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House Approves Legislation to Stop
Child Abuse in Teen Residential Programs
Bill Would Help Ensure Parents
Have Information They Need to Keep their Children Safe
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of
Representatives today approved bipartisan legislation to protect
teenagers attending residential programs from physical, mental, and
sexual abuse and to prevent deceptive marketing practices by
operators of residential programs for teens.
Investigations by the Government
Accountability Office have uncovered thousands of cases and
allegations of child abuse in recent years at teen residential
programs across the country, including therapeutic boarding schools,
boot camps, wilderness camps, and behavior modification facilities.
Currently, these programs are governed only by a weak patchwork of
state and federal standards. The GAO has found major gaps in the
licensing and oversight of residential programs – some of which are
exempt from state licensing standards altogether.
The Stop Child Abuse in Residential
Programs for Teens Act of 2008 (H.R. 6358), which the House passed
by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 318 to 103, would establish
minimum standards for preventing child abuse and neglect at teen
residential programs. It would require the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services to investigate complaints of child abuse and
neglect at residential programs and to issue penalties against
programs that violate the new standards. The bill calls for states,
within three years, to take on the responsibility of setting and
enforcing standards for youth residential programs.
The legislation would also help
ensure that parents have the information about teen residential
programs that they need to make safer choices for their children.
“In far too many cases, the very
people entrusted with the safety, health, and welfare of these
children are the ones who violate that trust in some of the worst
ways imaginable,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman
of the Committee, and one of the bill’s authors. “We have a
responsibility to keep kids safe no matter what setting they are in.
With today’s vote, the House has made it clear that these abuses
have gone on for far too long and they won’t be tolerated anymore.”
“It is absolutely crucial that we
keep children safe when they are in these facilities by setting
minimum safety standards, and stopping residential programs from
using the kind of deceptive marketing that have drawn in so many
parents.,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the chairwoman of
the House Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities and the
co-author of this legislation.”
The GAO’s investigation revealed
that teen residential programs may be using deceptive marketing
practices and questionable tactics to lure vulnerable parents
desperate to find help for their children.
Among other things, H.R. 6358 would
create a toll-free national hotline for individuals to report cases
of abuse at residential programs and a website with information
about substantiated cases of abuse and any child fatalities at
residential programs. The bill would require programs to provide
children with adequate food, water, and medical care. And to prevent
deceptive marketing practices and create transparency to help
parents make safer choices for their children, it would require,
among other things, that programs inform parents of their staff
members’ qualifications, roles, and responsibilities.
It is estimated that tens of
thousands of U.S. teenagers attend residential programs each year.
For more information on today’s
legislation and past GAO investigations, click here.
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FOR PRESS INQUIRIES Contact: Aaron
Albright / Rachel Racusen 2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 202-226-0853
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