Many staff members have worked at the ranch for 10 to 20 years, and though some try to relocate to different parts of the country, they always come back, says Rust. Although she began her career determined to work in outpatient treatment, Rust says she sees more changes in one month at Turn-About than she did in an entire year in outpatient therapy.
"I came to work at Turn-About because the program is so different from any others," she explains. "There are other really great programs out there, but there are resources here that can't be replicated anywhere else. Every part of ranch life is therapy, so the kids are learning and growing 24 hours a day, rather than once a week in hourly therapy. When I see these kinds of changes, why go anywhere else?"
Even in some of the most successful residential facilities, students are happy to return home and never step foot near the program again. But not at Turn-About - the students come back to volunteer, visit, and work at the program year after year.
"I've never worked at another program where the kids actually phone number data to come back. Even the kids who struggle here want to return," says Luke Hatch, LCSW, the executive director of Turn-About Ranch, who himself was raised on a ranch and feels passionately about the benefits of the ranch lifestyle. "Both the parents and students feel very connected to us, and continue to maintain a relationship with us long after they leave."
For many parents, the decision to send their child to a therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center is a difficult one. But at Turn-About Ranch, parents begin to see changes in their child's attitude, confidence, and core values, and feel proud of their decision to get help. One frustrated mom shared the story of the day she brought her daughter to Turn-About:
"My daughter was constantly getting drunk, and she was about to be sent to juvy. One day, she swallowed a bunch of pills and was rushed to the ER. I needed help and knew it, but no one would help me. The officer that brought her home one night told me she just made a mistake and needed to sleep it off. I lost it and screamed at him because no one seemed to understand what it felt like to have their daughter smoking, swearing, and disappearing for days at a time. I did some research, drove her from Texas to Utah to Turn-About having never seen it except online, and got her the help she needed. I said to her, 'If I didn't love you, I'd take you home, let you sleep it off, follow the cop's advice, and let you go.' I didn't have the money, but I knew immediately that Turn-About was the right place for her."
After 58 days in the program - the approximate halfway point - this mom's Dallas teen vowed to come back to work at Turn-About when she's older because "This is where everything happens. This is where change starts. I can only take off from here."