The Government Accountability Office (GAO) did a review of thousands of allegations of child abuse and neglect at residential programs housing mostly teenagers since the early 1990s.  Tragically, in a number of cases, this abuse/neglect resulted in the death of a child.  To address this issue, the “Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2011” was introduced. Thousands of children and youth are housed in private and public residential programs, including boarding schools, wilderness camps, boot camps, and behavior modification facilities aimed at addressing behavioral, emotional, mental health, and substance abuse issues. Depending on state laws and regulations, many of these programs are subject to state law and regulation, while others are not.  The loose state oversight of some of these agencies has reportedly contributed to the programs where abuse and neglect have occurred with little or no accountability.
Representative George Miller (D-CA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced identical bills in their respective chambers. The legislation passed the House in both the 110th and 111th Congresses with bipartisan support, but the Senate did not take up the bill. The legislation, if passed, is intended to keep teens safe with minimum standards for residential programs that are focused on teens with behavioral, emotional, mental health, or substance abuse problems and would

• Prohibit programs from physically, mentally, or sexually abusing children in their care;
• Prohibit programs from denying children essential water, food, clothing, shelter, or medical care – whether as a form of punishment or for any other reason;
• Require programs to provide children with reasonable access to a telephone and inform children accordingly;
• Require programs to train staff members in what constitutes child abuse and neglect and how to report it;
• Require that programs only physically restrain children if it is necessary for their safety or the safety of others, and to do so in a way that is consistent with federal law already applicable in other contexts; and
• Require programs to have plans in place to provide emergency medical care.

Increase transparency to help parents make safer choices for their children

• Require programs to disclose to parents the qualifications, roles, and responsibilities of staff members;
• Require programs to notify parents of substantiated reports of child abuse or violations of health and safety laws; and
• Require programs to include a link or web address for the website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which will carry information on residential programs.

Hold teen residential programs accountable for violating the law

• Require states to inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of reports of child abuse and neglect at covered programs and require HHS to conduct investigations of such programs to determine if a violation of the national standards has occurred; and
• Provide HHS the authority to assess civil penalties up to $50,000 for every violation of the law.

Ask states to step in to protect teens in residential programs

Within three years, states must require all public and private programs to be licensed, meet standards that are at least as stringent as the national standards, and implement a monitoring and enforcement system. The Department of Health and Human Services would continue to inspect programs where a child fatality has occurred or where a pattern of violations has emerged.