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Offline katfish

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propsed federal bill
« on: June 15, 2005, 06:18:00 PM »
Along with George Miller - supporters of this bill include Congressmen Kildee, Owens, VanHollen, and McDermott. Please write to them to express your gratitude, thoughts or experiences.  


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:
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline katfish

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propsed federal bill
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2005, 07:01:00 PM »
Hi all,

I'm working on getting a petition up so maybe we can garner up enough support from survivors, friends, family and  advocates for the purpose of getting a hearing on the federal bill proposed by Senator Miller of Ca.  In the meantime there are several things you can do:

Chairman Hyde's assistant has said Chairman Hyde has been assigned to review Congressman Miller's Proposed Bill 1738 with Chairman Boehner to determine if they will schedule it for hearing. This bill has not been reviewed.

EVERYONE! write personal letters indicating why you feel Congressman Miller's bill should be scheduled for hearing. Please write to both Chairman Boehner and Chairman Hyde at the address below:

Chairman John Boehner
Committee of Education in the Workplace
1011 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
or click here

http://johnboehner.house.gov/contact.asp


and to:

Chairman Henry Hyde
House International Committee
2170 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

http://www.house.gov/hyde/ContactMe.htm


[ This Message was edited by: katfish on 2005-06-15 16:11 ]
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

Offline Anonymous

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propsed federal bill
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2005, 04:41:00 PM »
You can go to http://www.caica.org for information. They are working directly with these legislators. They say to be sure to write personal letters, not ones copied from others.

On the site you can find the bill, Miller's press release, etc.
 
Here's part of what's there:
CAICA will continue to work with legislators on the state level. Not only will working on the state level help the individual states but we believe it will serve to support Federal Bill HR 1738.

What we learned from Congressman Miller's Office:

Congressman Miller's assistant informed CAICA President Isabelle Zehnder that Proposed Bill HR1738 needs to be set for hearing before moving forward, and indicated that currently chances of the proposed bill being set for hearing are not good. There are ways we all can help.

What you can do:

Chairman John Boehner is responsible for setting this hearing, so letters from concerned citizens should be directed to him. Also, it was suggested that letters be in your own words rather than a form letter sent by many. Be sure to let Chairman Boehner know why you believe this is an important bill. The personal letters, she said, get much more attention.

UPDATE:

On June 8, 2005, Isabelle Zehnder contacted Chairman Hyde's assistant and was told Chairman Hyde has been assigned to review Congressman Miller's Proposed Bill 1738 with Chairman Boehner to determine if they will schedule it for hearing.

Zehnder was also told by Chairman Hyde's assistant that this bill has not been reviewed. She encouraged Zehnder to reach out to others to ask that they write personal letters indicating why they feel Congressman Miller's bill should be scheduled for hearing. Please write to both Chairman Boehner and Chairman Hyde at the address below:

Chairman John Boehner
Committee of Education in the Workplace
1011 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

and to:

Chairman Henry Hyde
House International Committee
2170 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Chairman Hyde's assistant stated she would encourage Chairman Hyde and others to view the Slide Show on the http://www.caica.org website to inform them of the seriousness of the issue.

What CAICA is doing:

CAICA president Isabelle Zehnder has written letters to Chairman Boehner, Chairman Hyde, and their assistants, encouraging them to schedule Congressman Miller's proposed bill for hearing, and will continue to be in contact with their office. CAICA will seek Republican support. Further, we were asked to continue to investigate and report on abusive practices in residential youth facilities, which we intend to do.

Congressman Miller can be reached at:

Honorable George Miller
2205 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: (202) 225-2095
E-mail: george.miller@mail.house.gov
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline katfish

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« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2005, 11:05:00 PM »
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2005, 01:15:00 AM »
Everyone please be forwarned, most of these organizations that claim to work to protect kids are run by pretty incompetent people, so called whistle blowers that don't move forward or do make progress, but are not the skilled nor very smart, so careful where info you get comes from, recheck the sources.
++++++
Heard the same about the woman Isabelle. heard she
went against CPS in some state supposedly trying to protect kids and pretty much blew their entire investigation. she tried to be this knight in shingin armor but instead fucked everything up, read flags everywhere fer sure. But they do have senators, probably they dont know, theyre just a name far as i can tell. maybe just the lady who runs it is a little loopy and the others who work with her are legit. so sad, seems worse than the others with misguided intentions and (isabele) big ego
http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/emancip ... basted.htm

btw zhender needs to hire someone to write those reports becuz theyre shes an emabarrasingly bad writer  i praise the intent behind it and would be kinder if i hadn't heard these things
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2005, 01:24:00 AM »
Everyone please be forwarned, most of these organizations that claim to work to protect kids are run by pretty incompetent people, so called whistle blowers that don't move forward or do make progress, but are not the skilled nor very smart, so careful where info you get comes from, recheck the sources.

hope

Heard the same about the woman Isabelle. heard she
went against CPS in some state supposedly trying to protect kids and pretty much blew their entire investigation. she tried to be this knight in shingin armor but instead fucked everything up, read flags everywhere fer sure. But they do have senators, probably they dont know, theyre just a name far as i can tell. maybe just the lady who runs it is a little loopy and the others who work with her are legit. so sad, seems worse than the others with misguided intentions and (isabele) big ego
http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/emancip ... basted.htm

btw zhender needs to hire someone to write those reports becuz theyre shes an emabarrasingly bad writer  i praise the intent behind it and would be kinder if i hadn't heard these things
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2005, 01:27:00 AM »
To annonymous. I take personal offense to what you say about Isabelle who has worked very hard for the kids who been hurt.  Maybe you know her on a personl level and had bad experiences but you are being very nasty if that's the case
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2005, 01:29:00 AM »
or maybe you just like to sabatoge these programs
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2005, 01:37:00 AM »
Kat, great job on the petition. Keep up the good work.
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Offline marcwordsmith

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« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2005, 03:46:00 PM »
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,
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »