IECA Urges President to Sign Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (S. 1351)

Last week, the Senate passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (S. 1351), which was then approved by the House of Representatives this afternoon. This bipartisan bill requires that the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services engage into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study and issue a report examining the state of youth in residential programs and make their recommendations. The bill specifies that this report must be issued no later than three years after the enactment of this legislation, and again every two years for a decade. The National Academies shall consult with experts on issues related to child abuse and neglect in youth residential programs and administrators of said programs as part of their study.

IECA has advocated for legislation that provides critical oversight and sets minimum standards for residential therapeutic schools and programs while recognizing their vital role in providing effective treatment to adolescents dealing with substance abuse, behavioral disorders, and significant mental illness. S. 1351 provides a foundation. The association took this message to meetings on Capitol Hill on its Advocacy Days in both 2023 and 2024. We view the passage of legislation positively and believe our support helped ensure the bill’s passage.

Now, IECA encourages our members to contact the President of the United States to urge him to sign the bill.

We will keep our members and colleagues abreast of the development of this important legislation.

By Whitney Bruce, IECA (ME), Chair, Government Relations Committee