Committee Statements

Thank you Chairman Miller. This legislation was thoroughly debated and vetted by this committee in the 110^th Congress, so I’ll keep my remarks brief.

Many youth and families have benefitted from the services and support offered by residential treatment facilities.  Unfortunately, those success stories have been overshadowed by devastating stories of abuse, neglect, and even death.  Working with the Government Accountability Office, you have helped bring this issue to light, giving us the opportunity now to ensure young people in these programs are protected.

As we have examined these programs, it has become clear that state regulations are uneven at best, with some states aggressively monitoring such programs and others clearly failing to do so.  This is unacceptable.  States have a fundamental responsibility to protect their citizens and monitor the organizations operating within their borders.

The bill introduced last year as a starting point for debate was well-intentioned, but it raised a number of red flags on our side of the aisle.  For instance, it created two parallel structures for monitoring these programs – a federal authority at the Department of Health and Human Services and a requirement for redundancy at the state level.  This would have resulted in duplication and confusion.

We were also concerned about the legal framework in the bill, which would have created a new right-to-sue, thereby turning these protections into a trial lawyer magnet.

A third concern we identified was a gaping hole in the protections. While the legislation created a new enforcement scheme for private programs, it would have done nothing to protect young people enrolled in public facilities, despite the fact that abuse and neglect have been documented in public programs.

Working with you last year, we were able to address these and other concerns with the legislation. We made sure that the federal government will play the more appropriate role of working with the states to ensure they bear responsibility for oversight. The federal government will not be responsible for investigation or enforcement unless cases are referred by the states.

We also made certain that this bill does not turn into a trial lawyer giveaway by putting the focus back on children and families. Victims of abuse will retain their right to seek remedies in the courts, but the focus of the legislation is on prevention and protection instead of litigation.

The bill’s protections have been expanded to cover public facilities as well as private ones, and strong background checks have been incorporated to ensure that individuals treating vulnerable youth are thoroughly vetted. Both of these reforms were supported by Republicans.

Finally, I am glad to note that the legislation will protect parental rights by ensuring that parents are notified of any changes in their children’s medical treatments. I’m pleased that this bill did not back away from these important protections for parents, and I believe that going forward, we can make them even stronger.

I understand that some concerns remain on our side of the aisle, and I myself retain some apprehension about involving the federal government in this uncharted territory. But Chairman Miller has worked in good faith to address our concerns, and I believe it is important to move forward with this legislation. For that reason, I will be voting for passage of this bill today. Thank you Chairman Miller, I yield back.

 

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