I know a juvinile that has gotten into trouble lately. He has not gone
to school for a whole semester, and when he is at home all he does is
talk on the phone or on the computer. He also has a temper problem
which snaps almost everytime he talks to his father. He also sometimes
becomes violent and angry. I want this boy to turn his life away from
the the bad road in his life and have him going down th good one. Let
me mention that he lives in a very bad neghiborhood and also is into
gangs. After school programs do not work because he will never go. Is
there any place this child could go that could help him, like  a teen
boot camp or some type of week long or months camp that could help him
become more respectfull to his parents. The camp if possible could be
around the bay area extending to hayward ca

If there was someone that he looked up to, like a big brother, a
friend or someone he respected this person would be the key to
possibly help him, or play up on his interest. If he's under eighteen
you can force him to go for counseling or get help by law. If he is
over 18 years of age this makes it much more difficult. Their really
isn't much to do if hes over 18 as i have encountered a similar
situation. You can place him under mental arrest... but the only way
to force him to get help and change is if he is a threat to himself or
someone else. If you need further information or questions please let
me know.

Many communities have a sort of "Scared Straight" type of program
also. In this, the local law enforcement will gather a group of
possible delinquents in and take them to the local jail or prison, in
an attempt to show them the road down which they are headed. This
happened recently with several fifth- through eighth-graders, and
although some of them were giggling at the start and didn't take it
seriously, once they got into the jail and saw all the prisoners,
nearly all of them had changed their attitudes.

Failing that, many states have "unruly child" laws that take children
into youth detention when they behave so badly that their parents are
at their last resort, so to speak. I know a couple that has considered
this for one of their children, but haven't done it yet.