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Bill sets standards
at boot camps
(August/September
2008 Issue)
By Ami Albernaz
The House of Representatives approved legislation that would set
standards for juvenile boot camps and other residential programs,
including wilderness therapy programs and so-called behavioral modification
facilities, for troubled teenagers. The bill, which follows a Government
Accounting Office (GAO) report citing abuse and even deaths at some
of these programs, would ban practices such as denying teens food,
water and shelter.
"Getting states to take responsibility and oversee these programs,
primarily wilderness-type programs, is a good first step," says
Steven E. Elson, Ph.D., president of the American Association of
Children's Residential Centers and one of many organization heads
to give support to the measure, known as The Stop Child Abuse in
Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008.
The GAO report, titled Residential Treatment Program: Concerns
Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth,
found thousands of allegations of abuse at residential treatment
programs in the United States and in American-owned and operated
facilities abroad between 1990 and 2007. The report also noted 10
deaths, including that of a 15-year-old boy who died of a severed
neck artery after being held face-down in the dirt for 45 minutes
and that of a 14-year-old boy from Massachusetts who committed suicide
while at a West Virginia wilderness therapy program.
Currently, oversight of many residential treatment programs is
weak. While publicly funded programs might be subject to state regulation,
private programs are sometimes unregulated and unlicensed. The bill,
which has been referred to the Senate's Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions, calls for training for staff on what constitutes
abuse and would prevent physical restraint unless the safety of
the child or others is at risk. The bill would also require the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate complaints
of child abuse and neglect at residential programs and to fine programs
that violate the new standards.
The GAO report also noted the lack of standards by which residential
programs market themselves to parents. The bill would require more
detailed information about the programs to be provided to parents.
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