California lawmakers on Wednesday approved bipartisan legislation to establish stricter public oversight over the use of seclusion or restraints on children and adolescents in residential treatment centers, protections championed by famed hotel heiress Paris Hilton.
Senate Bill 1043, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), would require short-term therapeutic programs, both public and private, to publish all incidents of seclusion or restraint used on minors, as well as any health or safety concerns. Policymakers across the country have expressed concern about the historical use of these punitive tactics against youth, many of whom are in foster care, and have criticized the lack of transparency about these incidents.
The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
California used to send foster youth with severe behavioral issues to out-of-state treatment programs, but after numerous reports of abuse, state lawmakers banned those placements in 2021. California has since created short-term residential therapeutic programs, but seclusion rooms and restraints are still used on minors.
Grove found that young people routinely experience these tactics, but foster parents and guardians are rarely aware of it happening.
Under the bill, the California Department of Social Services would be required to post data on all incidents in which seclusion or restraint is used on its website, which anyone can view. The department will decide 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 such punishment would also be notified.
The bill was supported by lawmakers from both parties and garnered support from Hilton, who visited Sacramento in April to testify before a Senate committee. As a teenager, Hilton, now 43, was taken to a youth education facility where she said she suffered mental and physical abuse, including being held in restraint and isolation rooms — an experience that has been compared to solitary confinement.
Grove agreed to amendments made in the Assembly Human Services Committee that would require an investigation every time an incident was reported, but after fiscal analysts determined it would be too costly, those amendments were removed. Now, an investigation of an institution would be conducted only if a child’s safety is at risk or if there was 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 state capitols across the country, where she served as an advocate for victims of what's been called “the troubled teen industry.”
