U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has reintroduced the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act (SCARPTA), a bill to hold residential treatment programs accountable to a set of minimum health and safety standards, including anti-discrimination protections for LBGT youth and youth with mental illness.

The bill will also crack down on offenders who attempt to move abusive facilities across state lines by requiring all states to improve their licensing and oversight processes. It will also help families identify bad programs by requiring they publicly disclose their licensing status and history of violations, if applicable.

Last month, Congressman Adam Schiff joined many federal, state and local legislators at the #ResistMarch on June 11.
(photo by Jon Viscott)

“There are hundreds of good residential treatment programs that provide services, which can truly help youth recover and transition from serious behavioral problems or traumatic experiences,” Schiff said. “But without stronger federal regulation and oversight, programs that engage in abusive practices will continue to slip through the cracks, leaving behind traumatized and abused children and families.”

Residential treatment programs have existed for several decades as an option for children with serious mental health issues. Families opt for the programs when they are in need of more assistance than traditional inpatient mental health services or intermediate therapy programs can provide. Many residential treatment programs have successfully helped children and adolescents with severe behavioral problems, drug and alcohol addiction, and rehabilitation from a traumatic experience, Schiff said.

But in 2008, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) documented over 1,300 reports of mistreatment by staff at programs in 34 states, including substantiated accounts of starvation, excessive use of physical restraints and isolation, severe verbal abuse and intimidation, and neglectful medical practices. The GAO made clear that the lack of federal oversight and a patchwork of state regulations has failed to properly license and monitor residential facilities, which put an already vulnerable population of children at higher risk for abuse and death.

“Abusive facilities that operate under the guise of providing real therapy have no place in our society and families who turn to residential programs for help, often as a last resort, deserve to know that their children are safe and in the care of professionals,” Schiff said.

SCARPTA is based on a bill championed by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) before his retirement. Miller’s bill was approved twice in the House of Representatives but was not signed into law. Schiff’s legislation would prohibit programs from withholding food, water or shelter from a child, putting a child in seclusion, and all other forms of physical and mental abuse. It would also require licensed medical staff to be present at all times in case of emergencies, and require all staff members to be properly trained in recognizing and responding to signs of child abuse, neglect and mental health crises.

Additionally, it would allow youth to stay in contact with their parents so they know their children are safe, and provide uninhibited access to a child abuse reporting hotline. Facilities would also be required to publicly disclose past records of child abuse and their state licensing status and prohibit programs from using anything other than safe and evidence-based treatments.

“It is long past time for the federal government to follow California’s lead and finally regulate the for-profit, ‘Troubled Teen’ industry,” said Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “Many of these facilities and camps commit horrible physical, mental and sexual abuses under the guise of disproven and harmful conversion therapy for LGBT youth. Sometimes these ‘therapies’ even result in death.  No purported religious affiliation – often claimed by these camps – excuse such atrocities. We commend Representative Schiff for his continued efforts to protect all young people, including some of the most marginalized youth in our country.”