Bill would fight residential program abuse

It's about damn time!

If it passes, a new federal bill would grant much-needed protections to young people in privately run confinement facilities. The bill by Rep. George Miller (D-California) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-New York) is designed to fight the often fatal physical, sexual, and mental abuse that is routinely dished out by these torture centers.

Right now there's no federal regulation of these facilities, and many states have no regulation either. This legislation was announced the same day that government investigators told Congress that these programs use deceptive marketing practices. If it becomes law, the bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services to establish health and safety standards for these programs, require the HHS to inspect the facilities, and even create a national hotline to report abuse.

I guarantee you that if there was a hotline like this back in 1990, it would have been used. Unfortunately, it's also a fact that state agencies that are supposed to investigate complaints have a history of calling the victims liars right to their faces. Hopefully the hotline won't be staffed by programs' corrupt cronies.

The teen confinement racket is a form of human trafficking. It treats every young person who walks through its doors as a dollar sign. The government must put an end to this deception, greed, and abuse.

(Source: http://stopchildprofiteering.blogspot.com/2008/04/press-release-reps-miller-mccarthy.html)