HELP PARIS HILTON & SURVIVORS OF THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY

STOP INSTITUTIONAL

CHILD ABUSE

About the Issue

An estimated 120,000-200,000 of our nation’s most vulnerable youth are pipelined into youth residential programs (colloquially referred to as the Troubled Teen Industry) each year by state child welfare and juvenile justice systems, mental health providers, federal agencies, school districts’ individualized education programs, and by parents.

These programs, including but not limited to boot camps, wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment facilities, or group homes, cause harm at a higher rate to youth who are Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) and youth with disabilities. 

The Troubled Teen Industry receives an estimated $23 billion dollars of public funds annually to purportedly “treat” the behavioral and psychological needs of vulnerable youth yet there are systemic reports of youth experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse including but not limited to prolonged solitary confinement, physical, chemical, and mechanical restraints, food and sleep deprivation, lack of access to the restroom or personal hygiene, “attack therapy,” forced labor, medical neglect, and being denied a free and public education. Public records and news reports have documented more than 350 preventable child deaths in these programs. 

Want to learn more? Watch YouTube Original’s This is Paris and Netflix’s The Program: Con, Cults, and Kidnapping.

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act aims to lift the curtains on the opaque Troubled Teen Industry by enhancing national data collection and reporting and facilitating information sharing among the agencies who interact with these residential programs. This bill is an important step in preventing child abuse and ensuring the safety and well-being of youth in institutional care settings.

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act will establish: 

  • A Federal Work Group on Youth Residential Programs to improve the dissemination and implementation of data and best practices regarding the health and safety, care, treatment, and appropriate placement of youth in youth residential programs. 

  • A complementary study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to examine the state of youth in youth residential programs and make recommendations for the coordination by Federal and State agencies of data on youth in youth residential programs; and the improvement of Federal and State oversight of youth residential programs receiving Federal funding.

Transparency and Accountability are critical in our efforts to prevent the abuse and neglect of youth in residential programs and eventually reduce the usage of institutional settings overall to prioritize community-based and family-centered care. This will lead to healthier communities and will spare countless children and youth irreparable trauma and preventable death at the hands of those entrusted with their care.

Are your Legislator’s supporting The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act?

  • See if your Representative is co-sponsoring here.

  • See if your Senators are co-sponsoring here.

Want to reach out to your Legislator’s to show your support? It’s easy and fast!

  • Text GOSICAA to 50409 and it will auto-draft you a message to send to your legislators. We appreciate the support!

The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act

HOW TO SUPPORT

SURVIVOR OR ALLY?

Sign up to receive updates on the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act and join us in passing SICAA.

ORGANIZATION?

Join a coalition of national, state, and local organizations dedicated to ending institutional child abuse.

LEGISLATOR?

If you are a Member of Congress, we urge you to co-sponsor The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (HR 2955 / S 1351).

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORTERS OF THE STOP INSTITUTIONAL CHILD ABUSE ACT

AbleChild, Advocating Opportunity, Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, Alianza for Youth Justice, Ambika Law, American Humanist Association, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Associated Psychological Health Services, AutConnect, Autistic Inclusive Meets, Autistic Revolution, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, BCEdAccess Society, Broadreach Training and Resources LTD, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Center for Children's Law and Policy, Center for Disability Rights, ChildUSAdvocacy, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, CommunicationFIRST, DGH Neurodivergent Consultancy, Disability Law Center of Alaska, Disability Rights Maine, Disability Rights Texas, End the TTI, EOTAS Matters, First Focus Campaign for Children, FORGE, Inc., Freedom From Religion Foundation, Human Rights for Kids, Incarcerated Nation Network, International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion (ICARS), International Association for Spelling as Communication, International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry, Juvenile Justice Coalition, Juvenile Law Center, Lives in the Balance, Mazzoni Center, Medical Whistleblower Advocacy Network, Mental Health America of Virginia, NAMI Huntington, NAMI Virginia, National Association of Counsel for Children, National Disability Rights Network, National Juvenile Justice Network, Nebraska Appleseed, NeuroClastic, Neurodivergent, Liberation Coalition, New Hour for Women and Children - LI, New Jersey Parents Caucus, Our Children Oregon, PbS Learning Institute, Inc., RAINN, Rebuilding Independence My Style, Rights4Girls, RISE for Youth, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Sojourners, Storytime Solidarity, The Autistic Advocate, The Autistic Cooperative, The Face-to-Face Project, The Forum for Youth Investment, The Nurture Programme, The Porchlight Collective SAP, Therapist Neurodiversity Collective, Inc., Think of Us, Tommy James Law, Trans Asylias, Unsilenced, UTA Foundation, Virginia Autism Project, Voices for Virginia's Children, We Warned Them, Women Together Global Inc.

