Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: cherish wisdom on April 20, 2005, 05:44:00 PM
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Representative Miller Introduces Legislation to Curb Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs
Bill Would Affect Facilities both in U.S. and Abroad
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative George Miller (D-California) today announced new legislation to combat child abuse at residential treatment programs in the U.S. and abroad.
?There is no excuse for placing children in unlicensed programs with badly trained and abusive staff members, which could lead to mental, physical, and sexual abuse,? said Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee. ?It is truly frightening when the very people entrusted to care for and protect children are actually the ones who endanger them. Residential programs for children should be licensed and meet reasonable safety and staff training standards.?
In November 2003, Miller asked then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the World Wide Associations of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an organization with several campuses in the U.S. and abroad that provides ?behavior modification? programs for troubled youth, for allegations of child abuse and human rights violations.
Miller first requested the investigation after The New York Times ran a series of articles containing the allegations against WWASP. Despite repeated follow-up requests, however, the Department of Justice refused to investigate. Meanwhile, allegations of abuse continued to surface in published news reports. In December 2004 and January 2005, news agencies reported that five U.S.-owned residential treatment centers in Mexico had been closed by local authorities for numerous health violations and for placing children in punishment cells.
In an effort to deal once and for all with the problem of abuse at residential treatment programs for children, Miller today introduced the ?End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act.? The bill would:
provide $50 million in funding to states to support the licensing of child residential treatment programs. States would have to monitor the programs regularly to ensure their compliance with licensing requirements;
establish federal civil and criminal penalties for the abuse of children in residential treatment programs;
expand federal authority to regulate programs located overseas but run by U.S. companies and provide civil penalties for program operators that violate federal regulations; and
require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.
Residential treatment (or ?behavior modification?) programs are intended to help children with behavioral problems, like substance abuse. Miller stressed that many of these programs provide safe, valuable services to children and their families. But he said that stronger legislation was clearly necessary to ensure the safety of all children in such programs ? and particularly in programs overseas, where organizations have moved their facilities to avoid existing U.S. laws.
?Parents are sending their children to these programs because of a promise that they will help resolve difficult behavioral issues, like substance abuse,? said Miller. ?But the way kids have been treated at some of these facilities would make any parent shudder.?
If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil
deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
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I hope this bill grows some legs. It's about damn time.
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Please write or e-mail your Congressional Representatives and urge them to support this bill.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/)
Ask them to support the "End Institutional Abuse Aganist Chidren Act"
[ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2005-04-20 15:08 ][ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2005-04-20 15:11 ]
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to be most effective, you need to have teh "bill number" when contacting a congress member. i searched the website and it says it can find no such bill. so then I went through each bill, one by one, seems like someone got their wires crossed and this bill never even made it to the floor.
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TLC: This information was just released today. I believe you can find more on it
http://www.emancipationproject.org (http://www.emancipationproject.org) - legislation
I believe you can also NAME the bill when writing to legislators - the name of the bill is
The End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act.
What's most important is that everyone write in - it's also helpful if you state why you support this bill and see a need for it. Just keep it short and to the point.
[ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2005-04-20 15:26 ][ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2005-04-20 15:27 ]
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http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed ... 42005.html (http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed31_democrats/rel42005.html)
I don't think the Bill gets a number yet.
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Well if it doesn't have a number - it has a name. This Bill needs support - please pass this on to everyone you know. Cut and paste away....
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"Representative Miller Introduces Legislation to Curb Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs
"Bill Would Affect Facilities both in U.S. and Abroad "
From http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/ ... &va=affect (http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary-tb?book=Dictionary&va=affect)
2. the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes
Freudian slip?
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. -- My First Summer in the Sierra , 1911, page 110.
John Muir
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I don't follow you - what does that have to do with this thread? Whatever....
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Background: On April 20, 2005, Congressman George Miller (left) introduced the "End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act" into the United States House of Representatives. The measure will be assigned a number on April 21.
Just to help us out :smile:
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Hate to sound contrarian, but the bill grants
$50 million to the STATES for licenceing. How
is it going to force states (such as Utah) to
SPEND it in any meaningful way?
That being said, I belive Rep. Miller's heart is
in the right place....the people have a right to keep and bear arms.
