Teen escort companies in the United States are subject to little or no government regulation and commonly result in permanent trauma.
[citation needed] Gooning is a form of legal kidnapping, occurring predominantly in the United States, in which parents hire rehabilitation organizations to seize children they perceive as troubled and transport them to boot camps, behavior modification facilities, residential treatment centers, substance abuse treatment facilities, wilderness therapy, or therapeutic boarding school.
[5] Children who have been gooned frequently report post traumatic stress disorder, problems sleeping at night, and recurring nightmares into adulthood.
[14] Often, teens to be transported are picked up during the middle of the night to take advantage of their initial disorientation and to minimize confrontation and flight risk.
[18] Attempts to establish similar services in other countries have been quickly closed down by the authorities under their laws against child abuse, assault and torture.