September 17, 2007
From Sharon Laney, President of NATSAP…
In February 2007, I became the President of National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. If you attended the 2007 Conference in La Jolla, you heard a lot about the Miller Bill. If not then I will highlight some of the points and issues of this bill.
Last year Representative Miller, California, who was a member of the Education committee, introduced a bill to "Stop Abuse of Children in Programs." Several advocacy groups have jumped onto the topic and bill. For us in Therapeutic programs and schools, we also want to stop abuse that has occurred with a very few programs within the Industry.
Representative Miller is now the Chair of the committee and the bill is currently with his Investigative Counsel. What is currently occurring is NATSAP, NAPHS, and OBHIC are working with Representative Miller on the language of the bill. He has been very receptive in allowing feedback. We are doing a lot of work behind the scenes to offer revisions to the bill that will deal with Abuse yet not hurt the Industry. As the current bill is written, it wants to move the Investigative Process from a State level to a Federal level. In our opinion, this is a state responsibility and should remain so. It also addresses Interstate Compact. If passed it could prevent a referral from Utah going to an out of state placement without going through Utah interstate compact then through the compact of the state where the program is located, prior to admissions. This will slow the admissions process completely and impact our Industry negatively.
In light of these challenges to our industry, I have requested and been granted, a flexible schedule that will allow me time to focus on NATSAP and the issues at hand. In order to fulfill my responsibilities as NATSAP's President, I will not concurrently maintain my duties as COO of Three Springs. I will continue my work on some Three Springs special assignments between my NATSAP duties. My day to day responsibilities have been delegated to very capable members of the executive management team.
I am not sure how long the critical NATSAP work will take. We are now thinking that these hearings may start sometime after the first of the year. In the meantime, we are starting to meet with other committee members as well as solicit help from the Independent Education Consultant organization and others.
I am grateful to be allowed time to work more closely with NATSAP in order to play an integral role in activities which focus on addressing the serious implications of the Miller Bill.