-- Patrick Henry and George Mason Debates
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Tommy---notice the "states would have to"---that means there would be specific federal requirements the states would have to meet as part of that licensing effort.
Also, the "federal civil and criminal" bit means:
1) they're going to make it (finally) a federal crime---probably a felony--to abuse children in a Program. That means that even if the state doesn't want to prosecute, the local federal US Attorney's office (or if he's reluctant, as directed by the US attorney general) can prosecute that crime.
2) the "civil" bit means they're going to make it so kids and parents can sue the programs, under *federal* law, for damages and that the *federal* government will set any statute of limitations. It also, iirc, means those cases will be heard in *federal* courts, not state courts---or even if begun in state courts, that they will be able to be appealed to the federal courts.
What this means is that Utah can't just sweep it all under the rug in Utah anymore, if this bill passes.
I know a lot of survivors don't trust Republican administrations, and on this issue Republicans don't have a very good track record---but an important part of the teeth in this law is that when you commit a federal felony, the AG at that time can choose not to prosecute you, BUT HE CANNOT make you unprosecutable short of the President issuing you a specific Presidential Pardon. That means that unless the statute of limitations runs out---and it frequently runs longer than any one President's term---when the *next* AG gets in, you can still be prosecuted.
Just that legal possibility puts pressure on reluctant AG's under one administration to prosecute cases that might not otherwise be high on their agenda.
Keep in mind that the Republicans don't think child abuse is okay. They either don't believe it's happening or think it's being exaggerated, and because of their political prejudices, they're reluctant to look at the evidence.
But Republicans are really into law and order. If you make something a crime, they're so keen on stopping crime that they sometimes forget to even think about whether it was a good idea to criminalize whatever it was in the first place.
(I vote Republican, but I'm not blind to their blind spots.)
If it gets passed into law and goes on the books as a federal crime, that's going to make a difference to the way they look at alleged abuse---because instead of just being a bad thing that they're not really inclined to believe is happeneing, it will be a potential federal crime that they feel a responsibility to investigate.
Democrats' emotions play more heavily into their political choices (relatively), Republicans' thoughts about principles play more heavily into their political choices (relatively). I'm not calling Republicans heartless or Democrats brainless, I'm just saying there's a definite difference in emphasis of what each side tends to believe is important.
If the law goes on the books, it being there *will* change the behavior of Republican AG's--and FBI agents, and US Attorneys, and federal judges, all down the line.
If you have a Republican Congressman or Senator, be sure you point out that most of the kids in these facilities are shipped in from out of state, and if the kid breaks too many rules, the facility typically ships them to another facility in yet another state or outside the US, which is why the federal government has jurisdiction. That this is not an in-state issue, that it is very, very much involved with interstate activity.
Point out that all these kids are placed out of state, frequently to avoid the laws put in place regulating such facilities in their home states---which is why state by state regulation isn't working and it is a legitimate federal issue---because no matter what the child's home state, the facility locates in a state with the laxest laws for what it wants to do, and then parents from all the other states ship in their kids.
If they sound really skeptical about why it's a federal problem, suggest that they *could* attach an amendment so it only affects facilities that accept kids from out of state.
Yes, you and I know they all do---but if you tell a Republican they can ensure the facility really is an interstate activity by attaching such an amendment, it is going to make a persuasive impact on them because it proves to them that you really are telling them the truth when you say what you're worried about are the places that locate in states with very loose laws and take kids from all the other states with tighter laws.
I'm not trying to talk down to the people reading this. There are a lot of posts I read on here where people sound like they think Republicans are just evil. They are usually people of good conscience who think and prioritize differently from the way Democrats do. They can be persuaded, but you have to couch your arguments right for the way they think, that's all.
So if you, yourself, knew all this already, don't get hacked off at me for talking down to you---I typed it in case there were readers who didn't know and would be helped by the "talking points" because I really, really want this bill to pass.
Timoclea
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Short answer is I think this law would help a lot.
T.
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This bill is necessary because many states aren't protecting the children in these program. WWASP would not be able to use Tranquility Bay as their torture program anymore. They actually scare the children into obedience with the threat of being sent to TB. It's necessary for the Federal Government to get involved because many state legislators are more interested in political contributions from owners of these programs. They are not interested in the safety of youth in these programs. [ This Message was edited by: cherish wisdom on 2005-04-21 09:09 ]
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THANKS FOR THIS INFORMATION.
