: Still Going Strong in its Fifth Season

Note: Reclaiming Futures is not affiliated with the A&E television show, "Beyond 'Scared Straight,'" and it does not support the "Scared Straight" intervention.

Beyond Scared Straight is, unfortunately, still on the air despite the research that shows it's ineffective and damaging to kids. In fact, Scared Straight programs actually INCREASE the likelihood that teens will reoffend. Why we're trusting the future of our teens to a television network whose other shows include Storage Wars and Duck Dynasty is beyond me.

We've written quite a bit on (Beyond) Scared Straight in the past:

• Beyond "Scared Straight" -- Moving to Programs that Actually Work
• Scared Straight: Don't Believe the Hype
• "Scared Straight" Programs Are All Talk
• Less Scared Straight, More Talk Therapy
• "Beyond 'Scared Straight'" Program Incoherent According to Conflict Management Expert
• On "Scared Straight" -- From a Personal Experience
• What J. Edgar Hoover and Scared Straight Get Wrong About Juvenile Justice

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.