UPDATES: 2008 and 2009 - "NEWS"

  You Tube video clips - Residential Program Abuse

  YouTube video clips - Seclusions and Restraints

CONGRESS GETS INVOLVED:

   May 19, 2009

   GAO Testimony: Seclusions and Restraints
   Selected cases of abuse and deaths in public and private schools

   Examining the Abusive and Deadly Use of Seclusion and Restraint in Schools

   Full Committee Hearing
   10:00 AM, May 19, 2009
   2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
   Washington, DC

   Link to live webcast (10 a.m. EDT):
   http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia-live/edwork/16137/300_edwork-2175stream_070124.asx

   Link to the hearing page that will provide written testimony as it is given:
   http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/05/examining-the-abusive-and-dead.shtml   

Congressman George Miller introduces a bill, which passed

H.R. 911: Keeping Kids Safe The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009

H.R. 5876: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs for Teens Act of 2008
(Bill renamed H.R. 6358 in 2008 and H.R. 911 in 2009)

Proposed Bill - Full Committee Hearing - News Articles - GET INVOLVED! KIDS CAN'T WAIT!

Click here for CAICA's letter of support to Congressman George Miller for his efforts!
 

UPDATE: PRESS RELEASE:

Miller, McCarthy Reintroduce Legislation to Stop Child Abuse in Teen Residential Programs House Education and Labor Committee will consider legislation on Wednesday

February 9, 2009 2:58 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) today reintroduced legislation to protect teenagers attending residential treatment programs from physical, mental and sexual abuse and to prevent deceptive marketing practices by operators of private residential programs for teens. The lawmakers also announced that the House Education and Labor Committee will mark up the legislation on Wednesday. Investigations conducted by the Government Accountability Office during the 110th Congress at the lawmakers’ request have uncovered thousands of cases and allegations of child abuse and neglect since the early 1990’s at teen residential programs, including therapeutic boarding schools, boot camps, wilderness programs and behavior modification facilities. Currently, these programs are governed only by a weak patchwork of state and federal standards. A separate GAO report, also conducted last year at the committee’s request, found major gaps in the licensing and oversight of residential programs – some of which are not covered by any state licensing standards at all.

In addition, the GAO’s investigation revealed that many teen residential treatment programs have been using deceptive marketing practices and questionable tactics to lure vulnerable parents desperate to find help for their children.

“For far too long, these abuses, neglect and mistreatment of children – some of the most horrific violations of trust imaginable – have been allowed to go on completely unchecked,” said Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Parents deserve every assurance that their children will be safe and protected when attending a program intended to help improve their lives.”

"It is no doubt a painful and difficult decision for parents to send their children to residential treatment facilities and the last thing they should have to worry about is the possibility of unknowingly putting their kids in harms way,” said McCarthy, chairwoman of the Healthy Families and Communities subcommittee. “It is crucial that federal standards are set in place to prevent the abuse, neglect and deceptive marking practices that have devastated so many children and families.”

To address these problems, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009, would:

Establish, for the first time, minimum federal standards for preventing child abuse and neglect at teen residential programs. The bill would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to inspect all programs around the country every two years and to issue civil penalties against programs that violate the new standards. The bill also calls for states, within three years, to take on the role of setting and enforcing standards for both private and public youth residential programs. Strengthen protections for children attending these programs. The bill would require programs to provide children with adequate food, water, medical care and rest. Ensure that programs are transparent and provide parents with information about teen residential programs that enable them to make safe choices for their teenagers. The legislation would create a toll-free national hotline for individuals to report cases of abuse and a website with information about substantiated cases of abuse at residential programs, including programs locations, owners, and history of violations and child fatalities. Programs would also be required to inform parents of their staff members’ qualifications, roles and responsibilities.

The House passed similar legislation last June by a bipartisan vote of 318 to 103, with the support of the American Association of Children’s Residential Centers, American Bar Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Defense Fund, Easter Seals, Mental Health America, the National Child Abuse Coalition and many other organizations.

For more information on this legislation, click here.

For more information on the committee’s past hearings on these abuses, at which GAO released its reports, click here.

