Ineffective management and operating practices, along with poorly trained staff, led to the abuse or death of youths in residential treatment facilities according to a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last Thursday. In the second House Education & Labor Committee hearing examining the practice of residential programs and their impact on troubled youth, recommendations from government researchers, practitioners, and former youth participants of the programs call for greater oversight and monitoring of the facilities to ensure that youth are receiving high quality based services.

The practice of using residential facilities for troubled youth, known commonly as “boot camps” or “wilderness camps”, spread widely beginning in the early 1990’s as broad community efforts focused on “tough love.” The programs have long served as a source of controversy as questions abound regarding the efficacy of such programs. In 2004, federal funding supported more than 200,000 youth in government or private facilities.

A GAO state survey revealed that 49 states reported investigating complaints of youth maltreatment in residential facilities in 2006, including physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse—28 of these states reported deaths. The GAO again testified to the committee that there have been thousands of allegations of abuse at residential treatment programs across the country since 1990, yet comprehensive data detailing the full extent of abuse in treatment facilities is not known due to the absence of state authority which hinders many states from gathering data, or from expanding oversight on exclusively private facilities.

The Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act  (H.R. 5876), introduced by Chairman Miller and Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Chair of the Education & Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through regulations, to:

·   establish minimum standards for all residential facilities including the prohibitions of the physical and mental abuse of children; establish requirements that facilities provide children with adequate food, water, and medical care;

·   establish training requirements for all program staff members, including how to identify and report child abuse;

·   mandate that all staff who come in contact with youth go through criminal background checks;

·   establish a national hotline for to report maltreatment at these programs;

·   provide greater public information for each facility allowing parents access to best practices and to see if any substantiated cases of abuse have occurred;

·   implement site inspections of such facilities and allows civil penalties up to $50,000 for each violation.

The legislation also includes an increase in authorized funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) from $120 million up to $200 million allowing for the initiatives to take place. Another $50 million is authorized for HHS to develop the regulations and inspections.

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