SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Legislature has passed a Paris Hilton-sponsored bill to increase regulation for the state’s “troubled youth centers” – a bill that would set new rules for the industry for the first time in 15 years.
Utah House gave final legislative approval to SB127 Tuesday night, less than a month after Hilton came to Capitol Hill, Utah to give emotional and graphic testimony to a group of Utah senators.
The bill now goes to Governor Spencer Cox for his review.
In that February 8 committee hearing, Hilton described how she experienced “unconstitutional, degrading, and horrific” abuse by employees at Provo Canyon School in the 1990s, who she said had forced them to take medication that made them “numb and exhausted”. “Saw her go to the bathroom and shower and put her in” solitary confinement “in what she described as” covered in scratches and smeared with blood without a bathroom. “
Hilton has worked to increase regulations for troubled inpatient treatment centers for teenagers like Provo Canyon School in Utah and across the country. The weight of her and others’ testimony puzzled lawmakers and left some in disbelief at how such “disgusting” abuse of children in these youth institutions had persisted for decades without accountability.
“This just adds some guard rails and an oversight that was frankly missing,” said sponsor of the law, Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Pleasant Grove, on the floor of the house.
Some lawmakers in the House tried to change the bill. R-Cedar City Rep. Rex Shipp attempted to change that to only “cause pain unless necessary to protect health and safety”. The reasoning that children can sometimes be violent to staff. Other lawmakers opposed the change, fearing it would leave the door open to abuse.
Rep. Jeff Stenquist, R-Draper, also tried to amend the bill to extend reporting requirements for the use of restrictions or solitary confinement from one business day to three business days, arguing that “seclusion is not always harmful” and “sometimes necessary “. “He said the extension would allow treatment centers” a few more days “to report the tactic.
Brammer opposed the change, saying it was the industry standard that restrictions or seclusion must be reported within one business day.
“This could be someone withdrawn for three days before anyone knew about it,” he said. “It’s big enough for the regulator to understand what’s happening and find out about it as soon as possible.”
Both attempts to change failed.
Brian King, minority chairman of the House of Representatives in D-Salt Lake City, who declared a conflict of interest in representing someone sued over these programs, said he supported the bill but wanted to emphasize that there are benefits to be had emerged from inpatient treatment centers, which are often a “last resort” for families.
King “fervently” expressed a desire “to counter the advertisements we have seen”. While some of it is “undoubtedly deserved,” King said he wants to share “the tremendous good they offer families across the state and the United States.”
“Based on years of experience, these programs serve a vital need for families across the country and in Utah. They generally do a great job, ”said King. “Occasionally there are problems. And we have to deal with these, and this calculation does that. ”
The House voted 70-2 to approve the bill after the Senate unanimously passed it on February 16. Only House Majority Leader Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, and Rep. Adam Robertson, R-Provo, voted against.
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