California lawmakers on Wednesday passed bipartisan legislation to enact stricter public oversight on the use of seclusion or restraints on children and teenagers in residential treatment facilities, protections advocated by celebrity hotel heir Paris Hilton.
Senate Bill 1043, written by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), would require both public and private short-term therapeutic programs to publish every incident of seclusion or restraint used on minors, as well as any health or safety concerns. Policymakers nationwide have expressed concern about the historical use of these punishment tactics against youths, many of whom are in foster care, criticizing the lack of transparency about these incidents.
The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his consideration.
California used to send foster youths with serious behavior problems to out-of-state treatment programs, but after numerous reports of abuse, state lawmakers in 2021 banned those placements. Since then, California has created Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs, but the use of seclusion rooms and restraints on minors still occurs.
Grove found that youths routinely experience these tactics, but foster parents and guardians rarely learn about them happening.
Under the bill, the California Department of Social Services would be required to publish data on its website about every incident in which seclusion or restraint is used, searchable by anyone. It’s up to the department how to display the information to the public, according to Grove’s office. The parent, foster parent, guardian or tribal representative of a child subjected to this punishment also would be notified.
The bill was supported by legislators on both sides of the aisle and earned support from Hilton, who visited Sacramento in April to testify at a Senate committee. As a teenager, Hilton, who is now 43, was taken to a youth educational facility where she said she endured mental and physical abuse, including being held in restraint and seclusion rooms, an experience that has been likened to solitary confinement.
Grove agreed to amendments made in the Assembly Human Services Committee that would require an investigation every time an incident is reported, but after fiscal analysts found it would be too costly, those amendments were taken out. Now, an investigation into a facility would take place only if the safety of a child is at risk or if there was any misuse of such disciplinary tactics.
Hilton’s visit to the state Capitol was just one of many cameos she’s made over the years at statehouses across the country where she has served as an advocate for victims of what has been dubbed “the troubled teen industry.”