Dear CWLA Members,
We at the Child Welfare League of America have serious concerns about the
growing number of unlicensed residential programs and camps for troubled
children and youth, often referred to as therapeutic boarding schools or boot
camps. Recent publicity, i.e. the current "Brat Camp" television show, has
highlighted the use of these types of programs.
Since the airing of this show, CWLA has received an increasing number of calls
from concerned parents across the country, who fear for the safety of the young
people served by these programs, or who recount inappropriate or unsafe
incidents that their children have experienced.
We believe that Congress needs to take action to ensure the safety of the
children participating in these programs by requesting that the U.S. Government
Accountability Office conduct an investigation.
In a letter to key members of Congress, which will later be sent to all members
of Congress, we refer them to CWLA's Standards of Excellence for Residential
Services to detail best practice guidelines for the residential program services
that are provided to children and youth, often used by state agencies in
developing and revising licensing regulations.
Please use the link that follows to review the letter that I sent to Congress
today regarding this important issue.
http://www.cwla.org/execdir/edremarks050811.htm Thank you for your continued advocacy on behalf of children, youth and families.
Shay
