ZDad: Footsteps is not exactly successful in stopping the cocaine epidemic within their ranks. The problem is that those that rebel against Yiddishkeit yet don’t find sippuk elsewhere continue to be lost souls looking to numb their pain and / or are trying to break all rules, including drug laws in their fight against authority — which they blame for all their ills.
That’s why I was so impressed by what’s being pioneered in Israel, which is to deal with those kids even minimally at risk before they spiral out of control with life threatening issues.
As noted in part of the article above, for example, girls that flout the dress codes are doing so in a cry for help about their life. So for many kids misbehaving is not because they need more freedom, as you seem to think, but because their life in general is a mess. They need to be helped in a loving environment. The secular world has a drug and suicide epidemic a lot worse than ours, including alcohol abuse widespread on college campuses.
With boys, Mrs. Rozman claims, they’re usually on the streets etc. because of learning disabilities. So these kids usually can’t handle college courses etc. We need less stressful and more “hands-on” vs. academic learning environments for them as well as hobbies/vocational training. חנוך לנער על פי דרכו is the Jewish way, which we need to provide or ch”v lose more souls.