On 2005-04-20 14:44:00, cherish wisdom wrote:
"Representative Miller Introduces Legislation to Curb Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs
Bill Would Affect Facilities both in U.S. and Abroad
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative George Miller (D-California) today announced new legislation to combat child abuse at residential treatment programs in the U.S. and abroad.
?There is no excuse for placing children in unlicensed programs with badly trained and abusive staff members, which could lead to mental, physical, and sexual abuse,? said Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee. ?It is truly frightening when the very people entrusted to care for and protect children are actually the ones who endanger them. Residential programs for children should be licensed and meet reasonable safety and staff training standards.?
In November 2003, Miller asked then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the World Wide Associations of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an organization with several campuses in the U.S. and abroad that provides ?behavior modification? programs for troubled youth, for allegations of child abuse and human rights violations.
Miller first requested the investigation after The New York Times ran a series of articles containing the allegations against WWASP. Despite repeated follow-up requests, however, the Department of Justice refused to investigate. Meanwhile, allegations of abuse continued to surface in published news reports. In December 2004 and January 2005, news agencies reported that five U.S.-owned residential treatment centers in Mexico had been closed by local authorities for numerous health violations and for placing children in punishment cells.
In an effort to deal once and for all with the problem of abuse at residential treatment programs for children, Miller today introduced the ?End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act.? The bill would:
provide $50 million in funding to states to support the licensing of child residential treatment programs. States would have to monitor the programs regularly to ensure their compliance with licensing requirements;
establish federal civil and criminal penalties for the abuse of children in residential treatment programs;
expand federal authority to regulate programs located overseas but run by U.S. companies and provide civil penalties for program operators that violate federal regulations; and
require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.
Residential treatment (or ?behavior modification?) programs are intended to help children with behavioral problems, like substance abuse. Miller stressed that many of these programs provide safe, valuable services to children and their families. But he said that stronger legislation was clearly necessary to ensure the safety of all children in such programs ? and particularly in programs overseas, where organizations have moved their facilities to avoid existing U.S. laws.
?Parents are sending their children to these programs because of a promise that they will help resolve difficult behavioral issues, like substance abuse,? said Miller. ?But the way kids have been treated at some of these facilities would make any parent shudder.?
If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil
deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
"
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This is absolutely great news. I am worried though. It's not that I'm saying that this bill is the wrong move or anything (far from it), but has anyone ever thought that the more pressure we put on these programs to reform inside the united states the more likely it will be that they will form other TBs or GBTS style programs that are outside the US's jurisdiction. As we impose more regulations the more likely it will be that the kids will be sent to programs that are probably going to be far worse then their US counterparts.
Even though I support this measure fully we should think of the unintended consequences of such legislation.
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email adresses link http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm (http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm)
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http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml)
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Does anyone know if there is a number yet for this bill. The entire bill can be viewed by going to http://www.emancipationproject.org (http://www.emancipationproject.org) for some reason I couldn't cut and paste it - I'm a techno-retard......
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I sent my letter to Congress yesterday. If you send one in early - be sure to do a follow up when the bill comes up for a vote - and who knows when that will be. :smile:
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Invertix - this bill would cover American kids in programs everywhere - if it gets passed in its present form.
Seriously folks - write and keep writing. Make sure they know people are watching and care about this bill.
Write the White House as well - even if you hate them - but don't tell them you hate them.
Also, maybe send a copy of the announcement to your local media - and request they cover the story.
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Well, I called my congressman and one of my senators so far and explained why this bill is a legitimate excercise of Constitutional federal authority---really important to Republicans---and why I *couldn't* work to fix it at state level---and why the bill was necessary.
I'm going to recount the meat of the call not to pat myself on the back but because what I said seemed to be effective on my Republican Congresscritters. I figure if any of your Congresscritters are Republican, reading this might help you when you're figuring out how to present your case to your reps. If your Congresscritters are Democrats, the whole worldview on scope of government is different, so I'm sure a politically savvy Democrat could form a strategy/sample call or letter better than mine.
I think the most important things that made my calls "work" was that I directed my arguments to the particular Congresscritter's worldview, I made it personal, and I talked about it in terms of how it affects children in our home state.
It seemed to really have an impact on the people who took the call when I mentioned WWASPS losing their defamation lawsuit recently, and when I explained that Georgia kids could be shipped to Utah at any time and that the facilities misrepresent their services to the parents, and how many facilities are in Utah and the large influx of money involved.
The loss of the defamation lawsuit really got their attention. Also that I told them I was a republican and normally wouldn't be supporting legislation submitted by a democrat from California. :smile:
It also helped when I said I didn't know if the language of the bill was good or needed cleaning up, and if they wanted to make sure it wasn't affecting strictly in-state legitimate private schools they could attach an amendment restricting it to places that accept out of state students.
It also helped when I explained that licensing in Utah seems to be a rubber stamp, probably because of the amount of money involved, and that federal legislation was the *only* way to protect Georgia children from Utah's lax laws and lax enforcement.
And I made sure I sounded regretful that federal legislation seemed to be the only way to fix the problem.
And I left my phone number and invited the Congressman or Senator or staffers to call me if they needed more information about the issue.
I told them I keep abreast of the issue because my child has a major mental illness of the kind that sometimes needs a facility, so I try to keep track of which ones are good and which ones are bad--that I obviously don't want to shut down all care, I just want to make sure it's quality care.
And I told them that I knew a girl who nothing was wrong with her and her *parents* were nuts and thought she was and sent her off out of state for basically no reason---and that there are no safeguards to prevent that. They sounded slightly skeptical about that, but like they were willing to consider it for argument's sake. I don't think they necessarily believed *that* case was one I was right about, but I *do* think it helped illustrate another one of the risks.
I think the point that the facilities' services are misrepresented to the parents, and the isolation room conditions, and the cases settled with gag orders, had more effect.
Maybe they were just sounding convinced so I'd feel like my representatives were in touch and responsive, but since they sounded skeptical at first and convinced at the end, I don't think so.
I hope this helps somebody.
TimocleaA multitude of laws in a country is like a great number of physicians, a sign of weakness and malady.
--Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778)
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Any news on the number the bill is going to be under? I also wrote Congressman and indicated that the bill shouldh have bipartisan support and also indicated that my own child had been the victim of untherapeutic care and torture at a Utah facility and the authorities did nothing in Utah. I indicated that this is just one reason to support the bill - the industry is prolific and the children are cut off from the world. They are disenfranchised.
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We need to boycott tourism to Jamaica and close Tranqulity Bay. ASAP
I saw a young man wearing a t shirt with Jamaica across the front.It came from Old Navy.I wrote to Old Navy asking that they discontinue promoting Jamaica until they start protecting our American children.
Please do the same. Contact the Tourism industry, cruise ships ,travel agencys etc and ask that they boycott Jamaica.Then let the fine folks in the Jamaica gov know why.
TB must go.
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Write your local congressmen too, good idea. :tup:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml (http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml)
http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm (http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm)
_________________
EST 1983
Salesmanship Club '84-'86
Straight, Inc. '86-'88
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke
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I think its great we finally have a bill in the works. I REALLY hope this makes it to the news!
I mean, how the hell is the GOP gonna act like they dont care about kids after making a big huge fucking deal about "morals" and "family values".
Ah well, as long as someone doesnt twist it into "the government got too involved with terri schiavo so they cant get involved in treament" this should go somewhere.
Hey, anyone know how to contact the daily show?
The nature of psychological compulsion is such that those who act under constraint remain under the impression that they are acting on their own initiative. The victim of mind-manipulation does not know that he is a victim. To him the walls of his prison are invisible, and he believes himself to be free. That he is not free is apparent only to other people. His servitude is strictly objective.
--Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley, 1958
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I have been writing tio Comgress for two yrs plus.
Congressman Miller has my testimony.
We need to do both. I have writen tio my Congressman and others in my state.Isent letters pictures news articles.
From my expereince it is an on going process.
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Never give up.
