Initiative would protect young from abusive facilities

I passionately hate organizations that abuse children and teenagers. But there's a whole system in place now to protect abusive "treatment" centers. The facilities have political connections, especially with Republicans like Bush crony Mel Sembler.

Rep. George Miller (D-California) says another culprit is the Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, which operates several facilities. Miller says WWASPS is guilty of subjecting young people to "deprivation of food, deprivation of contact with their peers, physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, and parents are paying big money for services not rendered." The industry is largely unregulated, and legislative efforts to remedy the situation have been gutted. The state of Utah is a particularly outrageous offender and has allowed these centers to commit torture and fraud for decades. Utah even failed to close a facility that refused to seek medical care for a detainee with pneumonia.

The political connections of the teen torture racket are one of the reasons the pendulum has swung so far against youth rights. Americans under 18 are viewed as property, not people.

In the state of Washington, however, Initiative 999 would help reform this situation. If it passes, a minor's consent would be required for certain types of treatment. Transporting minors who are at least 13 to out-of-state behavior modification centers would be banned without the teen's consent or a court order. Teenagers who are at least 16 would be entitled to 50% of each decision about their own lives. Anyone at least 16 who is in danger of being illegally confined may be emancipated at an emergency hearing. The measure would also allow domestic violence petitions to be filed based on various forms of abuse, and there would be more limits on placing someone in a facility even within Washington State.

If Washington and other states had this law already, it would have saved some lives and a lot of grief.

Supporters of this referendum want 290,000 signatures of Washington State voters to make sure it gets on the ballot. If it does get on the ballot, will it pass? I hope so. But there are whole organizations that hate children and will fight it tooth and nail. The anti-child groups have the ear of every self-righteous loudmouth in the state who cries that the measure interferes with their so-called "right" to throw away their child.

If you're against this initiative, you're hurting children. That's pretty much all there is to it.

Want more information about Initiative 999? Click here:

http://www.yesoni-999.com