I used to run a Boys & Girls Club and also difficult child has been going to one since he was 6. Although each one may be run differently, they all are headed by the National B&GC and run programs/activities that have national support. Typically B&GC are more open to kids like our difficult child's, although, again, each community will be run differently (some better than others). Usually B&GC have schedules with certain programs run at certain times, but maintain a "free choice" type atmosphere (if your kid would rather just play in the game room all day, most seem to allow that). I have found too that many B&GC seem to have a population of kids that just don't fit in anywhere, so they actually do quite well there where they can meet others just like them. Some, like ours, even have a partnership with the local community mental health centers to better support challenging kids! I'd say its worth a try - our difficult child has been suspended several times, but he is always allowed to come back and try again. I have seen and heard of some kids whose lives were literally turned around by B&GC!