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http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2679149 (http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2679149)
Article Last Updated: 04/22/2005 01:25:24 AM
Mother sues treatment center, claims son was beaten, abused
By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
A California mother is accusing a northern Utah boarding school of physically and emotionally abusing her son while he was being treated there.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Jennifer Havlan said Majestic Ranch employee Sean E. Coombs seriously injured her minor son by slamming him against a wall and table, throwing him to the ground and striking him. She also alleges that the boy was "repeatedly restrained and placed in handcuffs" during his 2004 stay at the Randolph facility.
Majestic Ranch, which is affiliated with the St. George-based Worldwide Association of Speciality Programs and Schools (WWASP), is designed to treat preteens and young teenagers with behavioral and conduct problems. The program has been investigated several times after abuse allegations were lodged, with one probe ending in a criminal conviction when Coombs pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor assault charge.
A school official said Thursday that she had not seen the suit. WWASP officials have said that their treatment programs have a high rate of satisfaction among clients.
But Havlan, a Newport Beach resident, is unhappy about her son's experience and alleges battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and negligence. Her suit seeks unspecified damages.
On the same day Havlan filed her suit, U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., introduced legislation that would provide more monitoring of residential treatment programs and establish criminal and civil penalties for abuse of children.
Miller, who unsuccessfully asked then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2003
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to investigate allegations against WWASP, says residential treatment programs in the United States and abroad should be licensed.
"Parents are sending their children to these programs becaue of a promise that they will help resolve difficult behavioral issues, like substance abuse," Miller said in a written release about his End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act. "But the way kids have been treated at some of these facilities would make any parent shudder."
pmanson@sltrib.com
Proposed federal regulations
Federal legislation to regulate residential treatment programs in the United States would:
* Provide $50 million in funding to states for licensing and monitoring.
* Establish federal civil and criminal penalties for abuse of children.
* Expand federal authority to regulate programs located overseas but run by U.S. companies.
* Require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.
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On 2005-04-21 20:34:00, Nihilanthic wrote:
I mean, how the hell is the GOP gonna act like they dont care about kids after making a big huge fucking deal about "morals" and "family values".
Niles, if and when this comes to a commitee hearing,
the program defenders are going to claim that
they're the ones trying to instill "morals" and
"family values" into these kids. Don't get me
wrong, I support this bill. Just get ready for
that kind of argument. Remember, these programs
love to position themselves with social conservatives. My earlier post was really about
loopholes.Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.
--Julius Caesar
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Is there a number for this Bill yet? Has anyone seen any more information about it? I hope that is gets some media attention.
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I posted the bill information on all of our list serves and am pushing it as well, people are responding and saying they will call and write - I actually got an email from someone in Texas saying Thank God and finally - one thing I have learned is we don't have the money for the lobby but we have the vote their are more of us than the lobby or providers it can be done.. Keep up the fight and please keep me informed.
Andrea
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"instill" "morals" and "family values".
First of all, how do you instill something into a human being, or for that matter a teenager?
By definition, to instill is to:
1. To introduce by gradual, persistent efforts; implant: ?Morality... may be instilled into their minds? (Thomas Jefferson).
2. To pour in (medicine, for example) drop by drop.
Well, kids arent medicine in a bottle or beaker, and real education is a gradual, persistent effort. Then again, so is brainwashing, but more persistant and not so much 'gradual'.
But thats all so much irrelevance. What does abuse have to do with "instilling" *family-centric buzzword*? Nothing. You dont beat and punish kids into making them somehow want to be good kids according to their idea of a ideal family, and if they have real problems treatment doesnt involve hardship to fix it.
Yeah, I'm sure there are PLENTY of people up on the hill who somehow think kids (but oh, not themselves!) need to build character by toughing shit out or suffering or whatever. Thats a general, nebulous load of crap!
You fix problems by treating them! You help a kid trust an adult (for the few years until they become one) by treating them well, not scaring or breaking them into it!
But at any rate, I'd rather avoid the circular arguement of bullshit and just stick to facts. Abuse *IS* wrong, AND illegal. Abuse is NOT going to treat or help anything. 'Breaking', 'shocking', or 'impacting' a child isnt going to help them.
There is no excuse for brutality and inadequate education, ever.
We discover in the gospels a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superstition, fanaticism and fabrication.
--Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, author, scientist, architect, educator, and diplomat
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On 2005-04-22 18:58:00, Nihilanthic wrote:
Yeah, I'm sure there are PLENTY of people up on the hill who somehow think kids (but oh, not themselves!) need to build character by toughing shit out or suffering or whatever. Thats a general, nebulous load of crap!
As one old man talks w/ the other, it goes something like this:
1] Kids ta'day!
2] I'm sayin'
1] Well what's wrong with them? Why do they act like that? We never acted like that when we were kids!
2] Things are different now.
1] Yeah, they are. So what's the difference?
2] Well, when we were kids, everything sucked and we were grateful for it!
1] Yeah! That's so! So... how can we make things suck again!
...as de dawg chases his tail...
There were a lot about the good old days that didn't suck so much. If only we could get some of that back w/o making everything suck? Redemption: Deliverance of sinners from the penalty of their sins through the murder of their deity against whom they sinned.
--Ambrose Bierce
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This is something we all need to support
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I agree. Everyone write your local congressman!
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please.......... :smile:
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But everyone please read the text of the bill yourselves, discuss it w/ interested others and write a series of meaningful letters to your rep. Keep a coppies, file them w/ responses, compare your responses w/ those that other people get. There's a science to this. First you get a form letter that doesn't exactly address the issue. If they get enough interest in the topic, they'll craft a form letter that does address the issue. When you start getting authentic answers, not form letters, then you know you have a staffer who's actually paying attention.
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.
--Napoleon Bonaparte, French emperor
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Here's what works for me, and would work for anyone who can turn a phrase:
Usually the first form letter gets me on the mailing list to attend the next town meeting.
I spend about a week crafting a sound byte that will resonate with the rest of the audience likely to be in the room, and fitting the sound byte into a "question" format, and getting it down short and sweet enough that I can get it out before getting cut off.
I wait to get called on, deliver the money line, the room applauds, and the legiscritter remembers my point (I know this because I've heard the idea mirrored back at subsequent town meetings :wink: ).
But the trick is crafting a good, short, memorable money line that will get applause.
And that just takes time.
And you only get one "issue" per town meeting you can do it on, so you have to pick carefully.
But it seems to work, because it not only stays planted in the head of the legiscritter, it raises that issue a little higher on the radar screen of the audience---who are usually the most politically involved people in the legiscritter's district.
:wink:
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We should also send information about this bill to everyone on our e-mail list and encourage them to do the same. We need to spread public awarenness.
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Please post any info on the bill~ :exclaim: :wave:
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Background: On April 20, 2005, Congressman George Miller (left) introduced HR 1738 -- the "End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act" -- into the United States House of Representatives. The bill has been assigned to the Committee on Education and the Workforce and to the Committee on International Relations.
The bill would: (1) provide $50 million in funding to states to support the licensing of child residential treatment programs. States would have to monitor the programs regularly to ensure their compliance with licensing requirements; (2) establish federal civil and criminal penalties for the abuse of children in residential treatment programs; (3) expand federal authority to regulate programs located overseas but run by U.S. companies and provide civil penalties for program operators that violate federal regulations; and (4) require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.
A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question
about it.
--GW Büsh, Business Week, July 30, 2001
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To find your local reps, you can type in your address here and it will pull the ones from your district:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm (http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm)
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A BILL
To assure the safety of American children in foreign-based and domestic institutions, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005'.
SEC. 2. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATIONS.
(a) In General- In order to assure the safety and welfare of American children residing in foreign-based institutions, the Attorney General shall seek the cooperation of appropriate foreign authorities in order to investigate such facilities or institutions periodically. Such an investigation shall include a determination of the institution's compliance with any local safety, health, sanitation and educational laws and regulations, including all licensing requirements applicable to the staff of the institution and compliance with this section. The Attorney General shall seek the cooperation of appropriate foreign authorities to remedy any threat to the safety or welfare of those children, discovered through such an investigation.
(b) Rules and Enforcement- (1) The Attorney General shall make rules to protect the safety and wellbeing of American children who are kept in a foreign based institution for purposes of behavior modification.
(2) Whoever, being a United States citizen or national, or other private entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any State or political subdivision of the United States, violates a rule made under this subsection shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000.
