Thank You to All of the Survivors Who Spoke Out!
We had a great turnout on the Mark Levine radio show last week. For those who missed it, both the original show and the follow-up show can be found by visiting Mark Levine’s Website.
There are six hours of radio available featuring interviews with survivors, authors, government officials, and experts in the field of child abuse and institutionalized treatment. Amazing to listen to and offers great resources on getting involved!
H.R 911 – Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act
Based on governmental findings found in the Hearing on Child Deaths Due to Mistreatment in Residential Institutions, a bill was drafted called H.R. 911. The purpose of this bill is to pass legislation that would regulate residential treatment facilities (which are currently completely unregulated on a Federal level, allowing them to move from state to state) and help to prevent further abuse from occurring. The United States is currently the only other country besides Somalia to not have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, though we had a significant role in drafting it.
Currently, private residential facilities operating within the U.S are not regulated, nor are parents regulated in any way from sending their children abroad to overseas institutions. Though many centers have been closed across the United States and in other countries, these children are often shuttled from one program to another when the closings occur. Noting that there is no Federal regulation in place, all parents need to do is to send their child across state lines if one state decides abuse is occurring in a facility.
H.R 911 was passed by the House but never made it through the Senate. With the upcoming elections, it is extremely important to contact your representatives to make sure that not only does this bill get passed, but also that it receives the media attention it desires. Visit this website to see who voted for and against the bill.
To help push this bill forward, please sign the petition here asking Congress & The President to Ensure H.R. 911 Passes.
Additional Resources
As pointed out by Mark Levine, the survivor groups are becoming larger, more unified, and more active. It is extremely important that we come together as one voice and begin speaking out about what we experienced. As we all know, there are numerous political connections between current political figures – Mitt Romney, to name one – and even more involvement throughout the legal system. Noting this, it is important that we reach as many people as possible to ensure that the folks who are protecting these abusive programs are not allowed to obtain more power without first distancing themselves from these figures and publicly denouncing the programs.
Visit this link for an extremely informative article on Mitt Romney’s involvement with WWASP and troubled teen facilities.
Mark Levine also offers some great articles here as well that I encourage you all to spread to as many interested parties as possible.
The WWASP Diaries 