Operation Re-Entry was a drug rehabilitation program for "wayward kids" in operation from approximately 1969 to 1980. It was located on 36th Street and Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida. It subsisted mainly on city funding and community support; there was at least one federal grant in the beginning. Its founder was Synanon alumnus Warren Klein. Program staff included former drug addicts who had spent years in full-time drug rehab programs, a probation officer named Robert (Bob) Caperton, Maurice Soniat, as well as program graduates.
Operation Re-Entry catered to mostly teenagers in the early stages of drug abuse. Program members would be confronted with their behavior and punished, followed by guidance on alternative behaviors. Confrontational methods called "verbal haircuts" were used to "break through" a member's defensive barriers. More difficult cases would be given work assignments, actual haircuts, or tasks that many considered humiliating. The purpose was to lower the member's defenses and open them to examining the cause of their behavior. Group therapy and positive reinforcement from other members completed their rehabilitation. These tactics were called "reality therapy" and proved very successful with the older alcoholics of the Synanon era. Almost all drug rehabilitation programs of the 1970s were based on this formula. However in retrospect, this approach may have been too heavy-handed for teenagers. The program eventually evolved in its treatment to include other approaches by the late 1970s.
The program closed in 1980 due to a combination of bad administration, politics and funding cuts.
Operation Re-Entry treated over 1,000 members during its existence.