(c) Definitions- As used in this section--
(1) the term `foreign-based institution' means any facility or institution--
(A) owned, operated, or managed by a United States citizen or other private entity organized under the laws of the United States; and
(B) for persons, including persons who are residing in such facility or institution, for purposes of receiving care or treatment or behavior modification; and
(2) the term `American children' means American citizens or nationals 18 years of age or younger.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.
(a) Part I of Foreign Assistance Act of 1961- Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(g)(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall include, wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of child abuse or human rights violations against persons who are 18 years of age or younger at institutions described in paragraph (2) that are located in each foreign country.
`(2) An institution referred to in paragraph (1) is a facility or institution--
`(A) owned, operated, or managed by a United States citizen or other private entity organized under the laws of the United States; and
`(B) for persons, including persons who are residing in such facility or institution, for purposes of receiving care or treatment or behavior modification.'.
(b) Part II of Foreign Assistance Act of 1961- Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(i)(1) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of child abuse or human rights violations against persons who are 18 years of age or younger at institutions described in paragraph (2) that are located in each foreign country.
`(2) An institution referred to in paragraph (1) is a facility or institution--
`(A) owned, operated, or managed by a United States citizen or other private entity organized under the laws of the United States; and
`(B) for persons, including persons who are residing in such facility or institution, for purposes of receiving care or treatment or behavior modification.'.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO SUPPORT INSPECTIONS OF CHILD RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES.
(a) In General- The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new title:
`TITLE III--GRANTS TO STATES TO SUPPORT INSPECTIONS OF CHILD RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES
`SEC. 301. GRANTS TO STATES.
`The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States to support inspections of child residential treatment facilities.
`SEC. 302. APPLICATION.
`The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under section 301 unless the State submits to the Secretary an application for the grant at such time, in such form and manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
`SEC. 303. ELIGIBILITY.
`(a) In General- The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under section 301 unless the State has in effect laws to require the licensing of child residential treatment facilities in accordance with the requirements of subsection (b) and the State is enforcing such State laws in accordance with the requirements of subsection (c).
`(b) Licensing Requirements- The licensing requirements referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
`(1) The State requires any person who operates a child residential treatment facility to be issued a license for the operation of the facility, and the license is in effect.
`(2) The facility meets applicable standards of the State for the provision of treatment services for children with emotional, psychological, developmental, or behavioral dysfunctions, impairments, or chemical dependencies.
`(3) In the case of each child who is a resident of the facility and whose domicile is another State, the facility meets the standards of such other State for the operation of such a facility, including any licensing standards.
`(4) With respect to State law that prohibits the physical or mental abuse of children and the neglect of children, the law of the State in which the facility is located applies to the facility standards for the care of children who are residents of the facility, including enforcement standards, that are equivalent to the standards applied by the State to parents or legal guardians.
`(5) The State requires periodic, unannounced inspections of the facility to determine compliance with applicable law, including law regarding the licensing of health professionals and law regarding the standards referred to in paragraph (4).
`(c) Enforcement Requirements- The enforcement requirements referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
`(1) IN GENERAL-
`(A) CIVIL PENALTY- A person who operates a child residential treatment facility in violation of the requirements under subsection (b) is subject to a civil penalty of $250 per day until the violation is corrected, except that the number of days for which the penalty is assessed may not exceed 60 days.
`(B) ORDER TO TERMINATE OPERATIONS- With respect to a violation of the requirements under subsection (b), if a civil penalty under subparagraph (A) for the violation is assessed for 60 days, the State orders that the child residential treatment facility involved terminate all operations.
`(2) ABUSE OR NEGLECT-
`(A) CIVIL PENALTY- If a child residential treatment facility engages in the abuse or neglect of a child who is a resident of the facility, each person who owns or operates the facility, and each of the officers, employees, or contractors thereof who engaged in the abuse or neglect, is subject to a civil penalty for each such violation in an amount determined by the State, but not less than $20,000 for all violations adjudicated in a single proceeding.
`(B) CRIMINAL PENALTY- If a child residential treatment facility engages in the abuse or neglect of a child who is a resident of the facility, each person who owns or operates the facility, and each of the officers, employees, or contractors thereof who engaged in the abuse or neglect, shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
`(C) ABUSE OR NEGLECT- For purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B), the term `abuse or neglect', with respect to a child, means a knowing act or omission that the officer, employee, or contractor involved knows or should know will result in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or will present an imminent risk of serious harm.