AbleChild, Advocating Opportunity, Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, Alianza for Youth Justice, Ambika Law, American Humanist Association, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Associated Psychological Health Services, AutConnect, Autistic Inclusive Meets, Autistic Revolution, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, BCEdAccess Society, Broadreach Training and Resources LTD, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Center for Children's Law and Policy, Center for Disability Rights, ChildUSAdvocacy, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, CommunicationFIRST, DGH Neurodivergent Consultancy, Disability Law Center of Alaska, Disability Rights Maine, Disability Rights Texas, End the TTI, EOTAS Matters, First Focus Campaign for Children, FORGE, Inc., Freedom From Religion Foundation, Human Rights for Kids, Incarcerated Nation Network, International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion (ICARS), International Association for Spelling as Communication, International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry, Juvenile Justice Coalition, Juvenile Law Center, Lives in the Balance, Mazzoni Center, Medical Whistleblower Advocacy Network, Mental Health America of Virginia, NAMI Huntington, NAMI Virginia, National Association of Counsel for Children, National Disability Rights Network, National Juvenile Justice Network, Nebraska Appleseed, NeuroClastic, Neurodivergent, Liberation Coalition, New Hour for Women and Children - LI, New Jersey Parents Caucus, Our Children Oregon, PbS Learning Institute, Inc., RAINN, Rebuilding Independence My Style, Rights4Girls, RISE for Youth, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Sojourners, Storytime Solidarity, The Autistic Advocate, The Autistic Cooperative, The Face-to-Face Project, The Forum for Youth Investment, The Nurture Programme, The Porchlight Collective SAP, Therapist Neurodiversity Collective, Inc., Think of Us, Tommy James Law, Trans Asylias, Unsilenced, UTA Foundation, Virginia Autism Project, Voices for Virginia's Children, We Warned Them, Women Together Global Inc.

Check out our Social Media Toolkit here. We would love for you to post about the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act!

Learn More About the Issue

  • Trapped In Treatment is a new docu-style podcast series from Paris Hilton, Warner Bros. Unscripted TV in Association With Telepictures, and iHeart Media, that will examine and expose the dark secrets of the “Troubled Teen Industry.” Beginning with Provo Canyon School, each season will focus on the story of one youth treatment facility, its survivors, and the traumatizing abuse at the hands of their captors.

    Hosted by Caroline Cole and Rebecca Mellinger, Trapped in Treatment weaves together personal accounts with historical detail and expert opinions to shine a light on what really happens at behavior modification centers and how this multi-billion dollar industry has flourished for so long.

    Listen here.

  • Residential treatment programs provide a range of services, including drug and alcohol treatment, confidence building, military-style discipline, and psychological counseling for troubled boys and girls with a variety of addiction, behavioral, and emotional problems. This testimony concerns programs across the country referring to themselves as wilderness therapy programs, boot camps, and academies, among other names. Many cite positive outcomes associated with specific types of residential treatment. There are also allegations regarding the abuse and death of youth enrolled in residential treatment programs. Given concerns about these allegations, particularly in reference to private programs, the Committee asked the General Accountability Office (GAO) to (1) verify whether allegations of abuse and death at residential treatment programs are widespread and (2) examine the facts and circumstances surrounding selected closed cases where a teenager died while enrolled in a private program. To achieve these objectives, GAO conducted numerous interviews and examined documents from closed cases dating as far back as 1990, including police reports, autopsy reports, and state agency oversight reviews and investigations. GAO did not attempt to evaluate the benefits of residential treatment programs or verify the facts regarding the thousands of allegations it reviewed.

    Read the full report here.

  • A disturbing new report by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) reveals widespread abuse and neglect at for-profit youth residential treatment facilities. The report, Desperation without Dignity, provides a comprehensive review of investigations by the nation’s Protection and Advocacy agencies and others in 18 states. It examines the history of the for-profit residential treatment industry, the private funding structure that fuels it, and discusses alternatives to residential placement that are both nurturing and provide the treatment that children and youth need.

    Read the report here.

  • In a new report, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project examines private equity investment in a few key areas: the troubled teen industry, for-profit foster care, services for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), and autism services.

    Read the full report here.

  • Think of Us conducted the Away From Home study, centering the voices of youth with recent lived experiences in the larger conversation about how to approach reform or elimination of institutional placements in foster care. The Away From Home report shares the stories and qualitative data of these youth, resulting in a bold call to action: institutional placements need to be eliminated in the United States.

    Read the report here.