“Life with Spencer while he was using was life without the Spencer I know and love,” the father said. “Instead of family weekends, dinners and water skiing, there were calls from police, searching his room for clues to what was going on, only to find things that were stolen … another morning in court.”

Spencer Kehn, now 16, tried out a series of drug-treatment programs before meeting success, and has now been drug-free for one year. But finding a program that worked entailed a lot of trial and error.

“The first program was unsuited for Spencer because it did not involve his family,” said Barbara Kehn, Spencer’s mother. “We then got him into a residential program which had after-care. So he has continued to learn and he’s gotten a network of non-using friends.”

More than 1 million American teenagers need treatment for substance abuse, but only one in 10 is actually undergoing treatment, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Parents who do seek treatment are often faced with an assortment of programs and need to know which work best. Today, a nonprofit group called Drug Strategies is releasing a first-ever comprehensive guide to teen drug treatments.

Getting Into a Teen’s World

Mathea Falco, the president of Drug Strategies, said parents who want help for their teens should look for some very specific things.

“A good program should use a nationally recognized assessment interview to determine a teen’s drug use, their psychiatric history, their family and school situation,” Falco told ABCNEWS’ Good Morning America. “More than half the teens in drug-treatment programs have psychiatric problems that also need to be addressed. And these should be found in a screening.”

The programs with the best track records should also use a comprehensive treatment approach, meaning they address factors other than drug use.

“Effective programs address the full reality of the teen’s world, from school to family to peer pressure to juvenile court, where many teens are referred to treatment,” Falco said. “It can’t just look at curtailing substance abuse.”

In addition, family members should be involved in the treatment process, in areas such as counseling, group meetings and drug education.

“Some programs even have caseworkers who come to your home,” Falco said.

Avoiding Relapse

Parents should also ask programs what their retention rate is, since three out of four teens in drug treatment drop out of their programs before finishing. Most teens fail to finish a 90-day program, Falco said.

Finally, a good treatment program has continuing care that stretches on, even after the teen has bidden the program itself goodbye. Three in four teens relapse in the first three months after treatment programs.

“Successful programs link teens to community services that can help them, things like 12-step programs, psychiatric services, remedial education,” Falco said.

Residential facilities that are live-in and have around the clock supervision can cost around $15,000 a month. Most outpatient programs, which provide treatment one to three times a week, cost about $800 a month. In some cases, treatment is covered by insurance.

The Turning Point for Spencer

Spencer Kehn said that he started using marijuana and alcohol when he was 13 and tried other drugs as well. At first, his parents thought that he was turning around on his own, but then he would get into more trouble at school, or with the police.

Spencer ran away from his first treatment program, which didn’t involve the family at all, and his parents then sent him to a lockdown-type facility. When he was ready to leave that program — which was not successful — he called his parents and got a surprise.

“They told me they didn’t want me at home,” Spencer said. “That made me realize the effect I was having on everyone, it wasn’t just about me. So I thought I would at least give treatment a shot.”

Next he tried an outpatient program, but was disorderly and got kicked out. He then attended a residential program that offered follow-up treatment, and has been drug-free for a year.

Marty Kehn said that struggling with Spencer’s addiction was tough, but ultimately brought the family closer.

“Trust your instincts, even if it goes against what you want to believe about your child,” he said. “We have learned so much about ourselves and human behavior. We have also become much closer as a family.”

Finding Teen Treatment Centers

In Treating Teens: A Guide to Adolescent Drug Programs, Drug Strategies offers a list of hotline numbers to help parents find teen substance abuse treatment centers in each state. Here is the list.

Alabama: 800-SOBER-90
Alaska: 907-463-3755
Arizona: 602-381-8999
Arkansas: 501-280-4500
California: 800-662-HELP
Colorado: 303-866-7480
Connecticut: 800-842-2288
Delaware: 302-633-2571
District of Columbia: 888-294-3572
Florida: 850-487-2920
Georgia: 800-338-6745
Hawaii: 808-692-7506
Idaho: 800-926-2588
Illinois: 312-814-2300
Indiana: www.in.gov/fssa/shape/providers.asp
Iowa: 866-242-4111
Kansas: 800-586-3690
Kentucky: 502-564-2880
Louisiana: 225-342-6717
Maine: 207-287-8900
Maryland: 410-402-8632
Massachussetts: 800-327-5050
Michigan: 888-736-0253
Minnesota: 651-582-1832
Mississippi: 877-210-8513
Missouri: 800-575-7480
Montana: 800-457-2327
Nebraska: 800-648-4444
Nevada: 775-825-4537
New Hampshire: 800-852-3388
New Jersey: 800-225-0196
New Mexico: 505-827-8018
New York: 800-522-5353
North Carolina: 800-662-7030
North Dakota: 800-755-2719
Ohio: 614-466-3445
Oklahoma: 800-522-9054
Oregon: 800-621-1646
Pennsylvania: 717-783-8200
Rhode Island: 866-ALC-DRUG
South Carolina: 800-942-DIAL
South Dakota: 605-773-3123
Tennessee: 800-889-9789
Texas: 877-9-NO-DRUG
Utah: 866-633-HOPE
Vermont: 866-639-6095
Virginia: 804-786-3906
Washington: 800-562-1240
West Virginia: 304-558-2276
Wisconsin: 608-266-2717
Wyoming: 800-535-4006

To get more information from Drug Strategies, go to drugstrategies.org