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A behavior modification facility (or Youth Residential Program) is a private, residential educational institution to which parents send adolescents who are perceived as displaying antisocial behavior, in an attempt to alter their conduct.

A number of behavior modification facilities are operated in the United States, with others operating in Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica primarily for the children of U.S. residents. The most notable organizations operating such programs is the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP) operating facilities such as Tranquility Bay, the Spring Creek Lodge Academy and Aspen Education Group. Some other programs are Teaching Family HomesTFA and Abraxas in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. The latter two are based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis

The behavior modification methodologies used vary, but a combination of positive and negative reinforcement is typically used. Such methodology has been found to be highly effective in the treatment of disruptive disorders {see meta-analysis of Chen & Ma (2007)^[1] }. Positive reinforcement mechanisms include points, rewards and signs of status, while negative reinforcement may include time-outs, point deductions, reversal of status, prolonged stays at a facility, physical restraint, or even corporal punishment. Behavior modification within the penal system lost popularity in the 1970s-1980s due to a large number of abuses. {see Cautilli & Weinberg (2007) ^[2] } however, recent trends in the increase in U.S. crime and recent focus on reduction of recividism have given such programs as second look. To reduce the tendency for abuse, a strong push has occurred to certify or license behavior modifiers BACB or to have such practices limited to licensed psychologists.

While boot camp type programs have not been shown to be successful, largely because they represent punishment devoid of context (unlike in the military, where passing boot camp intitates one into the service), programs such as Teaching Family Homes have been extensively researched. Research shows that they can be used to reduce delinquency while adolescents are in the home and post release {see Kingsley (2006) ^[3]

In general, behavior modification programs that are used in facilities or in the natural environment have the largest effect size and lead to an estimated 15% reduction in recividism ( see Illescas, Sanchez-Mecam and Geboves (2001) ^[4] While this reduction appears to be modest, it holds potention in the U.S. given the large number of people in the prison system

• US State Dept. page on offshore BMFs
• The International Survivors Action Committee (ISAC), an organization working against behavior modification facilities
• TeenLiberty.org, a site which cites many complaints of BMFs
• "Exploitation in the Name of 'Specialty Schooling' by Allison Pinto, Ph.D., Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D. and Monica Epstein, Ph.D., Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, American Psychological Association: Children, Youth and Families News, Summer 2005, retrieved June 28, 2006
• ASTART The Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment (A START)
• National Youth Rights Association forum on BMFs

Chen & Ma (2007) Effectiveness of treatments on disruptive disorders: A quantative synthesis of single subject methods using the PEM approach. The Behavior Analyst Today 8(4), 380-397 [1]

Cautilli, J.D. & Weinberg, M. (2007). Editorial: To license or not to license? That is the question: Or, if we make a profession, will they come? The Behavior Analyst Today 8 (1), 1-8 [2]

Kingsley, D.E. (2006): The Teaching-Family Model and Post-Treatment Recidivism: A Critical Review of the Conventional Wisdom - International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 2.(4), 481-497.Behavior Analyst Online

Santiago Redondo Illescas, Julio Sánchez-Meca and Vicente Garrido Genovés (2001).TREATMENT OF OFFENDERS AND RECIDIVISM: ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROGRAMMES APPLIED IN EUROPE Psychology in Spain, Vol. 5 47-62.[3]

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