Celebrity hotel heiress Paris Hilton poses for photographs outside the U.S. Capitol on the day the House of Representatives is set to vote on The Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act on December 17, 2024 in Washington, DC. Citing her own traumatizing experience at Provo Canyon School in Utah when she was a teenager, Hilton has lobbied for three years for the legislations that would place greater federal safeguards on institutional youth treatment programs. (Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images)
A Senate bill that aims to prevent abuse of minors in West Virginia’s residential treatment programs has backing from Paris Hilton, who sent a letter to state lawmakers urging them to pass the legislation.
Heiress, model and actress Hilton, who says she was abused in residential treatment facilities as a teen, said the legislation establishes “essential protections” for children.
“West Virginia has the chance to lead by example and set a higher standard of care and safety for vulnerable youth,” Hilton wrote in a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources.
Senate Bill 817 would require state licensure for private adolescent residential programs and some outdoor or boot camp experiences that aim to help children with behavioral or mental health issues. The Senate Health Committee advanced the legislation Thursday.
The measure also mandates background checks for staff and bans the use of physical discipline. Children couldn’t be deprived of basic rights, including education, and must have regular, unsupervised video communication with their parents.
“We have had horrible things happen to our children in West Virginia,” said Sen. Laura Chapman, R-Ohio, who sponsored the measure. “This bill requires licensure of these programs so that there is some oversight and accountability.”
Miracle Meadows, a now-defunct West Virginia boarding school, was accused in 2014 of sexually and physically abusing students over the course of decades. Settlements in civil action lawsuits over the allegations now total $100 million, according to attorneys representing victims.
“I became aware of the idea for this bill because of my involvement as a fellow in the nationwide Future Caucus. Hilton is a champion of this legislation because of her own experiences of abuse when she was a child,” Chapman said.
Hilton testified before Congress last year that she had been violently restrained, stripped of clothing and put into solitary confinement. She says the industry needs to be more regulated. Following her advocacy, Congress passed its own legislation in December requiring more oversight of youth residential treatment facilities.
West Virginia has a number of in-state residential providers that serve children in foster care or those who are placed there by their families.
“Many of the families who turn to these kinds of programs don’t fully understand the unlicensed and unregulated nature of these programs, who sadly then discover this when there’s been some type of issue with child abuse,” said Caroline Cole, strategic advocacy lead of Hilton’s advocacy organization, 11:11 Impact. Cole spoke to lawmakers via virtual testimony.
Sarah Riley is the executive director of High Rocks Educational Corporation, which operates an outdoor educational camp for youth in Pocahontas County. She supports the legislation’s intention to prevent child abuse but brought up concerns about how it would be implemented, like its requirement that parents have unsupervised video communication with their child.
“You know that we have challenges with technology and connectivity … in pockets all across the state. We don’t have the technology infrastructure in parts of West Virginia to support a high-quality, reliable video call.”
Riley also pushed for more clarity about which programs the bill would apply to since there are numerous outdoor learning programs across the state. It should apply to programs that have a therapeutic element to them, she said.
Certain West Virginia youth programs are exempt from the requirements, including Mountaineer Challenge Academy, which is regulated in a separate section of state code. The bill doesn’t include recreational programs like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or 4-H clubs, and it also exempts faith-related camps and activities.
“I think the intention of this bill I support 100%,” Riley said.
West Virginia’s Office of Inspector General would be charged with establishing legislative rules to regulate the facilities, according to the bill.
Residential treatment programs would be subject to losing their operating license for failure to follow the bill’s requirements.
The measure now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration.
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