Help Needed: please support Bill to Stop Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs
Please feel free to share, distribute, repost, etc. - from the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA, _http://www.copaa.org_ (www.copaa.org) ):
We urge you to contact your Congressional Representatives and ask them to support H.R. 5876, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008.H.R. 5876 will make clear that children placed in private residential programs, including therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness camps, boot camps and behavior modification facilities, have the right to be free from abuse and neglect. Many of these children have disabilities, including emotional and mental health special needs. H.R. 5876 will be coming to a vote on the House floor next week.
You can call your Congressperson through 202-224-3121 ( TTY:202-225-1904).
If you cannot call, you can email through
www.house.gov/writerep.
COPAA strongly supports H.R. 5876. H.R. 5876 will:
* Prohibit programs from physically, mentally or sexually abusing children in their care;
* Prohibit the denial of essential water, food, clothing,
shelter, or medical care to a child,
* Require that programs physically restrain children only if it is necessary for their safety or the safety of others, and to do so in a way that is consistent with existing federal law on the use of restraints
* Hold the programs accountable by requiring unannounced site inspections at least every two years and imposing civil penalties for up to $50,000 for violations of the law
* Enable parents to file civil actions if national standards are violated and their child is abused and harmed.
* Encourage states to adopt strong monitoring and enforcement programs.
According to the General Accountability Office, there have been thousands of allegations of abuse and neglect at these programs between 1994 and 2007, a number of which have resulted in death and serious injury. In 2005 alone, 33 states reported 1,619 staff members were involved in abuse incidents in residential programs. The GAO also found a pattern of ineffective management in the programs that compounded the effects of the abuse and neglect.
COPAA thanks Congressman George Miller, Chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, for his very hard work on this bill. Please join COPAA in urging your Congressperson to vote in favor of H.R. 5876, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008. More informationon the bill may be found at
_http://edlabor.house.gov/issu
(edlabor.house.gov/issues/resid
You can call your Congressperson through 202-224-3121 ( TTY: 202-225-1904).
If you cannot call, you can email through
www.house.gov/writerep.
Please feel free to re-post and distribute this notice.
--Jess Butler and Bob Berlow
COPAA Government Affairs Co-Chairs
jessica@copaa.org
