{"id":111419,"date":"2025-08-19T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T10:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/?p=111419"},"modified":"2025-08-08T16:21:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:21:55","slug":"u-s-policy-finally-addresses-institutional-child-abuse-in-the-troubled-teen-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uitac.com\/inthenewsblog\/u-s-policy-finally-addresses-institutional-child-abuse-in-the-troubled-teen-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Policy Finally Addresses Institutional Child Abuse in the Troubled Teen Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"For the first time in U.S. policy, a bipartisan bill, the <\/span>Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act<\/span><\/a> (SICA) was passed into law at the very end of 2024. This legislation aims to provide oversight and collect data to ideally assist in improvements by better understanding the landscape and practices of residential treatment programs for \u201ctroubled teens\u201d comprehensively across the country. <\/span>Child abuse<\/span><\/b> is defined as<\/span> the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect of a child (an individual 17 years old or younger).<\/span><\/i> This bill was championed by celebrity <\/span>Paris Hilton<\/span><\/a>, who was sent involuntarily by her parents to multiple troubled teen industry (TTI) programs as a young adult in the mid to late 1990s. After struggling with insomnia and <\/span>post-traumatic stress disorder<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>PTSD<\/span><\/b>), <\/span>a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of psychological shock<\/span><\/i>, Paris disclosed her experience in the TTI for the first time in her documentary, \u201c<\/span>This is Paris<\/span><\/a>\u201d released in 2020. Since then, she has advocated for years for legislation in <\/span>several<\/span><\/a> states<\/span><\/a> and subsequently at the federal level, seeking legal protections to help youth caught in these generally <\/span>coercive organizations<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>groups of people whose membership is primarily forced and must abide by strict rules and regulations<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Troubled Teen Industry\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

For decades, <\/span>journalists<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>scholars<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>politicians<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>survivors<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>other advocates<\/span><\/a> have raised <\/span>ethical concerns<\/span><\/a> regarding the TTI, such as <\/span>lack of recipient rights<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>involuntary treatment<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>\u201cattack\u201d therapy, the use of seclusion<\/span><\/a>, restraints, <\/span>neglect, and a variety<\/span><\/a> other concerns that vary by program. The American <\/span>troubled teen industry<\/span><\/a> consists of mostly private, <\/span>previously federally unregulated<\/span><\/a> total institutions<\/span><\/b>, isolated groups with strict rules and regulations aiming to control every aspect of members\u2019 lives<\/span><\/i>. Similar models exist in other countries, like Canada or Australia, but to a much lesser extent due to stronger child protection laws, more government oversight and regulation, less for-profit treatment, and far more focus on therapeutic approaches involving family and community-based supports. The U.S. remains <\/span>internationally notorious<\/span><\/a> for its TTI due to the scale of the industry, profit-driven focus, emphasis on behavioral modification, and marketing to parents of \u201ctroubled teens.\u201d <\/span>Troubled teens are typically labeled<\/span><\/a> as such if they display any <\/span>deviance<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>violation of social norms<\/span><\/i>, and\/or struggles with mental\/physical health, LGBTQ+, neurodivergence, or any outlier status in society. Examples of these institutions include residential treatment centers, wilderness therapy, teen ranches, therapeutic boarding schools, and boot camps or military schools. While all of these programs are total institutions, their frequent use of more intrusive features like <\/span>degradation ceremonies<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>an event, ceremony, or rite of passage used to break down people and make them more accepting of a total institution<\/span><\/i>, leads them to be classified as <\/span>\u201ctotalistic\u201d teen treatment by Dr. Mark Chatfield<\/span><\/a>. This classification includes seven characteristics: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. strict communication controls,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. peer surveillance and policing,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. the need to change the whole person,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. a series of prescribed phases of progress and privileges,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. regular participation in group sessions involving confrontation or confession rituals,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. strict system of rules with inflexible punishments and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. a central authority structure that governs all aspects of life.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    All the while beneficiaries of the industry, including organizations like the <\/span>National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)<\/span><\/a>, made up of TTI programs, continue to promote <\/span>involuntary treatment<\/span><\/a>, and produce research embroiled with conflicts of interest or short-term outcomes to prove that their programs work. More longitudinal research (past two years), as well as research conducted by those not embedded or heavily connected to the TTI is desperately needed to provide better insight into long-term outcomes of these programs. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    U.S. Policy is Not Enough\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

    While the \u201d<\/span>Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act<\/span><\/a>\u201c is a long-awaited first step in the right direction to protect youth by providing a myriad of improvements \u2014 such as\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n