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Residential youth program bill narrowly makes it out of Senate Committee – Daily Montanan [1]

['Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- April']

Date: 2023-04-06  

A bill to increase state regulations over private alternative youth residential programs squeaked out of a Senate committee on Wednesday with a 5-4 vote.

House Bill 218, sponsored by Rep. Laura Smith, D-Helena, was supported by socialite and entrepreneur Paris Hilton, who tweeted for the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety committee to support the bill.

Hilton also submitted written testimony about her own experience at a youth residential program in Idaho, where she says she was forced to trek through Montana mountains without enough food and water.

“I could have died in those mountains, and I mourn those that did,” her testimony read.

Smith said in the March 10 hearing for the bill that parents often send their children who may be experiencing mental health or behavioral issues to these programs in the hope they will receive therapy and healing. Smith cited reports of sexual abuse, solitary confinement and suicide occurring at these facilities in her testimony.

The bill was amended during executive action on Wednesday to make unannounced inspections from the Department of Public Health and Human Services semi-annual instead of quarterly, and requiring interviews for half of the youth population in the facility as opposed to interviewing all housed there. The amendment also specifies that a fixed number for a child abuse hotline be available to residents 24 hours a day.

An amendment from Sen. Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, would have required all resident calls be recorded by the Health Department. It failed with only Molnar voting in support.

“They could be trying to get drugs in. They could be trying to figure a way to run away. You should have a recording, so that if they come up missing, you can listen to see who it is they were talking to,” Molnar said. “I don’t think that that’s too, too much to ask.”

Sen. Jen Gross, D-Billings, said she didn’t think parents would be OK with the type of discipline that was described in the hearing. She argued parents need to be aware of what’s going on at these facilities, and they would have the option to go and help their children.

“Senator Molnar, you’re always thinking of things a little bit different than the rest of us. And it can be hard to wrap my mind around it at least 50% of the time,” Gross said.

The bill will need to pass two votes on the Senate floor before advancing to the governor’s desk.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/04/06/residential-youth-program-bill-narrowly-makes-it-out-of-senate-committee/

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