Monitor in Psychology
Volume 36, No. 11 December 2005Guided by psychologists' advocacy, Congress supports new legislation aimed at improving children's welfare.
By Annie Toro and Amena Hassan
During September and October, the attention of Congress and the executive branch focused primarily on hurricane-relief measures and Supreme Court nominations. Yet, federal officials somehow found the time to act to ensure the continuation of existing federal programs for children and youth, and to propose other measures to safeguard child welfare.
Child welfare in residential treatment facilities. Public Interest Policy staff have been working with the office of Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and several national organizations on the End Institutionalized Abuse Against Children Act (H.R. 1738). This legislation would establish guidelines to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensure the safety and well-being of American children in residential treatment facilities, often called "therapeutic boarding schools."
APA co-sponsored an Oct. 18 congressional briefing focused on the need to enforce government regulation and oversight of residential treatment facilities for children. The briefing highlighted reports alleging physical and sexual abuse and neglect of children with mental and emotional problems placed in unlicensed and unregulated facilities. The briefing was sponsored by the Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate Use of Residential Treatment (A START), a multidisciplinary task force coordinated by the Florida Mental Health Institute and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. APA and A START member Robert Friedman, PhD, of the University of South Florida, was one of the presenters at the well-attended briefing.
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