# # #

For Press Inquiries Contact:
Aaron Albright / Melissa Salmanowitz
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 202-226-0853

2008 UPDATE

May 14, 2008 - House panel passes tougher law on
wilderness therapy programs (click here)

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

"Child Abuse and Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens"

GAO INVESTIGATES TROUBLED TEEN BOOT-CAMP STYLE PROGRAMS

Highlights of the GAO findings

Read what they uncovered - Click here for GAO report
(Note: A more comprehensive report will be prepared Winter 2008)

CONGRESSMAN GEORGE MILLER CALLS FOR A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

 On October 10, 2007, The Committee of Education and Labor held a hearing
on cases of child abuse and neglect at private Residential Treatment Facilities.

     Click here to watch the Congressional hearing
Parents share their stories of the abuse endured by their children
Congressman Miller pushes for Federal Regulations

Click here for more news and information

  CAICA would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to everyone who has worked to make this
  happen and to those who have continued to be a voice for children who no longer have a voice.
  We wish to extend a special thanks to Congressman George Miller who has spent years working on
  this issue and to the GAO. Additionally, a special thanks to the parents whose children lost their
  lives in residential treatment programs who painfully spoke at the hearing. 

                                 
                              Bob Bacon, father of Aaron           Paul Lewis, father of Ryan Lewis,     Congressman
                              Bacon. Aaron died while               and Cynthia Harvey, mother of        George Miller 
                              enrolled in a wilderness                Erica Harvey. Ryan and Erica died    
                              program in Utah.                         while enrolled in programs.

GET INVOLVED

I believe all advocates, parents, lawyers, government officials, and anyone else who reads this and who care about the safety and wellbeing of children and teens should take a few moments to research this very important Bill and to help by showing their support. There are plenty of things each of us can do that only take a few moments out of our busy schedules.

Click here for a summary of a bipartisan compromise that was recently reached. The bill has passed the Committee vote and moves on to the House. You can show your support in a variety of ways:

Write your letter of support to Congressman George Miller:

The Honorable George Miller
Chairman
Committee on Education and Labor US
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510

Re:  H.R. 5876 Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008

Educate your state senators about this issue and why it is important that they support it, as there is much continued work that needs to be done. Print or electronically forward the "Growing and Strengthening America's Middle Class: Keeping America's Kids Safe: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs Act of 2008" Pamphlet.

What's in the plans for the future:

Three years after enactment of H.R. 5876, the legislation would provide certain federal grant money to states if they develop their own licensing standards for public and private residential programs for teens. Those standards must be at least as strong as national standards. They will need to implement a monitoring and enforcement system, including conducting unannounced site inspections of all programs at least once every two years. Deaths of children in programs will continue to be investigated on a national level.

Our work, folks, has really only just begun! We need to not become complacent that this Bill will solve the problems.
 

 On October 10, 2007, The Committee of Education and Labor held a hearing on cases of child abuse and
    neglect at private Residential Treatment Facilities.

   GAO INVESTIGATES TROUBLED TEEN PROGRAMS - Click here

     Click here to watch the Congressional hearing
   Click here for Congressman Miller's opening statements
   Click here to read the GAO's preliminary report
   Click here for highlights of GAO's prelim findings
   Click here for CAICA's comprehensive list of deaths    

   TESTIMONY FROM CONGRESSIONAL HEARING:

   Click here for Gregory Kutz, Managing Director, GAO
   Click here for Cynthia Clark Harvey, mother of Erica Clark Harvey
   Click here for Bob Bacon, father of Aaron Bacon
   Click here for Paul Lewis, father of Ryan Lewis
   Click here for Alison Pinto, Researcher
   Click here for Jan Moss, Executive Director, NATSAP

REFERRALS: CAICA is not a referral agency. CAICA does not refer to or promote facilities or transport companies for children or teens. CAICA warns parents that the parent pay / parent choice programs ie. Residential Treatment Centers, Therapeutic Boarding Schools, Behavior Modification Programs, Christian Programs, Positive Peer Culture Programs, etc., are not regulated by the Federal Government and that it is a "Buyer Beware" industry. CAICA provides the following for parents: Message to Parents, Help for Distraught and Desperate Parents, and Questions to Ask and Warning Signs.

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