`SEC. 304. USE OF FUNDS.
`A State that receives a grant under section 301 shall use amounts under the grant to--
`(1) hire and train individuals who have appropriate expertise in the health profession, including the mental health profession, to carry out periodic, unannounced inspections of child residential treatment facilities in accordance with section 303(b)(5); and
`(2) collect and maintain data from the inspections of such child residential treatment facilities to be included in the report required by section 306.
`SEC. 305. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
`A State that receives a grant under section 301 shall use amounts under the grant only to supplement the level of non-Federal funds that, in the absence of amounts under the grant, would be expended for activities authorized under the grant, and not to supplant those non-Federal funds.
`SEC. 306. REPORT.
`The Secretary may not make a grant to a State under section 301 unless the State agrees that it will submit to the Secretary for each fiscal year for which it receives a grant under such section a report that contains such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including a detailed description of the number of child residential treatment facilities located in the State, the number of children residing at such facilities, the State domicile of each child prior to entry at such a facility, and the age, gender, and disability (if any) of each child at such a facility.
`SEC. 307. DEFINITIONS.
`In this title:
`(1) CHILD- The term `child' means an individual 18 years of age or younger.
`(2) CHILD RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITY; FACILITY- The term `child residential treatment facility' or `facility' means a facility that--
`(A) provides a 24-hour group living environment for one or more children who are unrelated to the owner or operator of the facility; and
`(B) offers for the children room or board and specialized treatment, behavior modification, rehabilitation, discipline, emotional growth or rehabilitation services for youths with emotional, psychological, developmental, or behavioral dysfunctions, impairments, or chemical dependencies.
`(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
`(4) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
`SEC. 308. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
`There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.'.
(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of contents of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Faith means not wanting to know what is true.
--Freidrich Nietzsche, German philosopher
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owned, operated, or managed by a United States citizen or other private entity organized under the laws of the United States; and
(B) for persons, including persons who are residing in such facility or institution, for purposes of receiving care or treatment or behavior modification; and
(2) the term `American children' means American citizens or nationals 18 years of age or younger
Could the gulag business weasel out of this with
some type of foreign straw ownership scheme?Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Ben Franklin Letter to M. Leroy, 1789.
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Is there anything new on this? Please post any new information... :wink:
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Are there any updates on this?
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I think this bill is an excellent start; it basically gives the attorneys general of each state a mandate to investigate the practices of both domestic and foreign-based residential treatment institutions "to assure the welfare and safety of American children."
Some of the people who helped author the language of the bill were disillusioned Teen Help parents, who realized that their kids had been abused.
The main people to write to would be Rep. Miller, thanking him for introducing the bill and stating your support; Rep. John Boehner, who chairs the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and Rep. Henry Hyde, who chairs the Committee on International Relations. (The bill has been referred to both of these committees.)
Following are some template letters; please feel free to copy them. I'm also including each Congressman's mailing address.
***
The Honorable George Miller
2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Miller,
I am writing to thank you for your sponsorship of HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.
I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.
I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Thank you for your work with this bill and this important, under-publicized issue.
Sincerely,
***
The Honorable Henry Hyde
2110 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Hyde,
I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill. Because many of the residential behavior modification programs for teens are situated in foreign countries, though they are administered by U.S.-based entities, I believe this issue falls under the jurisdiction of your committee.
I am a survivor of a program called _____, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.
I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.
Sincerely,
***
The Honorable John Boehner
1011 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Boehner,
I am writing to urge you to schedule hearings on HR 1738, the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act of 2005, and to express my strong support for this bill.
I am a survivor of a program called ______, which employed coercive thought reform techniques. Coercive behavior modification is nothing but abuse and brainwashing. My experience was traumatic. I would like to see such abuses end. I think if American parents truly understood what such programs entail, they would be much less likely to turn their children over to the abusers.
I see HR 1738 as a good start toward reining in these programs, and raising public awareness about them. I enthusiastically support HR 1738. Please hold hearings on this important bill, and please help secure its passage.
Sincerely,